Month: October 2021

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister says that the idea of “Polexit” is harmful “fake news.” Mateusz Morawiecki was reacting Monday to massive nationwide protests against government policy that critics say could cost Poland its European Union membership. Authorities estimated participation at up to 100,000 in Warsaw alone. The protests were sparked by a

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s daily coronavirus infections and deaths are hovering near all-time highs amid a lagging vaccination rate and the Kremlin’s reluctance to toughen restrictions. Russia’s state coronavirus task force reported 29,409 new confirmed cases Monday. That’s the highest number this year and just slightly lower than the pandemic

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Two men have been convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of a Dutch lawyer who represented a witness in a high-profile criminal case against suspected gangland bosses. The slaying of 44-year-old Derk Wiersum shocked the nation and sparked calls for

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Drugmaker Merck has asked U.S. regulators to authorize its promising antiviral pill against COVID-19, setting the stage for a decision within weeks. If cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, it would be the first pill shown to treat COVID-19, adding a new, easy-to-use weapon to

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — It’s not just old rock stars benefiting from the current trend of artists selling off rights to their work. The heirs of Bing Crosby have reached a deal, estimated at more than $50 million, with the music marketing firm Primary Wave to try and introduce

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck off the coast of Alaska early Monday in what the Alaska Earthquake Center called an aftershock of an 8.2 quake from July. The U.S. Geological Survey on Twitter had reported a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 that was later revised to 6.9. The quake was about 70

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Prince Charles is urging world leaders to do more than “just talk” when they gather in Scotland’s biggest city, Glasgow, from the end of this month for a U.N. climate summit. The summit, which is scheduled for Oct. 31-Nov. 12, is being billed by many environmentalists as

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — A military court in Burkina Faso has started the trial of 14 people including former President Blaise Compaore for the killing of influential leftist leader Thomas Sankara, who was ousted as president by Compaore in a 1987 coup. According to military documents seen by The

By AARON FAVILA and JOEAL CALUPITAN Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration has belatedly congratulated journalist Maria Ressa for being one of two winners of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. However, it rejected criticism that it was a slap on Duterte’s administration despite Ressa being a critic of the president,

By TSAFRIR ABAYOV Associated Press YAVNE, Israel (AP) — Israeli archaeologists say they have unearthed a massive ancient winemaking complex dating back some 1,500 years. They say the complex includes five wine presses, warehouses, kilns for producing clay storage vessels and tens of thousands of fragments and jars. The complex was discovered in Yavne, a

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Five Indian soldiers have been killed in a fierce gunbattle with militants fighting against Indian rule in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, as violence in the disputed region has increased in recent weeks. An Indian army spokesman says police and soldiers cordoned off a forested area following an intelligence report that

By JOSEF FEDERMAN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel has implored Israel not “to lose sight” of the need to establish a Palestinian state. Merkel spoke Monday at a Tel Aviv think tank as she wrapped up a two-day farewell visit to Israel. It was one of the few areas of disagreement

BERLIN (AP) — Austria has a new chancellor, two days after former leader Sebastian Kurz resigned amid corruption allegations. Austria’s president on Monday swore in Alexander Schallenberg, the former foreign minister, as chancellor. Diplomat Michael Linhart will become the country’s new foreign minister. Kurz announced Saturday that he would step aside to defuse a political

LONDON (AP) — British police will not be taking any further action against Prince Andrew after a review prompted by a Jeffrey Epstein accuser who claims that he sexually assaulted her. Virginia Giuffre is suing Queen Elizabeth’s second son. She claims she was trafficked by Epstein to have sex with Andrew in London when she

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, DAVID McHUGH and DAVID KEYTON Associated Press STOCKHOLM (AP) — A U.S.-based economist has won the Nobel prize for economics for pioneering research that showed an increase in minimum wage doesn’t lead to less hiring and immigrants don’t lower pay for native-born workers, challenging commonly held ideas. Two others in the U.S.

BEIJING (AP) — A bus has fallen into a river in northern China, leaving at least three people dead and 11 others missing after flooding from heavy rains destroyed homes and covered farmland. Video posted online showed people on top of an almost submerged bus in a rushing river in Hebei province. Authorities say 37

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq says it has detained a top leader of the Islamic State group and a longtime al-Qaida operative in a cross-border operation. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi identified the man in a tweet as Sami Jasim. He says Jasim oversaw the Islamic State group’s financial operations and

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press PARIS (AP) — At 8 years old, Laurent Martinez was sexually abused by a priest. Forty years later, he has chosen to make his story into a play, to show the devastating consequences and how speaking out can help victims heal and rebuild. The play called “Pardon?” is drawn from

COWETA, Okla. (AP) — Severe storms brought suspected tornadoes and baseball-sized hail to parts of Oklahoma, but there were no reports of deaths or injuries. The severe weather system that hit Oklahoma late Sunday also brought heavy rain, lightning and wind to parts of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Texas, and more stormy weather is predicted

By FADI TAWIL Associated Press ZAHRANI, Lebanon (AP) — Firefighters have extinguished a huge blaze that broke out in a storage tank at one of Lebanon’s main oil facilities in the country’s south. Monday’s fire lasted more than three hours and sent orange flames and a thick black column of smoke into the sky. The

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s police say a roadside bomb has killed a regional television reporter in the country’s southwest. Police said Monday that journalist Shahid Zehri of Metro 1 News TV was traveling in his car when a bomb apparently targeting him exploded in the town of Hub in the Baluchistan province. Hours after

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Officials say an Afghan army deserter who murdered three Australian soldiers has been released from custody in Qatar and his whereabouts are not known. The soldier known as Hekmatullah fled after shooting dead the Australian soldiers and wounding two others on a base in 2012 and

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press VENICE, Italy (AP) — The Italian glassblowers of Murano have survived plagues and pandemics. They transitioned to highly prized artistic creations to outrun competition from Asia. But surging energy prices are shattering their economic model. Dozens of furnaces that remain on the lagoon island where Venetian rulers transferred glassblowing 700

By ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A small bird rescued from Kabul by a French diplomat is starring in a rare, feel-good tale about evacuations from Afghanistan. The story of “Juji” the talkative mynah bird, has gone viral on social media as a symbol of survival amid the tumult

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Preliminary results in Iraq’s elections show an alliance of pro-Iran candidates emerging as the biggest loser in the country’s national elections. The results, posted online successively, showed the bloc of Iraq’s populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr maintaining the most seats in parliament, increasing his seats from 54

By ALAN SUDERMAN Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Most Americans across party lines have serious concerns about cyberattacks on U.S. computer systems and view China and Russia as major threats. That’s according to a new poll by The Pearson Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finding that about 9 in

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Talks between Indian and Chinese army commanders to disengage troops from key friction areas along their border have ended in a stalemate and failed to ease a 17-month standoff. The failure of Sunday’s talks means the two nations will keep troops in the forward areas of

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — A former utility executive who lost billions on a failed nuclear project in South Carolina is heading to prison soon. A state judge Monday accepted a two-year sentence for ex-SCANA CEO Kevin Marsh. It was the last hurdle before Marsh promised to report to a federal

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Dozens of large German companies have urged the country’s next government to put in place ambitious policies to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris climate accord. The 69 companies said in an open letter Monday that the next government needs to put Germany “on a clear

By LYNN BERRY and CALVIN WOODWARD Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — In her new book, Fiona Hill lays out her experiences as the Russia adviser in Donald Trump’s White House and the circumstances behind her riveting congressional testimony in Trump’s first impeachment. She describes a president whose ego was so fragile that other world leaders

By ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Year-end pileups of crucial legislation and the brinkmanship that goes with it are normal behavior for Congress. This time, lawmakers are barreling toward an autumn of battles striking for the risks they pose to both parties and to their leaders. Democrats aren’t sure they’ll have the votes

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Hillary Clinton’s next book mentions a rising Taliban in Afghanistan and a Joint Chiefs of Staff chair who clashes with the president. The book is a novel, “State of Terror.” It’s co-written with crime fiction author Louise Penny and was conceived well before the latest

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer Stocks closed broadly lower after a day of choppy trading on Wall Street Monday as investors prepare for a busy week of corporate earnings and inflation updates. The S&P 500 lost 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell 0.7% and the Nasdaq fell 0.6%. Most sectors finished