Month: November 2021

By SUSAN HAIGH Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — While many workers deemed essential in their respective states have already received pandemic hazard pay or hero pay, there are thousands more still waiting for the same financial pat-on-the-back. Many work in places like Connecticut, Minnesota and cities around the country that are still trying to

PARIS (AP) — France has launched a plan to give booster shots to all adults, opting against a further lockdown or curfew, to help combat a worrying uptick in infections in the country. French Health Minister Olivier Veran laid out the plans during a press conference Thursday, in which he reduced the time gap between

By NOHA ELHENNAWY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Thousands of Sudanese have taken to the streets in the capital of Khartoum to renew their demand for a civilian government. Thursday’s rallies came just days after the military signed a power-sharing deal with the prime minister, after releasing him from house arrest and reinstating him as

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister says that starting in December the government will cut tax on fuels and on energy and will offer bonuses next year to counter inflation that has reached it highest level since 2001. Premier Mateusz Morawiecki said Thursday that the so-called “anti-inflation shield” will cost the government some 10

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis says he’s praying that God will help Lebanon “get up” and get back on its feet following an unprecedented economic crisis that has thrown three quarters of the country’s 6 million people including a million Syrian refugees into poverty. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati met

By TED SHAFFREY and JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Giant balloons once again wafted through miles of Manhattan, high school and college marching bands from around the country were back, and so were the crowds at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. After being crimped by the coronavirus last year, the event returned

By STEPHEN McGRATH Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday swore in a new coalition government led by a Liberal former army general and declared an end to a months-long political crisis in the Eastern European nation. The vote in parliament, which passed overwhelmingly, caps a protracted political crisis that

By MIKE CORDER and MARIA CHENG Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The European Union drug regulator has authorized Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine for use on children from 5 to 11 years old. Thursday’s move clears the way for shots to be administered to millions of elementary school pupils amid a new wave of infections

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers buoyed by solid hiring, healthy pay gains and substantial savings are returning to stores and splurging on all types of items. But the big question is how much will supply shortages, higher prices and staffing issues dampen shoppers’ mood this holiday season. Shoppers, already

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines’ defense chief has rejected China’s renewed demand that it remove its outpost on a disputed South China Sea. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Thursday that Chinese coast guard ships should leave the area and stop blocking Manila’s supply boats toward the Second Thomas Shoal.

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The South Korean governing party’s presidential candidate says he will continue a conciliatory approach toward North Korea if elected and questioned the effectiveness of U.S.-led economic sanctions in pressuring the North to abandon its nuclear ambitions. The comments by Lee Jae-myung come as nuclear negotiations

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The deaths of at least 27 people in the English Channel is fueling tensions between the U.K. and France over how to stop migrants from crossing the world’s busiest waterway in small boats. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron have pledged to “do

By JULHAS ALAM Associated Press DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh has begun relocating hundreds of Rohingya refugees to an island in the Bay of Bengal, despite concerns from rights groups over the conditions on the vulnerable low-lying island and that no refugees should be sent forcibly. Bangladesh has been sheltering 1.1 million Rohingya from Myanmar

MADRID (AP) — Metalworkers in the southern Spanish province of Cadiz are returning to work after trade unions reached a pay agreement with employers. The agreement was approved by workers in a ballot Thursday. The open-ended strike began Nov. 16, with street protests at times turning violent as riot police clashed with strikers and their

By SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has opened a virtual meeting of Asian and European leaders with a call for sustainable and shared global growth as the world seeks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirty European countries and 21 Asian countries, along with multinational organizations,

By DARIA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Supreme Court has started hearing a petition to shut down one of the country’s oldest and most prominent human rights groups, a move that sparked public outrage and is part of a months-long crackdown on dissent. The Prosecutor General’s Office this month petitioned the Supreme Court

By DENG MACHOL Associated Press JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — An official says at least 10 people, including five children, died this week in South Sudan after their boat capsized on the White Nile river in Upper Nile state. The state’s information minister said the boat was heading to Malakal when it sank with 28

By ZEN SOO and HUIZHONG WU Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — A renowned Chinese fashion photographer has apologized for her past work after online critics called it insulting to the Chinese people and fashion house Dior removed one of her photos from a show in Shanghai. Chen Man apologized in a social media post

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has drawn up plans to help people better understand when they are seeing political ads online and who is responsible for them. The proposals are aimed at ensuring fair and transparent polls or referendums. They would ban political targeting and methods used to reach

PRAGUE (AP) — Czech President Milos Zeman has been readmitted to hospital after he tested positive for COVID-19, just hours after he had been discharged following more than a month’s treatment for an unspecified illness. The presidential office said Zeman was tested after he arrived at his official residence in Lany, west of Prague, Thursday

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s Union of Journalists is urging journalists not to travel to Qatar to cover next year’s World Cup, saying the Arab country cannot be trusted. The deputy leader of the union, which has more than 18,000 members, said Wednesday that he is afraid sources critical of the government risk disappearing or

By DARIA LITVINOVA and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian officials say 52 miners and rescuers have died after a devastating blast in a Siberian coal mine about 250 meters (820 feet) underground. Hours after a methane gas explosion and fire filled the mine with toxic fumes, rescuers found 14 bodies but then

By MASHA MACPHERSON and SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press PARIS (AP) — France is launching a new process for women to formally report abuse, circumventing police stations where many victims feel uncomfortable filing such complaints. Junior Interior Minister Marlene Schiappa said alternative locations can include a friend’s home or some other place where abused women feel

By OLEG CETINIC and JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press CALAIS, France (AP) — France’s president is urging European neighbors to do more to stop illegal migration into France after 27 people died in a sinking in the English Channel. President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that when migrants arrive on French shores with hopes of heading to

By AYSE WIETING and SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — Interpol has elected a contentious official from the United Arab Emirates as its new president during the international law enforcement body’s annual General Assembly held in Istanbul. Maj. Gen. Ahmed Naser al-Raisi is the inspector general at the United Arab Emirates’ interior ministry. He

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea says it will launch a task force to consider outlawing dog meat consumption after the country’s president offered to look into ending the centuries-old practice. The government on Thursday stopped short of saying the task force would ban dog meat. The seemingly vague

By DAVID McHUGH, EMILY SCHULTHEIS and JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Some of Europe’s Christmas markets are warily opening amid surging coronavirus infections. In Germany, the picturesque Frankfurt market is open over a wider area to thin out the crowds. Markets in Budapest are fenced off and customers have to show proof

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press KAYA, Burkina Faso (AP) — In the West African country of Burkina Faso, many feel the government has let them down during the pandemic. Tests, vaccines and messaging often miss many residents, despite a $200 million budget for virus-response efforts. In a region where women are responsible for family work

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia says it is sending police, troops and diplomats to the Solomon Islands to help after anti-government demonstrators defied lockdown orders and took to the streets for a second day in violent protests. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Thursday the deployment would include a detachment of 23 federal police officers and

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press KAYA, Burkina Faso (AP) — In the West African country of Burkina Faso, many feel the government has let them down during the pandemic. Tests, vaccines and messaging often miss many residents, despite a $200 million budget for virus-response efforts. In a region where women are responsible for family work

By FARES AKRAM Associated Press BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip (AP) — The first rainstorm of winter has sent water pouring into homes across the Gaza Strip that were damaged during the 11-day war in May between Israel and the Palestinian territory’s militant Hamas rulers. Authorities say 56,000 homes were damaged in the conflict and over

BERLIN (AP) — Germany has become the latest country to record 100,000 deaths from COVID-19. It confirmed its first case on Jan. 27, 2020, rising to 100,000 by early April. After a summer lull, infections surged again last fall, prompting a Christmas lockdown that lasted well into the new year. Germany recorded its 50,000th death

By DAVID RISING and ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Solomon Islands prime minister has blamed foreign interference for anti-government protests, arson and looting that have ravaged the capital in recent days following his government’s decision to switch alliances from Taiwan to Beijing. Manasseh Sogavare angered many in 2019, particularly leaders of