Month: December 2021

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Mario Draghi says his government has accomplished most of what it set out do in fighting the pandemic and restoring economic growth. His words are a first signal of his willingness to run for the Italian presidency and return the running of the government back

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s top diplomat says that Russian and U.S. negotiators will sit down for talks early next year to discuss Moscow’s demand for Western guarantees precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that Russia in January will also start separate talks with NATO

By LAURA MCMULLEN of NerdWallet It’s not too late to give presents or extra gratuity to the regular service providers in your life. For people you typically pay directly, such as a housekeeper or hairstylist, give a generous year-end tip up to the amount of a single service. For other professionals, like teachers, opt for

The European Union and the United Kingdom have reached a deal on their shared fisheries stocks. But environmentalists insisted that even after Brexit takes hold, fish will continue to be overexploited. The agreement Wednesday stands apart from the spat between France and Britain over licenses for French fishermen to operate off the U.K.’s crown dependencies

By ANGELA CHARLTON and BARBARA SURK Associated Press SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France (AP) — France’s health minister says omicron infections are rapidly spreading and the variant will become the dominant infection in the last days of 2021. Olivier Veran ruled out additional restrictions on public life and said the government’s main effort to stop the spread of

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer ATHENS, Ohio (AP) — The US has opened a formal investigation into the potential for Tesla drivers to play video games on a center touch screen while the vehicle is in motion. The action follows a complaint to the agency that Teslas equipped with “gameplay functionality” allow games to

By MILES BRANMAN Edmunds Remember the compact trucks that were popular in the 1980s and 1990s? Well, they’ve made a comeback for the 2022 model year via the all-new Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz. Built on crossover platforms, the Maverick and Santa Cruz promise better fuel economy and ride more comfortably than traditional midsize

By ILAN BEN ZION Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The White House’s national security adviser says the United States and Israel need a “common strategy” as world powers negotiate a new nuclear deal with Iran. Jake Sullivan spoke on Wednesday ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and other Israeli security officials

BEIJING (AP) — China is defending its international scientific exchange programs in the wake of the conviction of a Harvard University professor charged with hiding his ties to a Chinese-run recruitment program. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson says China operated along the same lines as the U.S. and other countries in managing such exchanges. He says

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The world’s biggest shipping company, Denmark’s A.P. Moeller-Maersk, says it’s acquired Hong Kong-based LF Logistics Holdings Limited in a $3.6 billion deal. Maersk executive Vincent Clerc said Wednesday that the deal will enable the company “to go deep into Asia, which is the fastest-growing market.” Maersk said it will acquire 100%

BERLIN (AP) — A former nurse at a home for the severely disabled in eastern Germany has been convicted of murder and given a 15-year sentence for killing four residents. The state court in Potsdam on Wednesday ordered the 52-year-old woman sent to a pyschiatric hospital. She also was convicted of attempted murder and ill-treatment

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press SCHIPHOL, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch prosecutors have demanded life sentences against four suspects in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014. Prosecutors say the four recklessly used a Russian missile to bring down the passenger jet. All 298 passengers and crew were killed. Public prosecutor

BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai army officer says fighting between Myanmar government forces and ethnic guerrillas has sent about 4,200 villagers fleeing across the border into Thailand over the past week. That number includes more than 2,500 who fled into Thailand on Friday from territory held by the ethic Karen minority. A similar wave took

By NICOLE WINFIELD and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press ROME (AP) — Plans are progressing for a meeting next year between Pope Francis and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church following their historic encounter in Havana in 2016. That’s according to a top Russian Orthodox official, Metropolitan Hilarion, who met for about an hour with

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s justice minister says he will present legislation next month to remove from the country’s criminal code a ban on doctors “advertising” abortions, one of several more liberal social policies that the new government plans. The three parties that form Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government have long opposed the current rules, but they

By ASTRID GALVAN Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Safe haven laws drew attention this month when U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett questioned the role they play in the debate around abortion rights. Slightly over 4,000 babies have been surrendered since the first law took effect in 1999, according to the National Safe Haven

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Hundreds of small business owners have rallied in South Korea’s capital, calling for the withdrawal of a curfew and tough coronavirus restrictions on restaurants, cafes, gyms and other facilities. The protesters pumped their fists in the air and chanted, “Guarantee the right to live!” and

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan has confirmed its first known local transmissions of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus in Osaka, a sign it is already making its way in the country. Officials say the family of three in Osaka had no record of traveling overseas and their infections could

By ARITZ PARRA Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Spaniards looking for a respite from the pandemic’s gloom have found some cheer with a rite that for more than two centuries has marked the beginning of the festive period: the country’s bumper Christmas lottery, known as “El Gordo,” or “The Fat One.” The draw, held annually

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Danish parliament has voted to oust a former immigration minister who earlier this month was convicted by a rarely used impeachment court in Denmark, saying Inger Stoejberg is not worthy of serving as a member of Denmark’s 179-seat legislative assembly. In Tuesday’ 98-18 vote with one abstention and 62 absent,

BANGKOK (AP) — Rescue officials say a landslide at a remote jade mine in northern Myanmar’s Kachin state has left at least one person dead and 70 missing and a search and rescue operation is underway. Reports were scant from the area in Hpakant, which is the center of the world’s biggest and most lucrative

By SAM MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — A Libyan parliamentary committee says it’s become “impossible” to hold the country’s long-waited presidential election in two days as scheduled. The announcement on Wednesday was the first official statement that the balloting would not happen on Friday after all, following stepped-up calls for a delay of the

By ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s drop in new COVID-19 cases in recent days may signal the country’s dramatic omicron-driven surge has passed its peak, medical experts say. Although the early findings are not conclusive, especially because daily figures are prone to fluctuations, the signs that South Africa’s intense wave is

By MAE ANDERSON NEW YORK (AP) — After a wearying nearly two years of the pandemic, independent retailers are cautiously hoping their holiday seasons will be bright, despite the challenges this year ranging from supply chain snags to shortages of hot holiday items. Many ordered decorations, toys, stocking stuffers and other items well in advance

By DAVID McHUGH and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Russia’s natural gas pipeline to Europe is built and filling with gas. But the Nord Stream 2 pipeline still faces a rocky road ahead before the gas can flow to customers in Germany and Europe. First, the U.S. secretary of state has said

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares are modestly higher after stocks advanced on Wall Street with encouraging reports about the potential impact of the omicron variant of coronavirus. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that the U.S. economy grew at a 2.3% rate in the third quarter, slightly better than previously

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities have ramped up a major sea-and-air search and rescue operation in the Aegean Sea after a migrant smuggling vessel sank leaving at least three people dead and dozens reported missing. The coast guard said 12 people, all believed to be from Iraq, were rescued Wednesday from an inflatable dinghy

By FARES AKRAM Associated Press GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Virtually every household in the Gaza Strip relies on batteries to keep their home running — a result of years of chronic power outages. Families use batteries to fuel everything from lights to internet routers to solar panels. This has mitigated one crisis but

By VICTORIA MILKO Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Construction for tourism in Indonesia’s Komodo National Park is raising concerns from U.N. officials, environmental activists and residents about damage to Komodo dragon habitat. Construction is under way for a visitor center and other features on a main island where the huge endangered lizards live, and

By CLAIRE GALOFARO AP National Writer BEMIDJI, Minn. (AP) — As the pandemic ravaged the country, deaths from drug overdoses surged by nearly 30%, surpassing 100,000 dead for the first time in American history. The drug crisis also diversified from an overwhelmingly white affliction to killing people of color with staggering speed. The death rate

By LISA MASCARO and FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden, along with progressive and moderate Democrats, appears determined to return to the negotiating table with Sen. Joe Manchin. Manchin is the holdout Democrat who effectively sank the party’s signature $2 trillion domestic policy initiative. Republicans are voicing greater confidence now that

SYDNEY (AP) — New COVID-19 cases in Australia’s most populous state have surged to a pandemic record, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison met with state leaders to discuss preventative measures. Morrison emerged from Wednesday’s national cabinet meeting again rejecting lockdowns and mask mandates imposed by the federal government. He said policies on mask wearing were