Month: November 2021

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization says the number of coronavirus cases has risen in Europe for the fifth consecutive week, making it the only world region where COVID-19 is still increasing. In its weekly report on the pandemic, the U.N. health agency said new cases jumped by 6% in Europe compared to an

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey risked his bid for a second term by opposing a push to replace the city’s police department. Voters agreed with Frey on the policing question, but they left the mayor guessing until Wednesday about his own reelection. With voting nearly complete Tuesday, Frey

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s Central Bank has doubled the cap on weekly bank withdrawals to the equivalent of $400. Wednesday’s announcement came a day after the Taliban banned all foreign currency transactions. The back-to-back decisions appeared aimed at trying to slow the continued deterioration of the Afghan economy. The Taliban warned that violators of

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Police in Sweden say two men died when one of them jumped or fell from the seventh floor of a culture center and landed on the other. Authorities said the 80-year-old man who crashed into the lobby of the Uppsala Konsert and Kongress venue died at the scene north of Stockholm

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Police say at least 22 passengers have been killed in a road accident in Pakistan’s part of Kashmir. Wednesday’s crash happened after the bus skidded off a mountain road and fell into a ravine, police said. The accident happened in Pulandri, a district in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, senior

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Gucci fashion show in Los Angeles Tuesday night was such a spectacle that Hollywood Boulevard had to shut down to make room for all the stars. With celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Serena Williams sitting in the front row and actors Jared

By EMILIO MORENATTI Associated Press SANTA CRUZ DE LA PALMA, Canary Islands (AP) — Authorities on La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands are telling people who live near an erupting volcano to stay indoors because of a heavy fall of ash that has also cancelled of school classes. The Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — European lawmakers are meeting with Taiwan’s premier in the first official visit of a European Parliament delegation to the self-ruled island, which is also claimed by China. Seven members of the European Parliament committee on foreign interference in democratic processes are in Taiwan. The European Parliament

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — South African writer Damon Galgut has won the prestigious Booker Prize for fiction with his story of racism and reckoning “The Promise.” Galgut was British bookmakers’ favorite to win the 50,000-pound ($69,000) prize. His novel follows the fortunes of a white South African family in the years

By COLLEEN BARRY AP Business Writer PROSECCO, Italy (AP) — Italy has pledged to defend the name of the popular sparkling wine Prosecco as Croatia petitions the European Union to allow its winemakers to call their sweet dessert wine Prosek. The decision not only is a threat to the carefully protected market for the world’s

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s foreign ministry says it summoned a Belarusian diplomat over an “intrusion” into Polish territory of “uniformed individuals armed with long guns.” The incident comes as Poland, a member of the European Union, faces significant migration pressure on its eastern border with Belarus. That border forms

By KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping has been absent from the Group of 20 summit in Rome and global climate talks in Scotland. That has drawn criticism from U.S. President Joe Biden and questions about China’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. China is the world’s biggest emitter of

By JON GAMBRELL and LUJAIN JO Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The king and queen of the Netherlands have toured Dubai’s Expo 2020 and a strawberry farm deep inside the Emirati desert. It’s part of a two-day trip to the United Arab Emirates. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima received a rousing round

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli lawmakers are set to begin marathon voting to try and pass the first national budget in three years. It’s a major test for the fractious coalition government that was sworn in earlier this year after four divisive elections. Failure to pass the budget by November 14 would bring down the government

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Yahoo Inc. said this week that will withdraw from the China market. It said its services in China stopped from from Nov. 1 due to an “increasingly challenging” business and legal environment. The company is the latest U.S. technology firm to downsize China operations in recent

By JAMEY KEATEN and CARA ANNA Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. human rights chief says Ethiopia’s yearlong war has been marked by “extreme brutality” as a joint investigation into alleged atrocities faults all sides for committing abuses. She says “the big numbers of violations” are linked to Ethiopian forces and those from neighboring

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A French envoy says Australia leaking French President Emmanuel Macron’s text messages to the media is a “new low” and a warning to other world leaders that their private communications with the Australian government could be weaponized and used against them. French Ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Human rights groups have asked the Philippine Commission on Elections to disqualify the son and namesake of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos from running for president in next year’s elections. They say he was convicted of tax evasion, could no longer hold any public office and kept

By BRIAN SLODYSKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats became the dominant political force in Virginia over the past decade, but their grip was weakened in Tuesday’s gubernatorial election. The Associated Press declared Republican Glenn Youngkin the winner over Democrat Terry McAuliffe at 12:37 a.m. Wednesday. The AP called the race because Youngkin led McAuliffe

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares are rising, boosted by the announcement from the U.S. Federal Reserve on winding down the extraordinary aid for the economy it been providing since early in the pandemic. Benchmarks in Japan, South Korea, Australia and China are all rising in early trading. Analysts say

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Pro-Iran Shiite militias that emerged as the biggest losers in Iraq’s parliamentary elections three weeks ago are still rejecting the outcome of the vote. Their supporters have pitched tents in Baghdad in an ongoing sit-in, threatening violence unless their grievances are addressed. The unsubstantiated claims of voter

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A renowned New Orleans trumpet player has been sentenced to 18 months in prison over a million-dollar charity fraud case. Irvin Mayfield was a jazz trumpet player who became a symbol of New Orleans resilience after Hurricane Katrina. His musical partner, pianist Ronald Markham, was also

By MIKE CATALINI Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and Republican Jack Ciattarelli were virtually deadlocked early Wednesday after a campaign centered on the incumbent’s progressive policies and handling of the pandemic. The Associated Press has not declared a winner in the race with votes from Tuesday’s election still

By LINDSEY TANNER AP Medical Writer Schoolchildren take the spotlight this week as the U.S. enters a new phase in COVID-19 vaccination aimed at curbing deaths, hospitalizations and more than a year of disrupted education. Hugs with friends. Birthday parties indoors. Pillow fights. Kids who got their first shots Wednesday said these are the pleasures

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer Vaccinations finally are available to U.S. children as young as 5, to the relief of many parents. Late Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave the final OK for youngsters age 5 to 11 to get kid-size doses of the vaccine made by Pfizer. The vaccines will

By WILL WEISSERT and SARAH RANKIN Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey narrowly won reelection in his reliably blue state while a Republican political newcomer delivered a stunning upset in the Virginia governor’s race, sending a warning to Democrats that their grip on power in Washington may be

By JULHAS ALAM and ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL Associated Press SHYAMNAGAR, Bangladesh (AP) — Impacts of climate change from more frequent cyclones to tidal flooding are devastating Bangladesh, where an estimated 30 million people may be displaced from the coast. Countries like Bangladesh, which contributes a fraction of the world’s emissions, are pressing for more financing support

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A Southwest Airlines pilot is under investigation for allegedly assaulting a flight attendant at a California bar during an argument over wearing masks. USA Today says the pilot was cited for assault and battery over the Oct. 18 dispute at a hotel bar in San Jose. The Santa Clara County

By JESSICA GRESKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court seems ready to strike down a restrictive New York gun permitting law. But the justices also seem worried that a broad ruling could threaten gun restrictions on subways, bars, stadiums and other gathering places.The court was hearing arguments in its biggest guns case in

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press Federal judges have a thorny question to consider when they sentence military veterans who stormed the U.S. Capitol in January. Do they deserve leniency because they served their country or tougher punishment because they swore an oath to defend it? The Justice Department has adopted the tougher position. In at

By JOSH BOAK, ZEKE MILLER, ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — President Joe Biden demonstrated over five days abroad at two global summits that he has a new willingness to openly confront China over climate change and its lack of leadership on the global stage. Biden ended his time at the U.N. climate

By LISA MASCARO, MARY CLARE JALONICK and FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats have added paid family and medical leave, immigration law changes and a state-and-local tax break to President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion social services and environmental bill. After dismal overnight election results, they finished up the overall package Wednesday and