Month: November 2021

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — At least 11 people are missing after torrential rains triggered flash floods on Indonesia’s main island of Java. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency says rivers overflowed their banks and inundated five hamlets in a city in East Java province. It says 15 people were swept away and four were later rescued.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The man known as “Tiger King,” who gained fame in a Netflix documentary following his conviction for trying to hire someone to kill an animal rights activist, says he has cancer. Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, says in a Twitter post Wednesday that a biopsy of his prostate

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is calling on all those who work with children, starting from the Catholic church, to join together in a “preventative alliance” to better prevent sexual and other abuse of youngsters. In a message to a conference in Rome Thursday about keeping children safe, Francis said the church’s own efforts

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A Russian analyst who provided information for a dossier of research used during the Trump-Russia investigation has been charged with lying to the FBI when questioned about his work. A grand jury indictment issued in federal court in Virginia charges Igor Danchenko with five counts of false

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — For decades, it’s been one of Hollywood’s darkest rumors: A teen-age Natalie Wood was sexually assaulted by a top movie star more than twice her age when she agreed to meet with him at a hotel in Los Angeles. In a memoir coming out next

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — The average long-term mortgage rate in the U.S. ticked back down this week following several weeks of increases. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate for a 30-year mortgage fell to 3.09% from 3.14% last week. Last year at this time

ROME (AP) — The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization says world food prices are the highest since July 2011, reflecting reduced wheat harvests and higher palm-oil prices. The Rome-based agency said Thursday that international prices of its sample food commodities basket rose by 3% in October, for a third straight month of increases. Reduced

By SUDHIN THANAWALA Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Food banks have ramped up their output during the coronavirus pandemic to meet an explosion of need from families facing financial hardship. Now, some are preparing to permanently boost their food distribution with major expansion projects driven in part by their experiences during the pandemic. Food banks

By BARRY HATTON Associated Press LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal is to hold a snap election for a new parliament and government on Jan. 30. Portugal’s president on Thursday announced he is dissolving parliament, following the minority Socialist government’s defeat in a key vote on the country’s spending plans. The announcement was widely expected. The

MADRID (AP) — Spanish police say law enforcement agencies in nine countries helped break up a network that smuggled hundreds of Pakistanis into the European Union through the Balkans. Spain’s National Police said Thursday that the migrants were crammed into the back of trucks in dangerous conditions and charged up to 20,000 euros ($23,000) each.

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus is expanding its COVID-19 vaccination booster shot drive to everyone 50 and over as well as to those who have been diagnosed as obese irrespective of age. A precondition for receiving a booster shot is for six months to have elapsed since a person was fully vaccinated. Cyprus began administering

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has reported another record high number of new coronavirus infections, part of an infection surge amid widespread reluctance among the population to get vaccinated. The Health Ministry on Thursday reported 27,377 new infection cases over the past day, about 500 more than the previous high

LONDON (AP) — Dozens of climate change activists have blocked roads outside the Parliament in London. Some glued themselves to the ground as part of the group’s ongoing protests. About 60 supporters of the group Insulate Britain sat on the ground holding banners, blocking two roads around Parliament. Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said Thursday it

KINGSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A southern Texas police officer has died three days after being shot while responding to a reported domestic disturbance. The Kingsville Police Department posted on its Facebook page that Senior Patrolman Sherman Otto Benys Jr. died Thursday at a Corpus Christi hospital. Police say Benys was shot Monday afternoon in the

By The Associated Press Millions of U.S. workers now have a Jan. 4 deadline to get a COVID vaccine. The federal government on Thursday announced new vaccine requirements for workers at companies with more than 100 employees as well as workers at health care facilities that treat Medicare and Medicaid patients. It also extended a

GENEVA (AP) — A diamond bracelet that once belonged to France’s Marie Antoinette and jewels that dangled from a Russian grand duchess are among the featured items going up for auction next week in Geneva. Also going under the hammer in the lakeside Swiss city will be a pair of high-top Nike sneakers from the

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — A top executive of Myanmar’s military-linked telecommunications company has been fatally shot near his home in an apparent assassination linked to the country’s violent political unrest. The military’s information office confirmed that Thein Aung, chief finance officer of Mytel Telecommunications Co., was shot Thursday morning while walking

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to a fresh pandemic low last week, another sign the job market is healing after last year’s coronavirus recession. Jobless claims dropped by 14,000 to 269,000 last week. Since topping 900,000 in early January, the weekly applications

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit hit an all-time high of $80.9 billion in September as American exports fell sharply while imports, even with supply chain problems at American ports, kept climbing. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the September deficit topped the previous record of $73.2 billion

By DARKO BANDIC Associated Press ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Central and Eastern Europe is seeing spiraling coronavirus cases. Several countries in the regions that have lower vaccination rates than the rest of the continent reported daily record highs on Thursday. Other countries registered the most infections in months. Most countries in Central and Eastern Europe

By DAVID KOENIG Associated Press Tens of millions of Americans who work at companies with 100 or more employees will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 4 or get tested for the virus weekly. The new requirements are the Biden administration’s boldest move yet to persuade reluctant Americans to finally get a vaccine

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch newspaper reporter has been expelled from Russia, a move denounced as “unacceptable” by the Netherlands’ foreign ministry. The De Volkskrant newspaper reported Thursday that its Moscow correspondent, Tom Vennink, was ordered to leave Russia earlier this week after his residency permit was withdrawn

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Conservative government has backed down on plans to overhaul lobbying rules for lawmakers amid a furious backlash over efforts to abolish the independent system to police the conduct of members of the House of Commons. The Conservative lawmaker at the center of the dispute resigned, arguing