CONGRESS

China has given a go-ahead for its first major tender of oil and gas blocks in the South China Sea, close on the heels of Beijing establishing a military garrison on a disputed island in the waters.

The U.S. Postal Service went broke on Wednesday, for the first time defaulting on a payment due to the U.S. Treasury to finance postal pensioners' future health care costs.

Disclosure of another lavish party thrown by the U.S. government's buildings and procurement agency prompted fresh attacks on Thursday from Republican lawmakers on wasteful Washington spending under President Barack Obama.

Celebrated author, playwright, politician and commentator Gore Vidal breathed his last Tuesday and left behind a repository of published works and remarks that were famous for their unconventional wit and wisdom.

Congress prepared its own sanctions against Tehran as well, and both the House and Senate will vote on the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act on Wednesday.

Democrats and Republicans in Congress reached a deal on Tuesday to fund federal government activities through next March and eliminate any threat of agency shutdowns that could upset voters ahead of the November 6 presidential and congressional elections.

India is still a Third World country and needs to spend mightily on infrastructure to become the superpower it aspires to.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is attending the South American trading bloc Mercosur summit in Brazil, where his country has been inducted as an official member of the group after a six-year wait. But not every Venezuelan is pleased

The U.S. Postal Service affirmed Tuesday that it will not make a required $5.5 billion payment due Wednesday to the U.S. Treasury for future retirees' health care costs, according to a published report.

An independent U.S. government auditor gives a dismal assessment of American efforts at infrastructure building in Afghanistan.

If gun control is truly the issue that sealed Bloomberg’s endorsement, how could he have not gone with Elizabeth Warren?

Ethnic violence in India's northeastern state of Assam, which has left 58 dead and 200,000 displaced so far, was a tragedy waiting to happen, affected by the influx of immigrants who mostly came from the former East Pakistan before it became Bangladesh in 1971.

De Klerk reserved particular venom for current ANC leader, President Jacob Zuma, who spoke of the “white control” of South Africa’s economy during a June policy speech.

Du Toit will be sentenced at a later date.

China's biggest political scandal in recent years is raising eyebrows again, after months of quiet and guesswork -- and may usher in a major political development

India's much-awaited "second wave" of reforms is likely to be delayed due to the dilly-dallying monsoon. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who doubles as the finance minister, is expected to hold the crucial policy decisions on allowing the FDI in retail sector and hike in diesel prices until at least the second week of September, Reuters has reported quoting official sources.

President Barack Obama, who remained mum on the issue of gun control, has finally broken his silence and called for "consensus" on reduction of gun violence across the United States, Reuters has reported.

Ron Paul's so-called "Audit the Fed" bill, aimed at making the U.S. Federal Reserve more transparent and accountable, passed the U.S. House of Representatives in a rare moment of bipartisanship on Wednesday.

Even if the Democratic-backed plan to allow the Bush tax cuts expire for the wealthiest Americans advances in the Senate on Wednesday, it has little chance of becoming law if Republicans continue to hold the House.

Google honored Amelia Earhart’s 115th birthday by gracing its homepage with a drawing of aviator boarding a Lockheed Vega 5B monoplane, which she used to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932. The birthday celebration appears to be a bittersweet, appropriate commemoration on the heels of first female astronaut Sally Ride’s death on Monday.

Carly Rae Jepsen, the 26-year old Canadian singer of Call Me Maybe fame, released a new music video today fresh off her success at Sunday's Teen Choice Awards and a potential sex tape scandal.