Month: October 2021

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York City will require police officers, firefighters and other municipal workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be placed on unpaid leave. Mayor Bill de Blasio made the announcement Wednesday. That presents an ultimatum to public employees who’ve refused, and

By SALLY FRENCH of NerdWallet Travel in the COVID-19 era is anything but predictable. Don’t get caught off guard by flight cancellations, quarantine rules or a positive COVID-19 test. Because of this unpredictability, planning holiday travel in 2021 needs to include a backup plan as well. Ensure you’re booking flights and hotels with flexible cancellation

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian police officers have fired tear gas at protesters in Lagos, the country’s largest city, as they tried to disperse hundreds of people demonstrating against alleged police brutality on Wednesday. One year ago, thousands marched in Nigeria for the #EndSARS movement to protest the activities of

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Three people were killed and two others critically wounded in a shooting at a home in a southeastern Wisconsin city, and police believe the shooter is among the dead. Kenosha police say the shooting late Tuesday appears to have been domestic. Officers dispatched to the scene found three people dead inside

ROME (AP) — Retired Pope Benedict XVI has said he hopes to soon join a beloved professor friend in “the afterlife.” Benedict penned an Oct. 2 letter to a German priest, thanking him for letting him know of the passing of the Rev. Gerhard Winkler, a Cistercian priest and academic colleague. In the letter, the

BERLIN (AP) — Authorities in Germany say police have searched 14 premises across the country in connection with a suspected far-right extremist group whose members had discussed preparing for an armed revolt. Berlin police said officers searched premises in the capital and three other states linked to 15 suspects belonging to a group that called

By STEPHEN McGRATH Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania’s prime minister-designate has failed to win parliamentary support from lawmakers on a new cabinet proposal, which risks prolonging an ongoing political crisis amid an acute surge of coronavirus cases. After failing to rebuild a governing coalition after the Liberal-led government was ousted in a no-confidence

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Buckingham Palace says Queen Elizabeth II has reluctantly accepted medical advice to rest for a few days. The palace did not offer specifics on the decision Wednesday. But it said the monarch is “in good spirits and is disappointed that she will no longer be able to

LONDON (AP) — Oscar-winning British songwriter Leslie Bricusse, whose work includes James Bond themes and Willy Wonka’s signature tune, has died. He was 90. Son Adam Bricusse said on Facebook that his father “passed away peacefully” on Tuesday. No cause of death was given. Born in London in 1931, Bricusse wrote lyrics for the Bond

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has hosted talks on Afghanistan involving senior representatives of the Taliban and neighboring countries. The round of diplomacy underlines Moscow’s clout in Central Asia. Opening Wednesday’s talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that “forming a really inclusive government fully reflecting the interests of not only

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin has ordered many of Russia’s workers to stay off work for a week starting later this month amid rising coronavirus infection and death numbers. Putin has also strongly urged reluctant citizens to get vaccinated. The government task force on Wednesday reported 1,028 coronavirus deaths

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s top official is exhorting the bloc’s 27 nations to wean themselves off natural gas not only to speed the transition to clean energy but also to make the bloc a more independent player in the world. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — The head of Germany’s central bank has announced that he will step down after a decade at the helm. A statement Wednesday from the Bundesbank says Jens Weidmann will leave office at the end of the year for personal reasons. National central bank governors have a seat

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic has been hit by a steep rise in coronavirus infections that have reached levels unseen since late April. In response, the government on Wednesday approved new measures to tame the surge. Face coverings will be mandatory at workplaces, starting on Monday. And as of Nov 1, restaurants, bars, nightclubs

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s top security official has proposed introducing joint German-Polish patrols on the two countries’ border to help clamp down on illegal crossings into Germany by migrants arriving from Belarus. But he said on Wednesday that no one has any intention of closing the frontier. Authorities in Germany say about 4,500 such crossings

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization says there has been a 7% rise in new coronavirus cases across Europe last week. It’s the only region in the world where cases increased. The U.N. health agency said in its weekly assessment of the pandemic released there were about 2.7 million new COVID-19 cases and more

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Residents say new airstrikes have hit the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region as exclusive video shows injured people with bloodied faces being carried into ambulances. Thick black smoke rose above the city of Mekele. Ethiopia’s government says it targeted facilities for making and repairing weapons, while

By KWASI GYAMFI ASIEDU, CHINEDU ASADU, RODNEY MUHUMUZA and MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press In the United States, Western Europe and various other regions, some prominent Protestant churches have been vocal advocates for same-sex marriage and LGBTQ rights. With only a few exceptions, this hasn’t happened in Africa, where Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian and Lutheran leaders are

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — The Hong Kong mother whose daughter was killed in Taiwan in 2018 has lambasted authorities in the Chinese city for letting the man who confessed to the crime walk free. Chan Tong-kai was suspected in the death of his girlfriend at the time while on vacation

By BISWAJEET BANERJEE Associated Press LUCKNOW, India (AP) — At least 46 people have died and several are missing after floods triggered by heavy rains hit the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. Rescuers worked through the night to retrieve bodies stuck in debris and to evacuate those in vulnerable areas. The hilly state has seen

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press ZURICH (AP) — Credit Suisse has announced settlements totaling nearly $700 million with British, Swiss and U.S. authorities over lending to Mozambique state-owned companies that Swiss regulators say violated anti-money-laundering rules. The Zurich-based bank, Switzerland’s second-largest, also was required by the Swiss financial markets authority to improve its risk controls.

BERLIN (AP) — German authorities have detained two former soldiers who are alleged to have tried to form a mercenary group that would have intervened in the military conflict in Yemen. Federal prosecutors said the men were detained early Wednesday in southern Germany. Both are German citizens and former members of the Bundeswehr. Prosecutors said

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press VENICE, Italy (AP) — Venice saw a record five exceptional floods over six weeks in late 2019 that triggered fears about the impact of worsening climate change on the Italian lagoon city beloved by tourists. But the repeated invasion of brackish lagoon water into St. Mark’s Basilica this summer serves

Dozens of survivors from the Bataclan concert hall in Paris have testified for more than two weeks in a specially designed courtroom about the Islamic State group’s attacks on Nov. 13, 2015. They stand just a few steps away from 14 men accused in the attacks that were the deadliest in modern France. The testimony

By LORI HINNANT Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Dozens of survivors from the Bataclan concert hall in Paris have testified in a specially designed courtroom for more than two weeks about the Islamic State group’s attacks on Nov. 13, 2015. They stand just a few steps away from 14 men accused in the attacks that

BEIJING (AP) — The Olympic flame has arrived in Beijing amid calls from critics for a boycott of the Winter Games which are set to be staged in February. The flame was received by Beijing’s Communist Party Secretary Cai Qi, the top official in the Chinese capital. Beijing is the first city to be awarded

By SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — The shootout on the streets of Beirut between rival Christian and Muslim groups last week revived memories of the country’s 1975-90 civil war. It also fired up sectarian passions in a country that never dealt with the causes of its violent past. Add to that a

By HELEN WIEFFERING, COLLEEN LONG and CAMILLE FASSETT Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — An Associated Press investigation into police use of force against children has found kids as young as 6 have been treated harshly by officers. In an analysis of 3,000 instances of police use of force against children, the AP found Black children

By ALBERT AJI and BASSEM MROUE Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A Syrian military official says two bombs attached to a bus carrying troops in the capital Damascus have exploded, killing 14 people. The attack early Wednesday was one the deadliest in in the capital in years, and a rare event since government forces

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer Asian shares are mixed after major Chinese property developer Evergrande said a plan to sell its property management arm to a smaller rival had fallen through. Shares slipped in Hong Kong and Tokyo but rose in most other regional markets. Shares in China Evergrande Group tumbled nearly 12% while

By HELEN WIEFFERING, COLLEEN LONG and CAMILLE FASSETT Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — An Associated Press investigation into police use of force against children has found kids as young as 6 have been treated harshly by officers. In an analysis of 3,000 instances of police use of force against children, the AP found Black children

By AIJAZ HUSSAIN Associated Press SRINAGAR, India (AP) — A spate of recent killings has rattled Indian-controlled Kashmir, with violence targeting local minority members and Indian civilians from outside the disputed region. The targeted killings have led to widespread unease, particularly among the region’s religious minority Hindus, most of whom fled Kashmir after an anti-India

By MARYCLAIRE DALE Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The NFL and lawyers for thousands of retired NFL players have reached an agreement to end race-based adjustments in dementia testing in the $1 billion settlement of concussion claims. That’s according to a proposed settlement filed in federal court in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Critics say the use

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT Associated Press The thousands of drivers who use a Rhode Island highway on their way to work every day probably have no idea they are passing over the graves of some people who died in the late 1800s and early 1900s at state institutions. The location of the graves beneath the highway

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Nikolas Cruz has pleaded guilty to murder in the 2018 massacre that left 17 dead at a Parkland, Florida, high school. A jury will now decide whether he will be executed for one of the nation’s deadliest school shootings. Relatives of the victims who sat

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A U.N.-backed study has found that the world needs to cut by more than half its production of coal, oil and gas in the coming decade to maintain a chance of keeping global warming from reaching dangerous levels. The report published Wednesday by the U.N. Environment Program

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he did nothing improper but still fell short in his handling of the fatal police shooting of a Black teenage seven years ago in the city. The incident looms large as Emanuel hopes to win Senate confirmation as President Joe Biden’s

The In-N-Out hamburger chain is sizzling mad after San Francisco shut down its indoor dining for refusing to check customers’ vaccination status. The company’s Fisherman’s Wharf location — its only one in San Francisco — was temporarily shut by the Department of Public Health on Oct. 14. Authorities say it refused to bar clients who

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Navy leaders say they’re making changes and increasing oversight to correct widespread failures that led to the loss of the USS Bonhomme Richard as a a result of arson more than a year ago. The vice chief of naval operation says the loss of the warship

By LISA MASCARO, DARLENE SUPERVILLE and ALAN FRAM Associated Press SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — The White House is floating new plans for ways to pay for President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion proposal for expanding social services and tackling climate change. The ideas include shelving a proposed big increase in corporate tax rates though also adding