GOVERNMENT

President Joe Biden is announcing the infusion of nearly $36 billion to shore up a financially troubled union pension plan.

China has begun implementing a more relaxed version of its strict “zero COVID” policy amid steps to restore normal life, but also trepidation over a possible broader outbreak once controls are eased.

A day after China announced the rollback of some of its most stringent COVID-19 restrictions, people across the country are greeting the news with a measure of relief but also caution, as many wait to see how the new approach will be implemented.

In a move that caught many by surprise, China announced a potentially major easing of its rigid “zero-COVID" restrictions.

2022's most notable quotations include a tart retort by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a U.S. offer of help.

A Pennsylvania government panel is considering adding extensive definitions of sex, religious creed and race to nondiscrimination regulations.

Vice President Kamala Harris has outpaced all her predecessors for the number of tiebreaking votes cast in the Senate.

The House is set to take a final vote on protections for same-sex marriages.

President Joe Biden is facing consistent but critical assessments of his leadership and the national economy as his second year in the White House comes to a close.

In just three tumultuous hours, Peruvian President Pedro Castillo went from decreeing the dissolution of his country’s Congress to being replaced by his vice president and put under arrest.

South Korea’s government has expanded its back-to-work orders against thousands of cargo truck drivers who are staging a nationwide walkout over freight fare issues.

South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission will investigate the cases of dozens of South Korean adoptees in Europe and the United States who suspect their origins were falsified or obscured during a child export frenzy in the mid- to late-1900s.

The State of the County Address in Roanoke County touched on education where the school board said their public schools were among the very few that maintained a high level of in-person instruction throughout the pandemic and it paid off.

Fresh off Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock’s runoff victory, Georgia Democrats are embracing -- and Republicans are reluctantly accepting -- the state’s transition from GOP stronghold to premier battleground as the political calendar turns to the 2024 presidential cycle.

Congress’ move to eliminate the Pentagon mandate that all U.S. service members get the COVID-19 vaccine delivers a victory for lawmakers and troops who oppose getting the shot.

Kentucky's governor says Democrats have a better chance of connecting with rural voters when they talk about the things people need and the ways they can help them.

The U.S. government says it will appeal a court ruling that would lift asylum restrictions that have become the cornerstone of border enforcement.

The Florida lawmaker who sponsored the controversial law critics call “Don’t Say Gay” has been indicted on charges of defrauding a federal coronavirus loan program for small businesses.

Google, Oracle, Microsoft and Amazon will share in the Pentagon’s $9 billion contract to build its cloud computing network.

Apple has embarked on its latest privacy-enhancing move.

A member of President Joe Biden's Cabinet is urging Georgia officials to deny permits for a proposed mine near the edge of the famed Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is such an enemy of rats that he once called a press conference to demonstrate a contraption for drowning them in poison.

Raphael Warnock’s victory in swing-state Georgia gives Senate Democrats a 51-49 majority.

President Joe Biden is calling again for a ban on so-called assault weapons, calling it “simple common sense.”.

President Joe Biden has signed legislation curbing the use of confidentiality agreements that block victims of sexual harassment from speaking publicly about misconduct in the workplace.

A state judge has ordered five men to stand trial on charges involving a foiled plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Struggling to maintain a steady supply of arms for its war in Ukraine, Moscow is looking to Iran once again to resupply the Russian military with drones and surface-to-surface missiles.

A published report says lawyers for former President Donald Trump found at least two items marked as classified during a recent search of a storage unit in West Palm Beach, Florida, and have provided them to the FBI.

The Oregon Supreme Court late Wednesday declined to overturn a lower court judge’s decision and allow a tough new voter-approved gun law to take effect this week.

As the Respect for Marriage Act moves toward final passage, much of the attention has been focused on the protection the law gives to same-sex couples.

This year's White House Christmas ornament gives a nod to former first lady Patricia Nixon.

Experts raised concerns over a new policy announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria that heavily limits withdrawals of money in a push for a cashless economy.

The former head of Poland’s state broadcaster says he now has a job the World Bank.

The Rev. Al Sharpton has been called a lot of names in his public life.

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledges that what he calls his “special military operation” in Ukraine is taking longer than expected.

The Justice Department’s inspector general has released its report on the 2018 beating death of notorious gangster James “Whitey” Bulger at the hands of fellow inmates at a federal prison in West Virginia.

As coronavirus cases rose in Shanghai earlier this year and the city’s lockdown stretched from weeks to months, Leah Zhang’s feeling of suffocation grew.

Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, says he's pained by a rise in antisemitism in the United States.

Environmental groups have welcomed a decision by Britain’s Conservative government to lift its opposition to onshore wind farms.

The European Union has announced that it's begun legal action at the World Trade Organization against China over what it says are import restrictions Beijing has imposed on Lithuania.

Dissident Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei is taking heart from recent public protests in China over the authorities’ strict COVID-19 policy.

Nepal has finished counting the votes that were cast in the Nov. 20 parliamentary elections.

Israel’s ties to the Jewish American community are about to be put to the test, with Israel’s emerging far-right government on a collision course with Jews in the United States.

China has rolled back rules on isolating people with COVID-19 and dropped virus test requirements for some public places.

The Supreme Court seems skeptical of making a broad ruling that would leave state legislatures virtually unchecked when making rules for elections for Congress and the presidency.

There weren't enough uncounted votes in Republican-leaning areas for Republican challenger Herschel Walker to make up his runoff election night gap with incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.

The Biden administration has signed off on two new significant arms sales to Taiwan in approvals that are sure to rankle China.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has arrived in Saudi Arabia to attend meetings with oil-rich Gulf Arab nations crucial to his country’s energy supplies as Beijing tries to revive an economy battered by strict coronavirus measures.

The COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military would be rescinded under the annual defense bill heading for a vote this week in Congress.

A Coast Guard investigation into the grounding in March of a cargo ship in the Chesapeake Bay is faulting the pilot tasked with helping the ship navigate the waterway.

Local housing targets are being watered down in the face of a Tory rebellion - but not everyone is happy.

Nadhim Zahawi says the military could be drafted in as part of plans to minimise strike disruption.

For three years the patience of one billion Chinese was stretched with lockdowns - now it's snapped.

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) said industrial action over a pay dispute would intensify in the new year.

Steve Barclay says the delay is a "difficult decision" but will allow more funding for social care.

Some voters said they cast ballots for Republicans because they wanted to end single-party Democratic control, but history shows that doesn’t always lead to progress.

The economy is forecast to contract next year due to the cost-of-living crisis.

The Brazilian president-in-waiting is expected to say his country is a global player on climate again.

A lack of government investment in an animal disease lab is a threat to safety, a report says.

The mother's bill was sky-high because she has to run life support equipment for her daughter, age 12.

The Democrats currently control all three branches of government, but that could change after the US midterms.

Former PM Liz Truss had cast doubt on the aim, saying she would scrap "Stalinist" housing targets.

Amber Rudd says a scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is also "impractical" and will not happen.

He wasn’t saying a politician should join you on your doctor’s visit. He was saying politicians should be able to limit your care without meeting you at all.

Former Bank of England governor Lord King says people could face "significantly higher taxes".

Households will get a discount of £3 per kw/h instead of 52p off bills, National Grid says.

The union body says UK employees are facing two decades of pay failing to keep up with price rises.

Discussions are ongoing but many Tory MPs believe a U-turn on aspects of the economic plan is now inevitable.

Ministers say the move would ensure consumers and businesses pay a fair price for energy.

The SNP conference will hear much about the fallout from the UK government's tax cutting mini-budget.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor, announced the government was abandoning plans to abolish the 45 percent tax rate for the highest earners amid widespread opposition.

Young people with cancer say they are struggling with rent and bills because of soaring living costs.

The Conservatives can never again claim to be a party of fiscal responsibility, Labour leader says.

The IMF says it "does not recommend large and untargeted fiscal packages" and that the U.K.'s latest economic measures will "likely increase inequality".

The justice secretary says it will spare rape victims the "additional trauma" of testifying in court.

Government borrowing reached £11.8bn in August, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Italian businesses fear politicians are failing to address the cost of living crisis ahead of elections.

The fast food chain will shut all its restaurants until 5pm on 19 September.

Alistair Darling says the new prime minister must quickly take "bold action" to help with soaring costs.

Jagtar Singh Johal, a Sikh activist from Scotland, was seized by Indian police in 2017 and remains in jail.

Arizona began moving in shipping containers to close a 1,000-foot gap in the border wall near the southern Arizona farming community of Yuma on Friday, with officials saying they were acting to stop migrants after repeated, unfulfilled promises from the Biden administration to block off the area. The move by Arizona comes without explicit permission on federal land, with state contractors starting to move in 60-foot-long (18.3-meter-long) shipping containers and stacking two of the 9-foot-tall (2.7-meter-tall) containers on top of each other early Friday.

The charity voices concerns of delaying support for households bracing themselves for energy bill hikes.

As worldwide sales of the algae soar, the European Union wants to establish giant seaweed farms.

How Russian oligarchs from Vladimir Putin’s inner circle exploited a UK secrecy loophole left open by the government.

Almost 700 migrants crossed the English Channel in 14 boats on Monday, the Ministry of Defence says.

The motoring group says the UK's fuel duty cut looks "paltry" compared to help given in other countries.

The project was first announced in 2017 by the Saudi Arabian government that is being sold as a carbon-neutral habitat.

Sam Tarry defied Sir Keir Starmer by joining striking rail workers on the picket line.

The Tory leadership candidate says the UK faces an emergency over the economy, the NHS and migration.

An unofficial advisor to Donald Trump, Mr Bannon refused to cooperate with the January 6 committee.

The focus needs to be on picking a new leader, contender Penny Mordaunt says as she hits back at "smears".

The government will provide funds so all schools can have at least one kit after parents' campaign.

Candidates vying to replace Boris Johnson have just hours to secure support from at least 20 MPs.

Russian pipeline operators say maintenance work is needed, but Germany suspects political motives.

Living in Sri Lanka is a daily battle and people are broken after months of crisis, writes Andrew Fidel Fernando.

Less than three years after a thumping election victory, Boris Johnson is resigning. How did it come to this?

As the crisis over Boris Johnson's leadership grows, the Northern Ireland secretary resigns.

Norway's government late Tuesday intervened to bring an end to an oil and gas strike that threatened to exacerbate the region's deepening energy crisis.

It is the first time they have spoken since Nicola Sturgeon outlined her route map to a referendum.

There are 50 known survivors of the banned pregnancy drug in Scotland, most now in their 60s.