Month: December 2021

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week despite signs that the U.S. labor market is rebounding from last year’s coronavirus recession. Jobless claims were up by 18,000 to a 206,000, still low by historical standards. The four-week average, which smooths out week-to-week

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — New home construction in the U.S. rebounded 11.8% in November, as strong demand continues to boost builder confidence even with the slower winter season approaching. The double-digit percentage increase last month left home construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.68 million units,

By SUMAN NAISHADHAM and MICHAEL PHILLIS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is taking steps aimed at reducing lead in drinking water, releasing $2.9 billion in infrastructure bill funds for lead pipe removal. It has also announced plans by the Environmental Protection Agency to impose stricter rules to limit exposure to the health

BALTIMORE (AP) — Police say a Baltimore officer is in critical condition after being ambushed and shot while sitting in a patrol vehicle. The Baltimore Sun reports Dr. Thomas Scalea said at a briefing outside Maryland Shock Trauma that Officer Keona Holley was shot multiple times early Thursday and was on life support. Police Commissioner

By WASBIR HUSSAIN Associated Press GAUHATI, India (AP) — Police in India say Myanmar has handed over five insurgents belonging to an Indian rebel group operating in the remote northeastern region bordering Myanmar. An air force aircraft flew the five from Myanmar to the Indian state of Manipur on Wednesday. Police say they belong to

By ELLIOT SPAGAT Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — The head of the U.S. agency that grants citizenship and visas says it’s in a strong financial position as her first year at the helm draws to a close. Last year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services was on the brink of furloughing nearly 70% of its

BERLIN (AP) — German police say that four men including suspected right-wing extremists have been arrested as German investigators raided their homes in a probe of suspicions that they acquired substances to build an explosive device. They say that investigators on Thursday seized raw material for explosives, firecrackers, cellphones and a substantial quantity of narcotics

By DAVID SHARP Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A big postal rate increase over the summer hasn’t stopped catalog retailers from stuffing mailboxes this holiday season. The U.S. Postal Service says more than 300 million catalogs flooded into people’s mailboxes last month and that overall the number of catalogs has grown 12% over last

By DANICA KIRKA and MIKE CORDER Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Soaring infections in Britain driven in part by the omicron variant of the coronavirus are rattling Europe. The renewed spread prompted new restrictions on the Continent and fueled a familiar dread on both sides of the Atlantic about entering a new phase of the

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — New witness accounts allege that thousands of ethnic Tigrayans have been forcibly expelled, detained or killed in one of the most inaccessible areas of Ethiopia’s yearlong war in the latest wave of abuses carried out with machetes, guns and knives. Thursday’s joint statement by Human Rights

By MARGERY A. BECK and MARGARET STAFFORD Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say at least five people died when a powerful storm system swept across the Great Plains and Midwest, spawning hurricane-force winds and likely tornadoes in Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota. Officials say a 65-year-old man was killed Wednesday night when a 40-foot

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s Central Bank has again cut interest rates despite soaring consumer prices that are making it difficult for people to buy food and other basic goods. The move Thursday sent the country’s currency to record lows against the U.S. dollar. The bank cut a key rate

By MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Oversight Committee is demanding the Justice Department provide answers about whether Biden administration officials plan to procure the drug used in federal executions despite an ongoing moratorium on capital punishment. The demand was made late Wednesday in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland by

BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors have closed an investigation into a racist attack last year after finding no evidence that the gunman who killed nine people with immigrant backgrounds had any accomplices. The attacker, Tobias Rathjen, shot the victims in cafes and bars in the town of Hanau on Feb. 19, 2020, before killing his

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin says Russia has submitted draft documents outlining security arrangements it wants to negotiate with the United States and its NATO allies. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that a senior Russian envoy stood ready to depart for talks in a neutral country. Peskov told reporters

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The former Facebook manager who startled the world this fall by leaking tens of thousands of internal documents and accusing her former employer of caring more about money than about public safety has a book deal. Little, Brown and Company announced Thursday that it had

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norway’s central bank has raised its key policy interest rate from 0.25% to 0.5%, citing the upswing in the economy that it said likely will continue. If the growth continues, the bank’s leader said Thursday that while there’s uncertainty about the coronavirus pandemic, if growth continues, the bank is expected to

BERLIN (AP) — A court in Germany has convicted a 31-year-old man of 89 counts of attempted murder for driving his car into a crowd celebrating Carnival last year. A regional court in the central town of Kassel sentenced the German man to life in prison on Thursday. The defendant drove a car through a

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Swedish authorities say citizens from fellow Nordic countries will have to show a valid COVID-19 vaccination certificate when entering Sweden starting next week. As of Dec. 21, people from Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland no long will have an exemption to the certificate requirement and must also show their passes to

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — A summit of European Union leaders is trying to coordinate action to tackle the surge of coronavirus infections across the continent and the emergence of the new omicron variant while keeping borders open. The bloc’s leaders want to avoid a confusing mixture of rules with the festive

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Bosnian police have arrested eight former Bosnian Serb army commanders and soldiers in the 1992 wartime killing of around 100 Bosniaks. The victims included women, children and older people. Bosnian security agency SIPA said Thursday the eight are facing charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes against war prisoners. The

By BUSABA SIVASOMBOON Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand has a positive international image when it comes to the rights and lifestyles of LGBTQ communities, but a new report by Human Rights Watch says the reality may be more precarious. It says the absence of a procedure for transgender people in Thailand to change their

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has raised interest rates to combat surging consumer prices. The move Thursday makes it the first central bank among the world’s leading economies to do so since the coronavirus pandemic began. The increase in the bank’s main rate to 0.25% from the record

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A fashion studio in Hungary is challenging the centuries-old stereotypes faced by the country’s Roma minority and asserting a place at the table of high culture for the historically marginalized group. The Romani Design studio was co-founded by sisters Erika and Helena Varga. It reutilizes the

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank has decided not to abruptly pull back its pandemic support for the economy as the new omicron variant of COVID-19 stirs uncertainty about the continent’s recovery. The move Thursday comes despite inflation hitting record highs and the U.S. speeding up its

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh has marked 50 years of victory over Pakistan in a bloody war for independence by hosting a military parade with the Indian president as a guest of honor. On Dec. 16, 1971, Pakistani soldiers surrendered to a joint India-Bangladesh force, formally making Bangladesh a new nation under the leadership of

TOKYO (AP) — Japan has reported its exports jumped 20% and imports rose at an even faster pace in November as disruptions to manufacturing supply chains eased. Preliminary trade data reported Thursday showed imports surging nearly 44% from a year earlier as surging oil prices pushed costs sharply higher. The country logged a trade deficit

By ANGELA CHARLTON and DANICA KIRKA Associated Press PARIS (AP) — France will restrict arrivals from Britain because of fast-spreading cases of the omicron virus variant. The government spokesman said Thursday that France will impose limits on reasons for traveling and a new requirement of a 48-hour isolation upon arrival. The new measures will take

By LORNE COOK and RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders are pressing Russia to enter peace talks with Ukraine. At the same time, they are renewing a threat to impose unprecedented sanctions should Moscow send its troops over the border. Ukraine’s president is pleading for more sanctions to be imposed before

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A former employee of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba says human resources and upper management wouldn’t deal with her accusation of sexual assault. So she went into the busy cafeteria at the headquarters of the Chinese e-commerce giant and screamed out her plight. Now she is paying