
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will leave the White House if the Electoral College votes for president-elect Joe Biden, the closest he has come to conceding the Nov 3 election, even as he reiterated his unfounded claims of massive voter fraud.

Venezuela has resumed direct shipments of oil to China after U.S. sanctions sent the trade underground for more than a year, according to Refinitiv Eikon vessel-tracking data and internal documents from state company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).

Chinese President Xi Jinping has congratulated President-elect Joe Biden, state media reported on Wednesday, becoming one of the last world leaders to do so.

France will require online technology giants to pay a new digital tax on their 2020 earnings, the finance ministry said on Wednesday, despite Washington's warning that it could retaliate with new tariffs on French imports.

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden said on Tuesday he did not want to see a guarded border between Ireland and the United Kingdom, adding that he had previously discussed the matter with the British and Irish prime ministers and other European leaders.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average breached the 30,000-mark for the first time on Tuesday, as optimism that COVID-19 vaccines will open the way to economic recovery next year fueled Wall Street’s rebound from a pandemic-driven crash this year.

President Donald Trump on Monday said he had given Emily Murphy, the head of the General Services Administration, the go-ahead to proceed with a transition for President-elect Joe Biden’s administration despite plans to continue with legal challenges.

Veteran diplomat Antony Blinken, 58, has been named the United States' next Secretary of State. The official announcement by President-elect Joe Biden, expected on Tuesday, came earlier on Monday. Mr Jake Sullivan, 43, was named National Security Adviser; and Ms. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, 68, was named Ambassador to the United Nations.

Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will serve as the 78th Treasury Secretary of the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported Monday afternoon, citing people familiar with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team.

The US has withdrawn from the Open Skies Treaty due to non-compliance by Russia, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday, making good on a planned move by the outgoing Trump administration.