Month: November 2021

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A state-affiliated broadcaster has purported to show Ethiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning prime minister on the battlefront of the country’s yearlong war against Tigray forces. His appearance on Friday comes four days after he announced he would direct the army from there. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in

By KRISTIN M. HALL AP Entertainment Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country star Miranda Lambert readily admits that she doesn’t really like Christmas music at all. The only thing that would get her in the spirit to do a holiday record was singing with her two best gal pals from the Pistol Annies, Ashley Monroe

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer U.S. health officials say Merck’s experimental COVID-19 pill is effective but they raised questions about its safety during pregnancy. The Food and Drug Administration posted its review Friday ahead of a public meeting next week where outside experts will debate the drug’s benefits and risks. If FDA authorizes the

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia’s defense ministry says 487 migrants, including 93 children, have been rescued off the North African country’s coast as they tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in an overloaded boat. The ministry said in a statement Friday that the vessel had left from neighboring Libya carrying migrants from Africa,

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press CAMDEN, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina sees the upcoming 250th anniversary of the American Revolution as a chance to remind people that the state played a huge part in winning the nation’s independence, even if it did try later to tear the United States apart in the Civil War. A

By YURAS KARMANAU The Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is alleging that his country’s intelligence service has uncovered plans for a Russia-backed coup d’etat in Ukraine next week that involves one of the country’s richest oligarchs. Both the oligarch and the Russian government have rejected the allegations. At a news

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union says it will ease its restrictions on exporting COVID-19 vaccines. The Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said Friday that as of January it will no longer require vaccine producers to request special authorization to export outside the 27-nation bloc. Earlier this year when vaccines

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL AP Science Writer NEW DELHI (AP) — The Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, has resumed exports of coronavirus vaccines to the U.N.-backed COVAX distribution program after halting most overseas sales in March. The company was to have been COVAX’s main supplier, but an explosion of cases in India

ANDREW WILKS ISTANBUL (AP) — A Turkish court has extended the imprisonment of philanthropist Osman Kavala, whose case caused a diplomatic crisis with the U.S. and other Western countries after they called for his release. The court’s decision on Friday paves the way for the Council of Europe to launch infringement proceedings against Turkey. Kavala

By BEN FOX Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The evacuation of American citizens and others from Afghanistan didn’t end with the departure of the last U.S. troops on Aug. 30. But it did slow to a trickle. The U.S. airlifted 124,000 people from Kabul, the capital, over about six weeks as the American-backed Afghan military

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia’s government has issued a new order aiming to restrict media reporting of the country’s yearlong war, forbidding the sharing of non-official information on “military-related movements, battlefront results and situations.” The statement also warns that “supporting the (rival Tigray forces) directly or indirectly in the name

BERLIN (AP) — The German government says that Interpol’s new president, like all officials at the international law enforcement body, must act in accordance with the rule of law. The comments from Germany’s foreign ministry followed claims by human rights groups that the newly elected president of Interpol was involved in torture and arbitrary detentions

By KAREL JANICEK Associated Press PRAGUE (AP) — Coronavirus infections in the Czech Republic have jumped to a new record high in a surge that hit the country’s president and has delayed the appointment of the new prime minister. The Health Ministry says the daily tally of new cases was 27,717 the previous day. That’s

By NOHA ELHENNAWY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — The U.N. envoy to Sudan says a deal struck to reinstate the country’s civilian prime minister after a military coup is imperfect but has saved the country from falling into civil strife. The recent deal between the country’s top general and the prime minister has seen him

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has hosted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks, which he called “constructive.” Friday’s meeting marks the first anniversary of a Moscow-brokered peace deal that ended fighting in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Putin said the three leaders “reached agreement on a

By MIKE CORDER and RAF CASERT Associated Press THE HAGUE (AP) — Nations across Europe are taking new measures in an attempt to keep a COVID-19 spike from spiraling out of control, hoping that action now will safeguard the joys of Christmas next month. A spike in cases fueled by the contagious delta variant forced

ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Mario Draghi says a bilateral treaty signed with French President Emmanuel Macron to deepen bilateral cooperation will in turn strengthen the European Union. Draghi told a joint press conference with Macron Friday that the treaty deepens cooperation “in crucial sectors, from security to justice, from research to industry.” That includes

By YURAS KARMANAU KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday promised food and warm clothing to migrants who opt to stay at the border between the ex-Soviet nation and Poland and won’t return to their homeland. Lukashenko made the pledge during a visit to a facility that accommodates migrants at the border.

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Police in Cyprus have arrested an Israeli man wanted by Italy for having helped spirit the 6-year-old lone survivor of a cable car accident out of Italy and to Israel. Eitan Biran was the sole survivor of the May 23 cable car crash in northern Italy that killed 14 people, including

by KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer Climate activists have blockaded Amazon warehouses in three European countries. It’s part of a global effort to pressure the ecommerce giant on one of its busiest days of the year to improve working conditions and end business practices that hurt the environment. Members of Extinction Rebellion targeted 15 Amazon

By JAMEY KEATEN and MARIA CHENG Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization says it could still take some time to get a full picture of the threat posed by omicron, a new variant of the coronavirus as scientists worldwide scramble to assess its multiple mutations. Stock markets swooned, some public gatherings got

SHONAL GANGULY Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Thousands of jubilant Indian farmers waving green and white flags have marked the anniversary of their movement by celebrating a victory that forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw agriculture laws the farmers feared would drastically reduce their incomes. Using tractors, jeeps and cars, farmers from New

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — An advisory panel of the World Health Organization has classified a worrying new COVID-19 variant first detected in South Africa as a highly transmissible virus of concern, naming it “Omicron” under its Greek letter system. The U.N. health agency also said early evidence on the new variant,

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Cabinet has approved a $6.8 billion request for an extra defense budget through March to expedite the purchase of missiles, anti-submarine rockets and other weapons amid rising concern over the escalation of military activities by China, Russia and North Korea. The request, still pending parliamentary approval,

By NOHA ELHENNAWY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — The U.N. mission in Libya has condemned an attack by armed men on an appeals court as it was set to re-examine an earlier decision that disqualified the son of the country’s late dictator, Moammar Gadhafi from running for president. The mission warned on Friday that such

BEIRUT (AP) — A group of protesters have stormed a ministry building in Beirut as the Lebanese pound hit a new low amid a worsening economic and political stalemate. The protesters who stormed the Ministry of Social Affairs on Friday said conditions in the crisis-hit country have become unbearable as a result of the rapid

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s prime minister says the country is “on the threshold of an emergency situation” after authorities detected its first case of a new coronavirus variant in a traveler who returned from Malawi. The Health Ministry says the traveler and two other suspected cases, all of whom were vaccinated, have been placed in

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s government has refused to back calls for a swift and sharp lockdown to curb the country’s worsening coronavirus situation, which has seen daily confirmed cases hit a new peak. Health Minister Jens Spahn said contacts between people need to be sharply reduced, warning Friday that “the

By DAVID RISING and ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Violence has receded in the capital of the Solomon Islands, but the government has shown no signs of attempting to address the underlying grievances that sparked two days of riots, including concerns of the country’s increasing links with China. Solomon Islands Prime Minister

By DANICA KIRKA and JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press CALAIS, France (AP) — The already fractious relationship between France and Britain is spiralling further downward into anger and incomprehension in the turbulent aftermath of 27 migrant deaths this week. France reacted angrily Friday to new British proposals for dealing with the deadly flow of migrants between

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Solomon Islands’ decision to switch its diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing has been blamed for arson and looting in the national capital Honiara, where protesters are demanding the prime minister’s resignation. Australian police, troops and diplomats are helping local police restore peace and order

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Sports Writer STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Stanford football has become a landing spot for Latter-day Saints players who have returned from their two-year missions. Cardinal coach David Shaw embraces these players and encourages them to share their voices and experiences with the group. Defensive coordinator Lance Anderson is a big reason