Month: January 2022

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — All schools in Canada’s most populous province will be shut down and move to online learning because of a record number of coronavirus infections fueled by the ultra-contagious omicron variant. Ontario Premier Doug Ford also announced indoor dining and gyms will close.  Ontario is seeing record new

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Former U.S. President Donald Trump has endorsed Hungary’s right-wing populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, offering his “complete support” to the controversial leader. Orban, a champion of what he calls “illiberal democracy,” is facing a close parliamentary election this spring. In a statement on Monday, Trump praised

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says the Senate will vote soon on easing filibuster rules in an effort to advance stalled voting rights legislation. Schumer says in a letter to colleagues that the Senate “must evolve” on the rules. Pointing to the Jan. 6 attack on the

By HAROLD ISAAC Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti has welcomed the new year with violence as Prime Minister Ariel Henry fled the northern city of Gonaïves following a shootout between his security forces and an armed group that had warned the leader not to set foot in the city. Local media reported that

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — Authorities say a fourth person has died after several people pulled out weapons and fired more than 50 bullets at a New Year’s Eve party in Mississippi. A coroner said 52-year-old Nathaniel Harris died Sunday from multiple gunshot wounds. Three others were wounded but survived. Dozens of people were thought to

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Hundreds of people have blocked roads in several locations in Serbia demanding that the authorities scrap any plans for lithium mining that ecologists say would devastate the environment. Several minor incidents were reported on Monday as angry drivers sought to push through the crowds that halted traffic in the northern city

BERLIN (AP) — About 700 sheep and goats have been recruited in Germany’s drive to encourage more people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The animals were arranged on Monday into the shape of a roughly 100-meter (330-foot) syringe in a field at Schneverdingen, south of Hamburg. Shepherd Wiebke Schmidt-Kochan said it wasn’t difficult to work

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer The U.S. is expanding COVID-19 boosters as it confronts the omicron surge. The Food and Drug Administration on Monday allowed extra Pfizer shots for children as young as 12. Boosters already are recommended for everyone 16 and older, and the FDA says they’re also warranted for 12- to 15-year-olds.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is suggesting there will be no tightening of measures to slow the current surge in coronavirus infections, in spite of the country’s healthcare system remaining under strain for weeks. The highly transmissible omicron variant has sent Britain’s daily new caseload soaring over Christmas and the New Year,

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s president has praised another shipment of arms from Russia, despite fears in the Balkans that the country’s recent military buildup could lead to more tensions in the war-scarred region. President Aleksandar Vucic on Monday attended a training exercise at a military base near Belgrade that

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian police say that at least 21 schoolchildren have been rescued hours after they were abducted by armed groups in the West African country’s troubled northwestern region. Police spokesman Mohammed Shehu said the students were abducted last week while they were traveling with their teacher from

MADRID (AP) — Spanish rescue services are searching off the country’s southeast coast for 10 migrants missing at sea, after a passing vessel heard cries during the night from people in the water. Emergency crews pulled 16 survivors and three bodies from the Mediterranean Sea after one small migrant boat sank and another took on

BERLIN (AP) — The German government said Monday that it considers nuclear energy dangerous and objects to European Union proposals that would let the technology remain part of the bloc’s plans for a climate-friendly future. Germany is on course to switch off its remaining three nuclear power plants at the end of this year and

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Rembrandt van Rijn’s iconic and huge painting “The Night Watch” is now also a supersized museum photo delivered right to your laptop in unsurpassed detail.  The Amsterdam Rijksmuseum on Monday put on its digital portal what it called “the most detailed photograph of any artwork,” ready for assessment by scientists and art

By KIMBERLY PALMER of NerdWallet The new year is a time to set money goals. Inflation and economic uncertainty make shoring up your finances even more important in 2022. Money experts suggest your first step to reaching your goals is to get organized by making a list of your savings, debts, assets and the values

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press Schoolchildren have returned to classes in parts of Europe, while the British government is pledging to rush ventilation units and enough COVID-19 test kits to schools to ensure they, too, can reopen later this week despite soaring infection rates in the UK. Secondary school students in England will be required

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is in a Sao Paulo hospital for tests after experiencing abdominal discomfort. The hospital where he was admitted, Vila Nova Star, said in a statement the president had an intestinal obstruction and was in stable condition. Bolsonaro is “doing well” and further information will be provided

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer Is anyone going to CES this year? A long-simmering question in the tech world will finally get its answer as one of the world’s biggest gadget shows returns to the Las Vegas strip after a hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The sprawling exhibition floors open Wednesday during another

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The fire that has already destroyed South Africa’s main Parliament chamber flared up again Monday about 36 hours after it started in the 130-year-old complex of historic buildings. Firefighters have been sent back to the Parliament precinct in the center of Cape Town after

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian state media are reporting that militants have attacked a bus carrying soldiers on a desert highway in central Syria, killing five and wounding 20. The state news agency SANA said the attack happened on Sunday night in a government-controlled area. The report quoted an unnamed official saying the militants launched