Month: October 2021

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea has set a new goal for fighting climate change over the next decade, saying it will aim to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 2018 levels by 2030. The country had faced criticism that its initial plan for a 26.3% reduction was too modest. In promising

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is launching a wide-ranging strategy to regulate toxic industrial compounds used in products including cookware, carpets and firefighting foams. Environmental Protection Agency head Michael Regan says his agency is taking a series of actions to limit pollution from a cluster of long-lasting chemicals known

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Dualtone Records is marking the birthday of Chuck Berry by announcing the release of a live album from the late rock ’n roll legend. “Live From Blueberry Hill” is taken from performances recorded between July 2005 and January 2006 at Blueberry Hill café in St.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A heavily redacted report has been released by a Florida sheriff into the disappearance of a college student who was later found dead. The young woman’s family says it supports their belief that law enforcement didn’t act quickly enough when they reported her missing. Miya Marcano’s body was found on Oct.

By ROBERT BURNS, ERIC TUCKER and EILEEN PUTMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Colin Powell, former Joint Chiefs chairman and secretary of state, has died from COVID-19 complications. In an announcement on social media Monday, his family said Powell had been fully vaccinated. He had also been treated over the past few years for multiple

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. safety regulators are investigating fuel pump failures in more than 600,000 diesel Ram trucks that could cause the engines to stall or lose power. The probe covers Ram 2500, 3500, 4500 and 5500 heavy-duty trucks with 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel engines. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted on

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN and ALAN SUDERMAN AP Business Writers Sinclair Broadcast Group said Monday that it’s suffered a data breach and is still working to determine what information the data contained. The company said it started investigating the potential security incident on Saturday and on Sunday it identified certain servers and workstations that were encrypted

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL AP Science Writer NEW DELHI (AP) — Officials are predicting more rain as the death toll from floods and landslides in the southern Indian state of Kerala rose to 28. Since the ferocious downpours began last week, swollen rivers have decimated bridges, and vehicles and homes have been swept away. Several dams

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia says it’s suspending its mission at NATO and ordering the closure of the alliance’s office in Moscow in retaliation to NATO’s expulsion of Russian diplomats. Earlier this month, NATO withdrew the accreditation of eight Russian officials to deny them access to its Brussels headquarters, saying it

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Witnesses say Ethiopian military airstrikes have hit the capital of the country’s Tigray region and killed at least three people, returning the war abruptly to Mekele after several months of peace.. The airstrikes on Monday came days after a new military offensive was launched against the

By CHALIDA EKVITTHAYAVECHNUKUL Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Heavy rains in central and northeastern Thailand have caused new flooding, with authorities forced to release water into an already swollen river after a reservoir reached full capacity, and others facing the same possibility. Authorities in a central province say flood warnings are in effect for communities

JERUSALEM (AP) — Some 300 male and female volunteers have stripped naked and donned white body paint for an artistic installation near the Dead Sea. Sunday’s photo shoot by the American artist Spencer Tunick was promoted by Israel’s Tourism Ministry. Tunick has done similar installations in other exotic locales around the world, including French wine

By ALON BERNSTEIN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Sweden’s foreign minister is visiting Israel in an effort to mend ties after years in which the two countries have been at odds over the conflict with the Palestinians. Sweden’s Social Democratic-led government recognized Palestinian statehood in 2014, making it the first large European country to do

By JULHAS ALAM Associated Press DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Protests in Bangladesh’s capital are being held to denounce a wave of violence against Hindus following an image posted on social media that was perceived as insulting to the country’s Muslim majority. Attacks took place Sunday night in a northern village, where unidentified people burned up

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — The leader of Myanmar’s military-installed government says other Southeast Asian countries should share responsibility for failing to help quell the violence that has engulfed his nation since the army seized power in February. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing in a speech broadcast on state television blamed groups

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The powerful chief editor of Germany’s best-selling newspaper Bild has been relieved of his duties following revelations of misconduct. Publishing company Axel Springer SE said Monday that Julian Reichelt was being axed from his post “with immediate effect.” The 41-year-old was suspended earlier this year as part

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — Global automakers are stepping up the pace when it comes to building factories to prepare for what many believe will be a fast-moving transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. On Monday, Toyota, Stellantis, Foxconn, Ford and Volvo all made announcements about electric vehicle component

By ALBERT AJI Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A former Syrian lawmaker allegedly shot by Israeli sniper fire has been laid to rest following an official funeral attended by hundreds of people near the Syrian capital. Midhat Saleh was fatally shot Saturday in Ein el-Tineh, a village along the Israeli border in the Golan

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is calling for increases in Japan’s military capability and spending in response to what he says are growing threats from China and North Korea in a public debate with eight other political party leaders ahead of upcoming national elections. The party leaders also

By Liz Weston of NerdWallet Supply chain disruptions could make purchasing longed-for toys a lot more difficult this year. This isn’t just a scramble to get the “it” toys — it has more to do with bottlenecks at ports and drastically higher prices for shipping. This may be the year to check out handmade gifts

BEIJING (AP) — China says its launch of a new spacecraft was merely a test to see whether the vehicle could be re-used. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson says the launch involved a spacecraft rather than a missile and was of “great significance for reducing the use-cost of spacecraft and could provide a convenient and affordable

By KELVIN CHAN and MATT O’BRIEN Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Facebook says it plans to hire 10,000 workers in the European Union over the next five years to work on a new computing platform. The company said in a blog post Sunday that those high-skilled workers will help build “the metaverse,” a futuristic notion

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Azerbaijan’s deputy foreign minister has accused Armenia of “ethnic cleansing” and continuing to lay landmines in Nagorno-Karabakh even after a ceasefire ended a six-week war in the disputed region late last year. His comments Monday came as a second case related to the conflict opened

PEKANBARU, Indonesia (AP) — A critically endangered Sumatran tiger has been found dead after being caught in a trap on Indonesia’s Sumatra island in the latest setback for a species whose numbers are estimated to have dwindled to about 400. Officials say an examination of the female tiger determined it died from dehydration five days

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — European Union foreign ministers are considering ways to stop illegal flows of migrants into the 27-nation bloc from neighboring Belarus, including stopping companies from leasing jets to Belarusian airline Belavia. Several EU leaders have accused the government of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of facilitating migration into the EU in retaliation for EU

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s total number of coronavirus infections has topped 8 million and its daily infection toll has hit a new record. The national coronavirus task force said Monday that 34,325 new infections over the past day raised the pandemic-long total to 8,027,012. That represents more than 5% of

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Twelve pianists from around the world have been admitted to the final stage of the 18th edition of the prestigious Frederic Chopin piano competition, reputed for launching world careers for its winners and finalists. In a sign of appreciation for the competitors’ artistry, the international jury admitted two more finalists than

By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS and THANASSIS STAVRAKIS Associated Press ANCIENT OLYMPIA. Greece (AP) — Three activists protesting human rights abuses in China have sneaked into the archaeological site where the flame lighting ceremony for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is being held and ran toward the Temple of Hera holding a Tibetan flag and a banner

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union says it now has exported over 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the rest of the world. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the exports have been sent to over 150 nations, making the 27-member bloc the largest exporter of the

LONDON (AP) — Ford Motor Co. plans to spend up to 230 million pounds to turn a transmission factory in northwest England into a plant that will make electric power units for cars and trucks sold throughout Europe. The carmaker said Monday that the Halewood plant would begin producing the power units, which replace the

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — An international police operation has seized 5.2 metric tons (5.73 short tons) of cocaine with a street value of around 200 million euros ($232 million) on a yacht in the Atlantic Ocean. Portuguese police said Monday the shipment was one of the largest in Europe in recent years and the biggest

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s government says it will require public servants to have a vaccination certificate or show a weekly negative COVID-19 test before entering their workplaces. It’s the latest measure to boost the country’s vaccination rate. Officials say roughly 14% of Egypt’s more than 100 million people are fully

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson has led a somber British Parliament in honoring the Conservative lawmaker stabbed to death as he met constituents at a church hall. The attack shocked Britain and it has raised questions about how the country protects it politicians and grapples with extremism at

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Preliminary results show that center-right opposition parties have dominated in Kosovo’s municipal elections but more than half the communes will go to runoffs in a month’s time. Voters in the small Balkan nation were electing mayors for 38 municipalities and about 1,000 town hall lawmakers. Election officials said Monday preliminary turnout

By TAIJING WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The Taiwanese company that manufactures smartphones for Apple Inc. and other global brands says it plans to make electric cars for auto brands under a similar contract model. The chairman of Foxconn Technology Group said it will produce cars and buses for brands in China, North

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The trial has opened of two men charged with murder in the killing of Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries. The journalist was gunned down in the center of Amsterdam on July 6 in a brazen attack that sent shockwaves through the Netherlands. Dutch

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian government has begun its legal challenge to a judge’s landmark decision that the administration has a duty of care to prevent future climate change in a case brought by eight teenagers. The Federal Court battle over a proposed coal mine expansion comes as Prime

By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The foreign ministers of Malaysia and Indonesia are concerned that Australia’s plan to obtain nuclear-powered submarines may increase the rivalry of major powers in Southeast Asia. Australia is to build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines using U.S. expertise, while dumping a contract with France for diesel-electric

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets have followed Wall Street higher as investors wait for more U.S. corporate results to see how companies are coping with supply disruptions and the past quarter’s surge in coronavirus infections. Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WOJSLAWICE, Poland (AP) — During the German occupation of Poland during World War II, the Germans imprisoned Jews in ghettoes and murdered them in death camps like Auschwitz, Treblinka and Sobibor. But they also shot them in fields and forests near their homes, leaving behind mass graves across Poland. Those

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer A college basketball player hatched the idea after seeing a discrimination case nearly implode his own team, then wondering why it took so long to get to the facts. Ten years later, that player’s idea provides a key tool for fixing a sports landscape teeming with cases of sexual