President Joe Biden on Thursday signed a $1.66 trillion bill funding the U.S. government for fiscal year 2023, the White House said in a statement.
Biden signed the bill, which passed Congress last week, while vacationing on the Caribbean island of St. Croix.
The legislation includes record military funding, emergency aid to Ukraine, more aid for students with disabilities, additional funding to protect workers' rights and more job-training resources, as well as more affordable housing for families, veterans and those fleeing domestic violence.
The 4,000-plus page bill passed the Senate on a bipartisan vote of 68-29, with the support of 18 of the 50 Senate Republicans. It passed the House of Representatives on a largely party-line vote of 225-201.
The funding bill includes a roughly 6% increase in spending for domestic initiatives, to $772.5 billion. Spending on defense programs will increase by about 10%, to $858 billion.
The US said it may ask a judge to force Alphabet's Google to divest parts of its business, such as its Chrome browser and Android operating system, that it says are used to maintain an illegal monopoly in online search.
The first edition of the Global Rail Transport Infrastructure Exhibition & Conference (Global Rail) 2024 was launched in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and set to continue until Thursday. The event, hosted by Etihad Rail, was inaugurated by several UAE officials and industry leaders.
Boeing has withdrawn its pay offer to around 33,000 US factory workers and no further negotiations were planned with their union representatives, as a financially damaging strike nears its fourth week.
The UAE Cabinet, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, has approved the Union General Budget Plan for the fiscal year 2025.
Emirates has cancelled flights to Iran and Iraq until October 16, the airline announced on Tuesday evening. Earlier in the week, flights to Baghdad and Basra in Iraq had resumed before the latest update.