Latest Government and politics News

Olympic champion Ellia Green finds liberation in transition
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Ellia Green realized as a young child -- long before becoming an Olympic champion -- that a person’s identity and a gender assigned at birth can be very different things. Now, about 20 years later, one of the stars of Australia’s gold medal-winning...

Putin blasts US 'hegemony,' predicts end to 'unipolar' world
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States of trying to encourage extended hostilities in Ukraine as part of what he described Tuesday as Washington's alleged efforts to maintain its global hegemony. Addressing a security conference attended by...

Estonia removes Soviet-era monument, citing public order
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Estonia's government said Tuesday it has decided to remove a Soviet-era monument from public space in an eastern border town sitting in the Baltic country's Russian-speaking part, with the prime minister saying the reason for the dismantling is that it represents a risk...

Gates eyes partnership with South Korea over global health
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Bill Gates on Tuesday called for South Korea to become more involved in international efforts to prevent infectious diseases like COVID-19 as he stressed the need for the world to be better prepared for the next pandemic. Representing the Bill and Melinda...

Europe drought: German industry at risk as Rhine falls
BERLIN (AP) — Germany's main industry lobby group warned Tuesday that factories may have to throttle production or halt it completely because plunging water levels on the Rhine River are making it harder to transport cargo. Water levels on the Rhine at Emmerich, near the Dutch...
UK watchdog probes police stop of sprinter dos Santos
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s police watchdog is investigating after armed officers pulled over Portuguese sprinter Ricardo dos Santos' car in London two years after a traffic stop of the athlete led to accusations of racial profiling. The Metropolitan Police force said officers on a...

Top Malaysian court orders ex-PM Najib to begin final appeal
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia's top court ordered former Prime Minister Najib Razak on Tuesday to begin his final appeal in two days after rejecting his request that it throw out his graft conviction and 12-year sentence over alleged judicial bias. Najib has sought to...

US, South Korea to begin expanded military drills next week
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States and South Korea will begin their biggest combined military training in years next week in the face of an increasingly aggressive North Korea, which has been ramping up weapons tests and threats of nuclear conflict against Seoul and Washington, the South...

Chinese navy ship docks in Sri Lanka, stokes worry in India
HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka (AP) — A Chinese navy vessel arrived at a Beijing-built port in southern Sri Lanka on Tuesday, after its port call was earlier delayed due to apparent security concerns raised by India. The Yuan Wang 5 sailed into the Hambantota port and was welcomed by Sri...

Explosions refocus war in Ukraine on Russian-annexed Crimea
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The world's attention on the war in Ukraine on Tuesday turned anew to Russia-annexed Crimea, where two separate fires, including one with massive explosions, injured at least two people and forced the evacuation of around 2,000 residents. The second incident in...
