Month: November 2021

By RAF CASERT and KELVIN CHAN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen is warning that the virtual reality world at the heart of the social media giant’s growth strategy will be addictive and rob people of personal information while giving the company another monopoly online. In an interview Tuesday with The Associated

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark wants to again consider COVID-19 as “a socially critical disease,” the Danish government said Monday, months after the label was removed and the restrictions were phased out, paving the way for the reintroduction of the digital corona pass. Denmark, too has seen an uptick in cases with health authorities saying

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Nissan has reported a $479 million profit for the last quarter, a reversal from the loss it racked up a year earlier. The improvement came despite shortages of computer chips that are plaguing the auto industry. Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta said Tuesday that Nissan’s performance

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cypriot police have formally charged an Azeri man on suspicion that he planned to carry out the contract killings of Israelis living in Cyprus. A law enforcement official said on Tuesday that the 38 year-old suspect will go on trial next month on eight charges including

By DALATOU MAMANE Associated Press NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Niger’s government says more than 20 children were killed and dozens more were injured when a fire swept through a school in Niger’s second-largest city,  Maradi. Three classrooms made of straw were consumed by the fire at the pre-school and primary school called ‘AFN’, taking the

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. Geological Survey says an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 has struck in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Nicaragua. The quake, at a moderate depth of 35 kilometers (22 miles) occurred at 12:25 a.m. local time Tuesday. The epicenter was 61.4 kilometers (38.1 miles) south of

By ANNABELLE LIANG Associated Press SINGAPORE (AP) — Singapore’s top court has postponed the appeal hearing for a Malaysian man on death row believed to be mentally disabled, after he was diagnosed with COVID-19. The 33-year-old Malaysian man was scheduled to be executed by hanging on Wednesday for trying to smuggle a small amount of

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan says China is seeking to take control of the island by wearing down its military capabilities and influencing public opinion. The Defense Ministry says in a report that China’s ultimate goal is to bring the island, which Beijing claims, under its rule while avoiding an all-out military conflict. China has

By VANESSA GERA and MONIKA SCISLOWSKA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland reinforced its border with Belarus with more riot police, a day after groups of migrants tried to storm through a razor-wire fence on the eastern frontier where thousands have camped on the Belarusian side in the tense standoff. The European Union accuses

By FAY ABUELGASIM Associated Press KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Two leading international rights groups have urged Sudan’s military to release government officials, activists and others detained during the army’s coup last month. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International on Tuesday also appealed for an end to “further arbitrary arrests” and the crackdown that has been

By RAF CASERT Associated Press POPERINGE, Belgium (AP) — The pandemic has crippled remembrance tourism in Belgium, the scene of some of the fiercest fighting in World War I. Before, tens of thousands would visit the battlefields to reminisce about sacrifice and slaughter. Resilient locals managed to get through the long lockdowns and travel restrictions

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Former U.S. President Barack Obama has dropped in on U.N. climate talks to urge young climate activists to stay in the fight. Obama is credited as one of the leaders responsible for the 2015 Paris climate accord. In a speech, a roundtable and other events Monday

By TANYA TITOVA and FRANK JORDANS Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — A large Russian island north of Japan will be a testing ground for Moscow’s efforts to reconcile its prized fossil fuel industry with the need to do something about climate change. More than two-thirds of Sakhalin Island is forested, and authorities there have set

By ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The bulldozers have come for one of the last bastions of “old” Dubai, an eclectic collection of homes built in the late 1970s for European port workers when the exuberance of today’s Dubai was unthinkable. Jebel Ali Village, the neighborhood near Dubai’s major port,

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — Chris Boswell’s 40-yard field goal with 26 seconds left lifted the Pittsburgh Steelers past the Chicago Bears 29-27. The Steelers needed the late rally after Chicago scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to take the lead. Pittsburgh improved to 5-3. The Steelers have won 20 straight home games

By DAVID R. MARTIN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — An attraction opening Tuesday gives thrill-seekers a unique perspective on New York City from almost 1,300 feet up. It’s called City Climb. Participants are equipped with specially designed safety harnesses that let them ascend to a platform near the top of a Manhattan skyscraper. There,

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar is facing criticism after he tweeted a video that included altered animation showing him striking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a sword. In a tweet Monday night, Ocasio-Cortez said Gosar “shared a fantasy video of him killing me.” She added that Gosar would face no consequences because Minority Leader

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will have a rare virtual encounter this week as they gather online with other Pacific Rim leaders to chart a path to recovery out of the crisis brought on by the pandemic. New Zealand is

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — Rarely have the leaders of Congress been asked to do so much with so little in trying to navigate President Joe Biden’s big domestic vision into law. Biden is reaching for Franklin Roosevelt-style accomplishments with slimmer-than-ever Democratic majorities. The challenge has been politically messy and it’s

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection has issued subpoenas to six more associates of former President Donald Trump who were involved in his efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election. Among those newly subpoenaed are Trump’s 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien, senior

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer A global trade union body has joined a long list of human-rights advocates in challenging the propriety of China holding the 2022 Winter Olympics. It has also singled out the International Olympic Committee for acquiescing in the face of alleged genocide and crimes against humanity reportedly taking place China.

By HOPE YEN and TOM KRISHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress has created a new requirement for automakers: Find a high-tech way to keep drunken people from driving cars. It’s one of the mandates along with a burst of new spending aimed at improving auto safety in the $1 trillion infrastructure package that President

By JESSICA GRESKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative Supreme Court justices are expressing skepticism about saying that Texas must agree to a death row inmate’s request to allow a chaplain to pray out loud and touch him during his execution. Executions in Texas have been delayed while the court considers the question. The outcome

By VINEETA DEEPAK Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Bollywood director Ram Madhvani’s internet series “Aarya” has already received plenty of love from viewers, along with widespread critical acclaim in India. On Nov. 22, Madhvani will know whether the first season of the crime thriller wins an International Emmy, the award created to honor excellence

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s top anti-money laundering official has resigned, following a scandal over his wedding party held in Guatemala. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday he has accepted the resignation of Santiago Nieto, the former head of the Mexican Treasury’s Financial Intelligence Unit. Nieto had been seen as a trusted ally of

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston police and fire departments were deeply involved in safety measures for the music festival where a surging crowd killed eight people. Now the city’s police department is leading the criminal investigation into how the deadly chaos erupted during a performance by

NEW DELHI (AP) — Officials say a fire in a newborn care unit in a hospital in central India has killed four infants. The chief minister in Madhya Pradesh state says an investigation was ordered into the fire that occurred Monday night at a children’s hospital in the state capital, Bhopal. The other 36 patients

By JUAN A. LOZANO and ROBERT BUMSTED Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — A 56-page event operations plan for the Astroworld music festival includes protocols for dangerous scenarios including an active shooter, bomb or terrorist threats and severe weather, but it didn’t include information on what to do in the event of a crowd surge. But

TORONTO (AP) — Egyptian-Canadian author and journalist Omar El Akkad, has won Canada’s richest literary award. El Akkad won the Scotiabank Giller Prize for his book “What Strange Paradise” on Monday night. The former Globe and Mail journalist received the honor at a nationally televised Toronto gala. “What Strange Paradise,” published by McClelland & Stewart,

TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — The leader of an effort by Central American migrants to walk across southern Mexico says the group will now head to the U.S. border, rather than Mexico City. Leader Irineo Mujica said in a video Monday that he will try to organize another caravan of thousands of migrants to reach the