Government and politics

Vietnamese policemen wearing face masks stand guard outside the National Convention Center in Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. Vietnam's ruling Communist Party began a crucial week-long meeting in the capital Hanoi to set the nation's path for the next five years and appoint the country's top leaders. (AP Photo/Minh Hoang)

Fresh outbreak in Vietnam grows to 82, company closed

Jan. 28, 2021 1:41 AM EST

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam reported 82 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, hours after confirming the first two infections in nearly two months. Seventy-two of the cases came from an electronic company in Hai Duong province, where a 34-year-old female employee tested positive after her colleague was...

Ultra-Orthodox Jews argue with Israeli border police officers during a protest over the coronavirus lockdown restrictions, in Ashdod, Israel, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021. As he seeks re-election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has turned to a straightforward strategy: Count on the rock-solid support of his ultra-Orthodox political allies and stamp out the coronavirus pandemic with one of the world’s most aggressive vaccination campaigns. But with ultra-Orthodox communities openly flouting safety guidelines and violently clashing with police trying to enforce them, this marriage of convenience is turning into a burden. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Ultra-Orthodox unrest threatens Netanyahu re-election hopes

Jan. 28, 2021 1:07 AM EST

JERUSALEM (AP) — As he seeks reelection, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has turned to a straightforward strategy: Count on the rock-solid support of his ultra-Orthodox political allies and stamp out the coronavirus pandemic with one of the world’s most aggressive vaccination campaigns....

Chinese app TikTok cuts jobs in India following ban

Jan. 28, 2021 12:59 AM EST

NEW DELHI (AP) — Popular short-video Chinese app TikTok is cutting its workforce in India after hundreds of millions of its users dropped it to comply with a government ban on dozens of Chinese apps amid a military standoff between the two countries. ``Given the lack of feedback from the government about...

In this Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, Thai immigration officers talk to people at a bar on Koh Phangan island, Surat Thani province, southern Thailand. Police raided a party at a bar on a popular resort island in southern Thailand and arrested 89 foreigners for violating coronavirus regulations, officials said Wednesday. (Police Investigation Team of Surat Thani Immigration via AP)

89 foreigners arrested at Thai bar flouting COVID-19 rules

Jan. 28, 2021 12:45 AM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — Police raided a party at a bar on a popular resort island in southern Thailand and arrested 89 foreigners for violating coronavirus regulations, officials said Wednesday. The Tuesday night raid on the Three Sixty Bar on Koh Phangan also netted 22 Thais, including one identified as the...

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the president pro tempore of the Senate, pauses in a corridor off the Rotunda as he awaits the article of impeachment against Donald Trump to be delivered, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 25, 2021. The Senate's longest-serving member, 80-year-old Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, was taken to a hospital Tuesday evening for observation after not feeling well, a spokesman said. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite))

At 80, Vermont's Sen. Leahy ready to run impeachment trial

Jan. 28, 2021 12:40 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — He's known for prowling the Capitol with his camera or friends like the rock icon Bono. He's played leading roles in fights over Supreme Court nominations, government surveillance of Americans and protecting his state's dairy farms. Now, Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont is...

FILE - In this file photo taken on Wednesday, June 24, 2020, Russian RS-24 Yars ballistic missiles roll in Red Square during the Victory Day military parade marking the 75th anniversary of the Nazi defeat in Moscow, Russia. Russia and the United States exchanged documents Tuesday Jan. 26, 2021, to extend the New START nuclear treaty, their last remaining arms control pact, the Kremlin said. The Kremlin readout of a phone call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin said they voiced satisfaction with the move. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Renewed US-Russia nuke pact won't fix emerging arms threats

Jan. 28, 2021 12:38 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration was quick to breathe new life into the last remaining treaty limiting U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons. The going will be slower when it turns to other arms control problems that are either festering or emerging as potential triggers of an international arms race....

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to reporters during a press briefing at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. (Carlos Barria/Pool Photo via AP)

Biden pauses Trump policies as Blinken takes diplomatic helm

Jan. 28, 2021 12:37 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration paused or put under review a wide swath of Trump-era foreign policies as America’s new top diplomat took the helm of the State Department. The administration placed at least temporarily holds on several big-ticket arms sales to the United Arab Emirates and...

President Joe Biden signs an executive order on climate change, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Biden: 'We can't wait any longer' to address climate crisis

Jan. 28, 2021 12:36 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the most ambitious U.S. effort to stave off the worst of climate change, President Joe Biden signed executive orders to transform the nation’s heavily fossil-fuel powered economy into a clean-burning one, pausing oil and gas leasing on federal land and targeting subsidies for...

In this Jan. 27, 2021, photo, President Joe Biden speaks in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package presents a first political test. More than a sweeping rescue plan, it's a test of the strength of his new administration, of Democratic control of Congress and of the role of Republicans in a post-Trump political landscape. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Virus aid package tests whether Biden, Congress can deliver

Jan. 28, 2021 12:32 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than a sweeping national rescue plan, President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package presents a first political test — of his new administration, of Democratic control of Congress and of the role of Republicans in a post-Trump political landscape. For...

FILE - In this May 15, 2020, file photo, Chief Master Sgt. Roger Towberman displays his insignia during a presentation of the United States Space Force flag in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. President Joe Biden has been working quickly to undo many initiatives by his predecessor. But Donald Trump's space-faring military service, Space Force, seems likely to survive. Space Force was created in December 2019 and is still in its infancy. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Biden seen likely to keep Space Force, a Trump favorite

Jan. 28, 2021 12:30 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — To the last moments of his presidency, Donald Trump trumpeted Space Force as a creation for the ages. And while President Joe Biden has quickly undone other Trump initiatives, the space-faring service seems likely to survive, even if the new administration pushes it lower on the list of...

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