The US Congress approved the election of Donald Trump as president. Justin Trudeau announced that he will step down as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and cease to be prime minister. In turn, the United States was hit by deadly snowstorms. Here are five things to know on Tuesday, January 7.
1. Congress approved Trump's election as president
The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate met on Monday in a special joint session to officially count the electoral votes and certify the results of the presidential election. The procedure was chaired by the vice president Kamala Harriswho was the opponent Donald Trump in the November elections. Four years ago, during this procedure, the Capitol was stormed.
2. Trudeau steps down
Prime minister Canada Justin Trudeau announced that he would step down as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and thus cease to be prime minister. Trudeau will remain in office until his successor is elected. He also announced that the parliament's work would be suspended until March 24.
3. Deadly snowfall in the USA
Snowstorms that hit on Sunday United Statestook a deadly toll. As CNN reported, three people died. More than 60 million Americans are under severe weather alerts, with warnings issued in several states state of emergency. Many people are without electricity, and there are serious difficulties at airports.
The USA is struggling with snowstormsJIM LO SCALZO/PAP/EPA
4. The leader of the pro-Russian party is to form a government in Austria
President Austria Alexander Van der Bellen entrusted the mission of forming a government to Herbert Kickel. He is the leader of the far-right and pro-Russian Freedom Party of Austria. The president announced this after a meeting with Kickel that lasted over an hour. Earlier, Karl Nehammer from the Austrian People's Party announced that he was resigning from the position of chancellor after the failure of coalition talks.
5. BRICS is expanding by another country
Brazilian authorities said that Indonesia officially joined the BRICS group as a full member. Previously, the group was joined by, among others EgyptEthiopia, Iran and United Arab Emirates. Among the countries considering the possibility of joining is: Saudi Arabia. The core of the organization consists of China, Russia, India, South Africa and Brazil.
Main photo source: JIM LO SCALZO/PAP/EPA