Month: December 2021

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Police in Croatia say a migrant woman has been rescued from a swollen river on the border with Slovenia, while a search is still underway for a child. Police in the northern Istria peninsula said Friday they received an emergency call and found the woman in “bad physical condition” holding on

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A British appellate court has opened the door for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be extradited to the United States. The High Court in London overturned a lower court that found Assange’s mental health was too fragile to withstand the American penal system. A judge earlier this

BEIJING (AP) — Already affected by the pandemic and a partial diplomatic boycott, the Beijing Winter Olympics face another challenge in finding flights for all of the athletes and officials. The director of the organizing committee’s Arrival and Departure Center says ensuring the smooth arrival of participants has “become everyone’s concern” because of a reduction

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — The Jordanian health ministry says it has identified its first two cases of the omicron variant of coronavirus. The statement was announced by state-run Petra news agency, identifying the first case as a Jordanian national who recently returned from South Africa and another as a national who has not recently left

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — German lawmakers have overwhelmingly backed a bill that requires staff at hospitals and nursing homes to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The upper house, or Bundesrat, approved the bill hours after lawmakers agreed to fast track the legislative process. The new measure means workers in health care

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer Al Unser, one of only four drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 a record four times, died Thursday following years of health issues. He was 82. Indianapolis Motor Speedway says Unser died at his home in Chama, New Mexico. Unser was part of an elite club of four-time

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Pro Football Writer FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Dallas Cowboys defensive line coach Aden Durde is the first British-born coach to get a full-time job in the NFL. Durde is a product of the league’s coaching diversity programs. Durde is in his second stint with the Cowboys after starting out as a

By JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli newspaper is reporting that former President Donald Trump earlier this year lashed out with profanity at Benjamin Netanyahu for congratulating President Joe Biden on his victory in the U.S. election. Trump accused the former Israeli leader of disloyalty, saying he had helped Netanyahu in his

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military-installed government has described as “fake news” reports that its troops were involved in a widely reported massacre in which soldiers allegedly rounded up and killed 11 civilians whose charred bodies were discovered by fellow villagers. The denial was published Friday as opponents of the military’s

By STEPHEN McGRATH Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania has introduced new travel restrictions and isolation measures for people entering the country as officials seek to avert another health care crisis following the emergence of the mutant omicron variant. Romania, a European Union country of about 19 million, faced its deadliest period of the

BEIJING (AP) — Nicaragua’s decision to sever diplomatic links with Taiwan and recognize China leaves the self-governing island democracy with just 14 diplomatic allies. Most are small, largely poor nations in the Western Pacific, the Caribbean and Latin America, the one exception being the Vatican. At the same time, Taiwan enjoys robust unofficial ties with

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — When Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and threw its support behind separatists in the country’s east more than seven years ago, Kyiv’s underfunded and disorganized armed forces struggled to mount a credible response. Now, amid fears that a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine’s border could signal

By FRANCESCA EBEL Associated Press TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Police violence is among the myriad challenges that LGBTQ people experience in Tunisia, and observers say officers who can dispense beatings with impunity are becoming increasingly brazen. A prominent LGBTQ activist has reported that two men, one dressed in police uniform, threw him to the ground,

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli Prime Minister and Health Minister are extending Israel’s tough travel restrictions including its entry ban on all foreign nationals for a further ten days, in a bid to stop further cases of the omicron variant of coronavirus entering the country. The extension means the restrictions on passengers arriving at Israel’s

By CARA ANNA Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Climate activist Vanessa Nakate spoke to The Associated Press and reflected on the whirlwind of 2021 and what she and other young activists plan for the year to come. She expressed disappointment in the outcome of the U.N. climate talks in Scotland, saying she “expected the

By BASSEM MROUE ASSOCIATED PRESS TRIPOLI, Lebanon (AP) — Lebanese have been setting off from their country’s Mediterranean shore to attempt the perilous journey by boat to Cyprus and beyond in the hopes of reaching Europe. They join other migrants — Iraqis, Afghans and Sudanese — in leaving their homeland after Lebanon’s economic collapse threw

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. humanitarian chief is warning that Afghanistan’s economic collapse “is happening before our eyes” and urged the international community to take action to stop the freefall before it leads to more deaths. Martin Griffiths said in an AP interview that donor nations need to

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Pro Football Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings held on to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 36-28 by forcing an incomplete pass in the end zone on the final play. Ben Roethlisberger’s throw to Pat Freiermuth was on target. Anthony Barr and Harrison Smith sandwiched the rookie tight end at just

BOSTON (AP) — A group of Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish leaders is urging luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton to stop using animal fur in its clothing and other products. In a joint statement, Orthodox Christian priest Stephen Karcher, Hindu activist Rajan Zed, Jewish rabbi ElizaBeth Webb Beyer and Buddhist priest Matthew Fisher say selling

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — New coronavirus infections in South Korea have exceeded 7,000 for the third consecutive day as the worst surge since the start of the pandemic overwhelms hospitals and depletes health care workforce. Critics blame the spread on complacency by the government, which dramatically lowered social distancing

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Companies are rethinking their plans to send workers back to the office as the new omicron variant adds another level of uncertainty. Google and Ford are among those once again delaying their return-to-office plans, while other businesses whose workers are already back to the office are

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — Former NFL wide receiver Demaryius Thomas has died at the age of 33. Police in the Atlanta suburb of Roswell say Thomas was found dead in his home. His family believes he died from a seizure, and foul play is not suspected. Thomas was a Georgia

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer A late wave of buying sent stocks to solid gains on Wall Street Friday, sending the S&P 500 to another record high. The benchmark index rose 1% and closed out its best week since February. Technology stocks powered much of the gain. Business software maker Oracle surged 15.6% after

By SARA CLINE Associated Press/Report for America PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — In Oregon, where a long-standing housing crisis has been exacerbated by the pandemic, tenants on the brink of eviction are losing safety nets that kept them housed. Despite an overwhelming need, the state halted acceptance of new rental assistance applications after all federal funds

By AMY FORLITI and STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors at the manslaughter trial of Kim Potter sought to build a case that  that suburban Minneapolis police officer Kim Potter acted unreasonably when she shot and killed Daunte Wright. Potter has said she meant to use her Taser on Wright before pulling her

By WILL WEISSERT and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Bob Dole was honored at a funeral service at Washington National Cathedral as top leaders from both parties gathered to display the kind of bipartisanship now rare in modern government. Dole’s flag-draped casket was carried in by a military honor guard as the congregation

By AMY BETH HANSON Associated Press HELENA, Mont. (AP) — This winter, more motorists may find themselves stuck on snowy highways or have their travel delayed due to a shortage of snowplow drivers. States from Washington to Pennsylvania and some in the Rocky Mountains are having trouble finding enough people willing to take the comparatively

By MANUEL DE LA CRUZ and EDGAR H. CLEMENTE Associated Press TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico (AP) — Survivors of the horrific truck crash in Mexico that killed 55 migrants and injured more than a hundred recounted from their hospital beds how their location inside the truck determined who lived and who died. They said those unlucky

Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s military says it plans to ditch its fleet of European-designed Taipan helicopters and instead buy U.S. Black Hawks and Seahawks because the American machines are more reliable. The move comes less than three months after Australia canceled a deal to buy French submarines in favor of building nuclear-powered

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says climate change is “an aggravating factor” for instability, conflict and terrorism. He said the regions that are most vulnerable to climate change “also suffer from insecurity, poverty, weak governance and the scourge of terrorism.” Guterres told a U.N. Security Council