US President Joe Biden

PM Marape said, “I was advised in a meeting I had with his (Biden) Chief Advisor in White House last week Friday. The advice came through that President (Biden) is also bringing a team, a panel of investors also who want to come and take up residence in our country and do business.”

Marape says details of these discussions will become clear as the visit of President Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi draws closer.

The attack on a safe house in Kabul where al-Zawahiri and his family were staying was ordered by the US president at a meeting of key cabinet members and national security officials on 25 July, a senior administration official told reporters.

“At the conclusion of the meeting, the president authorised a precise, tailored airstrike on the condition that a strike minimised to the greatest extent possible the risk of civilian casualties,” the official said in a background briefing call.

Russia has warned of a breach of its relations with Washington and summoned the US ambassador in Moscow for an official protest over Joe Biden’s labelling of Vladimir Putin as a war criminal, as the US president held talks with European allies on efforts to stop the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Nearly 1800 people signed a letter calling on him to release documents that they believe implicate officials from Saudi Arabia in the plot.

They say that if he refuses, he should not attend ceremonies next month to commemorate the 20th anniversary.

Nearly 3000 people died on 9/11.

The attacks were committed by the Al Qaeda terror group, investigators say, and triggered the US invasion of Afghanistan. Fifteen of the 19 plane hijackers were Saudi nationals.

The conversation included a discussion about the ongoing opposition protests in Russia and an extension of the last remaining US-Russia nuclear arms pact.

Mr Putin congratulated the new US president on winning the election, according to a Russian statement.

Both parties said they agreed to maintain contact moving forward.

Former US President Donald Trump sometimes undercut his own administration's tough posture on Russia and was accused of being too deferential to Mr Putin.

"Democracy has prevailed," he said after taking the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts.

Donald Trump - who has not formally conceded the presidency to Mr Biden - snubbed the inauguration ceremony, in a departure from longstanding precedent.

The new president has announced a raft of measures reversing Trump policies.

Kamala Harris was sworn in as vice-president ahead of Mr Biden. She is the first woman - and the first black and Asian-American person - to serve in a role, a heartbeat from the presidency.