Month: January 2022

PRAGUE (AP) — The new Czech government says it aims to phase out coal in energy production by 2033 while increasing the country’s reliance on nuclear and renewable sources. Coal-fired power plants currently generate almost 50% of total Czech electricity output. The previous government, headed by populist billionaire Andrej Babis, hadn’t approved any target for

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — The tallest mountain in the Galapagos islands is erupting, spewing lava down its flanks and clouds of ash over the Pacific Ocean. Ecuador’s Geophysical Institute says a cloud of gas and ash from Wolf Volcano rose to 3793 meters (12,444 feet) above sea level following the eruption that began shortly before

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron maintained on Friday his rude remarks about the country’s minority of vaccine refusers, saying he cannot accept that they infringe on others’ freedom. The 44-year-old outspoken president, who is expected to seek re-election later this year, made headlines earlier this week by using the word “emmerder” — rooted

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India has delivered two tons of medicines to Afghanistan, although it has not officially recognized its Taliban government. A government spokessperson says the medicine was given to Kabul’s Indira Gandhi Hospital, which was set up with Indian assistance in 2004. Last month, India supplied Afghanistan with

By ZEN SOO and KATIE TAM Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong authorities have suspended several government officials from duty and will order about 170 people to be quarantined at a government facility after they attended a birthday party where two guests later tested positive for the coronavirus. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press GUIPRY, France (AP) — The wildfire spread across Europe of the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus is driving soaring needs for testing. In France, where new infections are at record levels, production lines are humming, spitting out freshly packaged tests. The CEO of a test-kit manufacturer in western

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The government of the Netherlands has sparked anger by announcing it may have to double the amount of gas it pumps this year from a northern province that experienced a string of small earthquakes in recent years. The government has pledged to phase out gas

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland is recalling its new ambassador to Prague after he criticized the country’s approach to a dispute with the Czech Republic over a state-run coal mine. In an interview released Thursday by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, Ambassador Miroslaw Jasinski said Poland had showed a “lack of empathy, a lack of understanding

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria’s population has declined by 11.5% in the past decade, according to first results from the 2021 census.  The National Statistical Institute said that the nation has shrunk by 844,000 people, from some 7.3 million in 2011 to 6.5 million today. Experts attribute the decline to low birth rates, high mortality,

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Three suspected pirates detained on a Danish military vessel after a fatal gunfight in November off West Africa have been released because preliminary charges of attempted murder against them have been dropped. Justice Minister Nick Haekkerup said he “had quite exceptionally ordered the prosecution” to drop the charges and added Thursday,

By ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is distributing an additional $4.5 billion in funds to help low-income Americans cover heating costs during a second pandemic winter, with cold-weather states receiving the largest share. That’s according to a state-by-state breakdown of funds being distributed under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea has dismissed North Korea’s claim to have recently launched a hypersonic missile as an exaggeration, saying it was a normal ballistic missile that could be intercepted. The assessment is certain to anger North Korea. South Korea has previously avoided publicly playing down North

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran is displaying three ballistic missiles at an outdoor prayer esplanade in central Tehran as talks in Vienna aimed at reviving Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers flounder. The missiles exhibited on Friday are said to have ranges of up to 1,000 kilometers, or 620 miles, and are already

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The United Nations refugee agency says an airstrike has killed three Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia’s Tigray region amid the country’s war. The agency said in a statement that two of the victims were children. The statement issued overnight did not say who carried out the airstrike that hit the Mai Aini

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan authorities are facing face growing pressure to free an author who has been in detention for 10 days, allegedly over his criticism of the president and his son. Novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija has been in custody since Dec. 28, accused of violating a law against the

By YURAS KARMANAU The Associated Press KYIV, UKRAINE (AP) — Ukraine’s Court has frozen the assets of former President Petro Poroshenko as part of an official investigation into alleged high treason by the former head of state, the Prosecutor General’s Office said Thursday. Prosecutors suspect Poroshenko of involvement in financing Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — Inflation in the 19 countries that use the euro currency hit its highest level on record, led by surging food and energy costs. The European Union’s statistics office said Friday that consumer prices in the eurozone rose 5% in December compared with the previous year. That’s

BERLIN (AP) — Budget airline Ryanair says it will stop serving Germany’s busiest airport at the end of March and close its base there. Ryanair said Friday that it’s reallocating five planes it has based at Frankfurt Airport to other European airports that “have responded with lower airport charges to stimulate traffic recovery.” The airline

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Nations across Europe are scrambling to prop up health systems strained by staff shortages blamed on the new, highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus. Troops have been deployed to London hospitals. Health care workers infected with COVID-19 are treating patients in France. The Netherlands

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand has announced it is tightening some entry restrictions while expanding its “sandbox” quarantine program, and has urged people to follow social distancing and mask rules to control the spread of COVID-19 fueled by the omicron variant. The government did not announce any lockdown, but issued restrictions on alcohol consumption in restaurants.

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer LONDON (AP) — Arsenal will wear all-white jerseys drained of the club’s traditional red colors for Sunday’s FA Cup match against Nottingham Forest as part of a campaign against youth violence. As 2021 drew to a close last week, the stabbing of a 16-year-old boy saw London mourn

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — China’s lockdowns of big cities to fight coronavirus outbreaks are prompting concerns about more disruptions for the economy after two makers of processor chips said their factories were affected. That adds to unease over the omicron variant’s global economic impact. Analysts warn Vietnam, Thailand and other

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French president Emmanuel Macron and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen paid tribute to a pair of leading European figures Friday as France formally took the reins of the 27-nation bloc for the next six months with big ambitions. They went together to France’s famed Pantheon

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s leaders have agreed to toughen requirements for entry to restaurants and bars. They also decided Friday to shorten quarantine and self-isolation periods as the new omicron variant advances quickly. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the country’s 16 state governors built on restrictions introduced just after Christmas that

By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer Novak Djokovic is spending one of his important religious holidays in an Australian detention hotel working on his challenge against deportation regardless of who made an error on the visa or the vaccination waiver or whatever. Attention is moving away from Djokovic’s vaccination status and onto questions about how

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress, is to celebrate its 110th anniversary this weekend amid deep divisions, graft allegations and broad challenges that saw it perform dismally in local government elections last year. The anniversary event, to take place in the country’s northern Limpopo province

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer Louis Riddick realizes he is in a favorable position. He is an analyst on the NFL’s most iconic television package with ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” and still has hopes of running a franchise as a general manager. But with the offseason starting for many teams Monday, it’s unclear if

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — To much of the world the late Toni Morrison was a novelist, celebrated for such classics as “Beloved” and “The Bluest Eye.” But the Nobel laureate also completed plays, poems, essays, and a handful of short stories, one of which is coming out as a

By STAN CHOE, DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks ended lower on Wall Street Friday and Treasury yields rose as investors anticipated the Federal Reserve will stay on course to raise interest rates as soon as March. The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury hit its