Month: December 2021

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Ukraine’s defense minister says that the former Soviet republic has “no plans to attack anyone,” and its gathering of troops is purely defensive amid speculations of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine as soon as next month. In recent weeks, there has been a massive Russian troop buildup near Ukraine’s border

By AHMAD MANTASH Associated Press SIDON, Lebanon (AP) — Hamas officials have buried three of their members who were killed by gunfire in a tense Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon days earlier. The militant group accused members of a rival faction of the deadly shooting. A Hamas official Tuesday told mourners that Fatah militia

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Kroger, the country’s biggest traditional grocery chain, is ending some benefits for unvaccinated workers as big employers attempt to compel more to become vaccinated with cases of COVID-19 again rising. A company spokesperson said Tuesday that unvaccinated workers will no longer be eligible to receive up to two-weeks paid

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) — While many companies are offering bonuses or higher pay as a way to lure and keep workers, a central Florida business is offering a drawing for two brand new and mortgage-free houses. Mechanical One President and CEO Jason James says he’s planning to hold the drawing next December. The company

By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer The Giving Pledge announced Tuesday that 14 more billionaires, including the CEOs of DoorDash and Pinterest, had promised in 2021 to donate more than half their fortunes, bringing the total to 231 philanthropists from 28 countries. Founded in 2010 by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett, the

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Business Writer Many couples who don’t have children expect that they’ll more or less share household duties equally should they have kids one day. But a new poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 35% of

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Prices at the wholesale level surged by a record 9.6% in November from a year earlier, an indication of ongoing inflation pressures The Labor Department said that its producer price index, which measures inflation before it reaches consumer, rose 0.8% in November compared to October, the

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s intelligence minister says Syria cannot be allowed to obtain chemical weapons. Elazar Stern’s remarks come after a report emerged that Israel targeted Syria’s chemical weapons facilities. In an interview Tuesday with Israeli Army Radio, Stern would not directly comment on the report in the

MILAN (AP) — Italian women are having dramatically fewer babies than ever during the pandemic, accentuating one of the world’s lowest birth rates. The Italian statistics agency ISTAT said Tuesday that in January 2021, 10 months after the start of Italy’s draconian lockdown, marked the lowest birth rate ever recorded, with a 13.6% decline. ISTAT

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The banking industry appears to have overdone it on overdraft fees. After decades of raking in billions of dollars from mostly poor Americans short of cash in their accounts, the biggest banks _ under pressure from lawmakers and regulators _ are slowly decreasing their reliance

By KATHY GANNON Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Afghan survivors of an errant U.S. drone strike that killed 10 members of their family in August say they are frustrated and saddened that U.S. troops involved in the attack will not face disciplinary action. A hellfire missile had slammed into a car belonging to

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — An unvaccinated Greek commentator and publisher has died of respiratory failure and resulting complications from COVID-19. The 71-year-old Giorgos Trangas’ death on Tuesday is focusing public attention on the large number of older people in Greece who remain unvaccinated as the country struggles with a spike in infections and deaths. Trangas

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — A Portuguese and a Swedish company are joining forces to build in Portugal what they say will be Europe’s largest lithium conversion plant. Portuguese energy company Galp and Swedish electric vehicle battery maker Northvolt said Tuesday that their goal is for the plant to deliver enough lithium hydroxide to provide batteries

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Health Secretary Sajid Javid says the omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading so rapidly that it has the potential to overwhelm Britain’s hospitals. He says that has highlighted the need to strengthen restrictions and accelerate the delivery of booster vaccines. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares are mixed in Asia as traders await the outcome of the last Federal Reserve meeting of this year. Hong Kong and Shanghai advanced while Tokyo edged lower after the U.S. Labor Department reported that inflation was still running high in November. Stocks on Wall Street

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Members of a new expert panel advising the German government on the coronavirus pandemic are holding their first meeting. The meeting Tuesday comes amid signs that government restrictions imposed in recent weeks are beginning to slow infection rates. Germany’s disease control agency reported 30,823 newly confirmed cases

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s Health ministry says that a Polish teenager who flew from Warsaw to China last week is continental China’s first person to test positive for the omicron variant of COVID-19. Ministry spokesman said Tuesday the teenager, who traveled with her mother, has been hospitalized in isolation. She shows no symptoms of

By PIERRE-RICHARD LUXAMA and EVENS SANON Associated Press CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti (AP) — Authorities say at least 75 people were killed and dozens more injured after a gasoline tanker overturned and exploded in northern Haiti. The blast occurred shortly after midnight in the coastal city of Cap-Haitien.  Early reports indicate that the tanker was trying to

By MELISSA LAMBARENA of NerdWallet When you’re trying to stay accountable and motivated while paying down debt, visual aids can offer encouragement and help you celebrate the small wins. They can shift the focus to your progress instead of a distant debt-free date. A simple search online can open the door to a variety of

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A court in Belarus has sentenced the husband of the country’s opposition leader to 18 years in prison. The charges against Siarhei Tsikhanouski included organizing mass unrest and inciting hatred and have been widely seen as politically motivated. Tsikhanouski, a popular video blogger, planned to challenge

BY JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he has applied to be the next governor of Norway’s central bank in an appointment that would last for six years if he gets the job. The current governor of Norges Bank is retiring in early 2022 after holding the

BERLIN (AP) — Police say several windows at a mosque in the eastern German city of Leipzig were broken after dozens of people set off fireworks, set fire to garbage cans and threw bottles at cars. It wasn’t clear on Tuesday whether the mosque was targeted deliberately. Police said the windows were broken on Monday

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has withdrawn his candidacy for a Senate seat in next year’s elections in his latest change of mind over what he plans to do after his turbulent term ends. Critics say Duterte, once out of power, would likely face an array of

BRUSSELS (AP) — Serbia is taking a significant step toward joining the European Union. Belgrade opened talks Tuesday on a series of policies linked to the environment but it was warned that progress on its European path still depends on normalizing relations with its former territory, Kosovo. Countries wanting to join the 27-country EU must

MADRID (AP) — A volcano that has been spewing lava in Spain’s Canary Islands for almost three months has fallen quiet. But scientists are warning that the lull doesn’t necessarily mean the eruption is over. Scientists recorded no seismic activity from the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma island for almost 12 hours. That’s the

GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. weather agency has certified a 38-degree Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit) reading in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk last year as the highest temperature ever recorded in the Arctic. The World Meteorological Organization said the temperature “more befitting the Mediterranean than the Arctic” was recorded in June 2020 during a heat wave

By ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The omicron variant is offering more hints about what it may have in store as it spreads around the globe: A highly transmissible virus that may cause less severe disease, and one that can be slowed — but not stopped — by today’s vaccines. An analysis Tuesday

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican’s big fraud and embezzlement trial has suffered another delay. The tribunal postponed any further decisions until prosecutors finish redoing their investigation for four of the original 10 defendants.  The delay means the trial won’t get off the ground until mid-February at the earliest. Tribunal