USA

UNITED NATIONS, January 6. /TASS/: All countries interested in the proper and effective operation of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons must work together against the organization’s politicization, Russia’s first deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, said at a meeting of the UN Security Council.

"The OPWC is seriously ill. The disease is called politicization. Those who turn a blind eye on this merely aggravate its condition," he states.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump’s flailing effort to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory comes down to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday in a showdown led by a band of Republican lawmakers that could stretch proceedings past midnight but is almost certain to fail.

Although Biden won the Nov. 3 election by more than 7 million popular votes and a 306-232 margin in the Electoral College, Trump -- without evidence -- continues to claim his victory was the result of widespread fraud.

06 Jan 2021; MEMO: The United States on Tuesday blacklisted a Chinese company that makes elements for steel production, 12 Iranian steel and metals makers, and three foreign-based sales agents of a major Iranian metals and mining holding company, seeking to deprive Iran of revenues as US President Donald Trump's term winds down, reports Reuters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Ant Group’s Alipay mobile payment app, the White House said, escalating tensions with Beijing two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

The move, first reported by Reuters, is aimed at curbing the threat to Americans posed by Chinese software applications, which have large user bases and access to sensitive data, a senior administration official told Reuters.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Representative Kevin Brady tweeted on Tuesday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 weeks after receiving a first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

"Tonite, the Office of House Physician informed me that I've tested positive for Covid 19 & am quarantined," Brady said.

"As recommended, I received a first dose of the Pfizer vaccine Dec 18 & also recently tested negative for Covid on New Years Day. Begin treatment tomorrow. Shld be fine."

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The global economy is on track to grow by 4 percent in 2021, assuming vaccination for COVID-19 becomes widespread throughout the year, the World Bank Group said in its latest Global Economic Prospects released on Tuesday.

"The global economy appears to be emerging from one of its deepest recessions, and beginning a subdued recovery," World Bank Group President David Malpass told reporters in a media conference call Tuesday morning.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top national security agencies confirmed Tuesday that Russia was likely responsible for a massive hack of U.S. government departments and corporations, rejecting President Donald Trump’s claim that China might be to blame.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell thinks it’s dangerous for his party to challenge President-elect Joe Biden’s election triumph. But some Republicans are charging ahead anyway, and this time McConnell is facing dynamics he can’t fully control.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s extraordinary effort to overturn the presidential election is going before Congress as lawmakers convene for a joint session to confirm the Electoral College vote won by Joe Biden.

ATLANTA (AP) — Democrat Raphael Warnock won one of Georgia’s two Senate runoffs Wednesday, becoming the first Black senator in his state’s history and putting the Senate majority within the Democrats’ reach.

A pastor who spent the past 15 years leading the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King Jr. preached, Warnock defeated Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler. It was a stinging rebuke of outgoing President Donald Trump, who made one of his final trips in office to Georgia to rally his loyal base behind Loeffler and the Republican running for the other seat, David Perdue.