Politics

WASHINGTON (AP) — For months, the outlook for the U.S. economy has been a mostly bleak one: Inflation hitting a four-decade high , consumer spending weakening, interest rates surging. Most economists penciled in a recession for 2023.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch government on Wednesday backtracked on restrictions that it placed last year on family members joining asylum-seekers who are granted residency in the Netherlands, after courts ruled the move was unlawful.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Spurred into action by a major corruption scandal, the European Parliament president wants to prevent former lawmakers from lobbying on behalf of businesses or governments soon after they leave office and to make public the names of c

LONDON (AP) — Around 25,000 U.K. ambulance workers went on strike Wednesday, walking out for the second time since December in an ongoing dispute with the government over pay.

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Poland has decided to send a company of Leopard tanks to help neighboring Ukraine in the war with invading Russia, President Andrzej Duda said Wednesday.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan and South Korea defended their public health restrictions on travelers from China on Wednesday, a day after China stopped issuing new visas in both countries in apparent retaliation.

MADRID (AP) — Farmers protested in Madrid on Wednesday against a governmental order to provide ecological protection for a river, a move they see as a threat to the water resources they need to irrigate their crops.

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — A senior U.S. envoy launched a tour of several Balkan nations Wednesday, a visit focused on international efforts to help normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia after weeks of heightened tension. U.S.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden holds the European Union's powerful presidency for the next six months, but there are concerns in the EU that a hard-line Swedish far right will hold back the Nordic nation in fulfilling its ambitions for the 27-nation bloc.

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish judge on Wednesday ordered jail without bail for two women repatriated from Syria for their suspected involvement with the Islamic State group.