Month: October 2021

By JOVANA GEC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia is set to launch partial COVID-19 passes while Croatia and Slovenia reported high daily rates of infections as countries with low vaccination rates grapple with persisting virus surge. Serbia has seen thousands of news cases daily for weeks now and recorded over 50 deaths each

By REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Parade-loving New Orleans is getting its groove back. Thousands of people crowded the streets of New Orleans on Saturday for the first big parade since the pandemic made such events impossible. A member of a marching group described the feeling of being able to parade once

By MIKE CATALINI Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s decidedly liberal shift under first-term Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy is facing a test as he seeks reelection against Republican Jack Ciattarelli. Under Murphy, the state has implemented paid sick leave, added taxpayer-funded community college and legalized recreational marijuana. Murphy has also received high marks

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Tens of thousands of supporters of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his right-wing government marched in Budapest on Saturday in a demonstration of unity behind the populist leader’s contentious policies. Saturday’s rally was dubbed a “Peace March” and participants gathered along the western bank of

By BOBBY ROSS Jr. Associated Press WESTLAKE, Texas (AP) — A remarkable get-together recently took place — in-person and also online — involving descendants of a group of Holocaust survivors. The project unfolded after a Texas woman was going through documents left behind by her deceased father. She found black-and-white photos of him and some

By BOBBY ROSS Jr. Associated Press WESTLAKE, Texas (AP) — A remarkable get-together recently took place — in-person and also online — involving descendants of a group of Holocaust survivors. The project unfolded after a Texas woman was going through documents left behind by her deceased father. She found black-and-white photos of him and some

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AP) — Police say Ecuadorian sprinter Alex Quiñónez was fatally shot in the port city of Guayaquil. He was 32. Quiñónez became a national hero in 2012 when he reached the 200 meter final at the London Games, finishing seventh in a race won by Usain Bolt. There were no immediate report of

By JACK JEFFERY Associated Press RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Activists have called on the international community to help reverse Israel’s unprecedented designation of six Palestinian human rights groups as terrorist organizations. The terror label enables Israel to raid the groups’ offices, seize assets and arrest employees. Israel alleges the groups are a front for

By LEANNE ITALIE AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Conjurers and cheats, hustlers and hoaxsters. Those were some of the things that interested the grizzled Ricky Jay. The widow of the sleight-of-hand artist, card shark, author and scholar turned over nearly 2,000 curiosities he collected to Sotheby’s for an unusual upcoming auction. Jay died

MILAN (AP) — Police in Sicily say that American actor Harrison Ford was reunited with his lost credit card while on a beach holiday thanks to a German tourist.  Police said Saturday that the tourist found a credit card with Ford’s name emblazoned on it Thursday and turned it in to the local police station

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Members of Maine’s farming community are divided over the possibility of a first-in-the-nation right-to-food amendment. Supporters say the constitutional amendment is about ensuring the right to grow vegetables and raise livestock in an era when corporatization threatens local ownership of the food supply. Opponents and skeptics

By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press RICHMOND, Va (AP) — Former President Barack Obama has offered a sharp rebuke of the Republican candidate for Virginia governor while campaigning for the Democrat in the closely contested race. Obama spoke at a rally Saturday in Richmond and accused Republican Glenn Youngkin of encouraging what Obama called “lies and

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Prince Charles says there is a “dangerously narrow” window to tackle global warning. The warning comes days before world leaders gather in the U.K. for crucial United Nations climate talks. The heir to the British throne said Saturday that the summit starting Oct. 31 in Glasgow, showed that “after far too

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The new governor of a northwestern Iranian province has been slapped in the face by an angry man during his inauguration. The attack Saturday represented an unusual breach of security in the Islamic Republic during a ceremony attended by the country’s interior minister. A

By ADEL OMRAN Associated Press TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Libya’s chief diplomat says the transitional government is working to hold long-awaited elections later this year, but security and political and economic stability are necessary for a peaceful transition to a new government. Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush spoke with The Associated Press late Friday in the

By SAMYA KULLAB and TAMEEM AKHGAR Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Officials say a roadside bombing targeting a Taliban vehicle in eastern Afghanistan has killed at least two civilians, including a child. Four others were wounded. Two bombs detonated Saturday as a Taliban vehicle was passing by, killing one child. A district police chief

By MARC LEVY Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republicans in at least four states where Democrats control the governor’s office, the legislature or both are pursuing statewide ballot initiatives or veto-proof proposals to enact voter ID restrictions and other changes to election law. They are California, Massachusetts, Michigan and Pennsylvania. In conservative Nebraska, Republicans

By DAVID CRARY and HOLLY MEYER Associated Press There’s an intriguing subplot to President Joe Biden’s meeting with Pope Francis this coming Friday at the Vatican. The world’s two most prominent Roman Catholics will be celebrating a shared outlook on church teaching and vital social issues such as climate change and economic inequality. But at

By ANNIE MA Associated Press Complications wrought by the pandemic persist in schools and often fall hardest on those least able to weather them. Those include families without transportation, people with limited income or other financial hardship, people who don’t speak English, and children with special needs. Coronavirus outbreaks in schools and individual quarantine orders

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Corrections Commissioner Burl Cain says prison employees will do once-a-week rehearsals to prepare for the state’s first execution since 2012. Cain tells The Associated Press that rehearsals are usually done once a month at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. He says employees use

By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — As Election Day approaches in Virginia, one thing is certain: The state will elect its first woman and first woman of color to the lieutenant governor post. The two women seeking the job are fond of touting their unconventional political backgrounds. The Republican, Winsome Sears,

PALERMO, Italy (AP) — U.S. actor Richard Gere is officially on the witness list to testify at the trial against Italy’s right-wing former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. Salvini went on trial Saturday on charges of kidnapping for refusing in 2019 to allow a Spanish migrant rescue ship to dock in Sicily, keeping the people onboard

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia is reporting a record high number of coronavirus infections and COVID-19 deaths as the country approaches a week of nonworking days aimed at stemming the sharp surge in cases. The national coronavirus task force said Saturday that 1,075 people died from the virus in the past

By BABAR DOGAR Associated Press LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A party spokesman and witnesses say thousands of supporters of a banned radical Islamist party departed the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore, clashing for a second straight day with police who lobbed tear gas into the crowd. The group began its journey Friday with the goal

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Police say a fire in a town in northern Bosnia has killed six people and injured several others. The fire on Saturday broke out in a house in the town of Brcko. Upon arrival, emergency services found six charred bodies inside. Local media say the victims may have suffocated from the

VIENNA (AP) — Austria’s chancellor has warned that unvaccinated people could face new lockdown restrictions if coronavirus case numbers continue to rise. The news came after a meeting Friday evening between Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg and state-level leaders to discuss their plans to respond to rapidly increasing case numbers. Schallenberg said that entry into businesses such

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka has announced plans to offer booster shots to front-line workers followed by the elderly as the island nation gears up to further ease COVID-19 restrictions. A government minister says starting Nov. 1, workers in the health, security, airport and tourism sectors will start

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Around 575 inmates have been freed after a jailbreak in southwest Nigeria. It was the third jailbreak this year in Africa’s most populous country. A prison official told The Associated Press on Saturday that the jailbreak at the Oyo correctional facility in Oyo state happened late

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s security forces say they have killed 16 militants in separate shootouts during raids against extremists and separatists, with two soldiers killed in the process. One raid was conducted in the Mastung area of Baluchistan province, the provincial counterterrorism department said in a statement. Earlier in the week, a bomb attack

By AYA BATRAWY Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — One of the world’s largest oil producers, Saudi Arabia, has announced it aims to reach “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2060, joining more than 100 countries in a global effort to try and curb man-made climate change. The announcement Saturday was made by

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL AP Science Writer NEW DELHI (AP) — Bangladesh says it will present its climate prosperity plan to lessen the effects of climate change on the economy at the forthcoming U.N. climate talks in Glasgow. The plan envisions boosting renewable energy, making agriculture more resistant to climate shocks and finding solutions in nature,

PARIS (AP) — A former politician who called for the overthrow of the French government has been charged with terrorism in connection with what authorities have said was a far-right plot to attack vaccination centers, a masonic lodge and other targets. Rémy Daillet-Wiedemann was already accused of masterminding the international QAnon-style kidnapping of a girl

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and leading Democratic lawmakers, including Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet and Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, have been fighting to make permanent a child tax credit that would give families at least $300 a month per child. But the latest budget deal would extend the payments

By BEN FOX Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is welcoming tens of thousands of Afghans airlifted out of Kabul but has disclosed little publicly about a small group who remain overseas. Dozens who triggered potential security issues during security screening have been sent to an American base in the Balkan nation of Kosovo.