Politics

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leaders promised Thursday to improve quarantine and other anti-virus policies after public frustration boiled over into protests but said they will stick to a severe “zero COVID” strategy that has confined millions of people to

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama said she struggled with a “crushing sense of hopelessness” after the 2020 presidential election that was brought on by the death and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, a summer of political and racial unrest and the

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is aiming to repair frayed relations with Britain’s European Union neighbors — and with highly skeptical leaders in Scotland and Wales — when he attends a summit of leaders from across the U.K.

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish woman has been arrested in Iran, the second Spaniard in just over a month to be detained there amid mass unrest , Spain’s foreign ministry said Thursday.

ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni pledged Italy’s “strong commitment” to NATO and efforts to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine, taking a firm pro-alliance stance Thursday following the pro-Russia sentiments expressed by one of her governing c

WASHINGTON (AP) — In Massachusetts, Democrats and Republicans could find an issue to agree on: letting bars have happy hours. Commonwealth law bans bars and other establishments from having special discounts on beer, wine and liquor.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia next week, an Indonesian government official said Thursday, avoiding a possible confrontation with the United States and its allies over hi

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Ukraine signed a peace accord Thursday with Southeast Asian nations, a largely symbolic act that comes as Kyiv seeks to shore up international support in isolating Russia.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan and the United States began a major joint military exercise Thursday in southern Japan as the allies aim to step up readiness in the face of China’s increasing assertiveness and North Korea’s intensifying missile launches.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Protests in Iran raged on streets into Thursday with demonstrators remembering a bloody crackdown in the country's southeast, even as the nation's intelligence minister and army chief renewed threats against local d