Month: January 2022

MADRID (AP) — Spain is introducing price controls for COVID-19 home testing kits after an outcry over reports of price-gouging during the Christmas holidays, when demand for the rapid antigen tests outpaced supply. Authorities announced Thursday that the maximum price for the kits on sale at pharmacies from Saturday will be 2.94 euros ($3.37). Health

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities have found the body of a woman believed to be the wife of an Iranian man who drowned after being swept away by a rain-swollen torrent as the couple and other migrants trekked through the hills of northern Greece to avoid police patrols. The fire department said Thursday the

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Catholic diocese in Poland has apologized for having asked a court to determine whether a man who was sexually abused as a child by a priest is gay, and whether the sexual contact may have consequently been pleasurable for him. The diocese on Thursday apologized

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — Sudanese activists say security forces fired live ammunition and tear gas to disperse protesters in the capital of Khartoum. Authorities and a medical group say a senior police officer and a protester were killed in the Sudanese capital as thousands took to the streets on

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Top negotiators from Britain and the European Union are meeting in hopes of resolving their a thorny dispute over Northern Ireland trade. U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic are holding talks at Chevening House, the foreign secretary’s official country retreat. Sefcovic

LONDON (AP) — England’s deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam, one of the scientists who led the U.K.’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, will leave his role in March. Van-Tam became a household name for his frequent appearances at the government’s televised COVID-19 news briefings. He gained popularity with his engaging soccer analogies that helped

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The website of Iran’s supreme leader has showcased an animated video that appears to show a robot calling in a drone strike to assassinate former President Donald Trump. The animated video was part of a contest to mark the Jan. 3, 2020, killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was slain

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — A senior Russian diplomat has refused to rule out a Russian military deployment to Cuba and Venezuela if tensions with the United States over Ukraine and NATO’s expansion in Eastern Europe mount. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in televised remarks on Thursday that

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The new Dutch government is meeting to discuss whether to extend or ease its coronavirus lockdown amid growing anger among owners of businesses that have been shuttered for weeks. The Netherlands has been in a strict lockdown since mid-December, with measures including all nonessential stores,

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has blocked the merger between South Korean shipbuilders Hyundai and Daewoo. Officials said Thursday that a union between two of the world’s biggest players in the industry would have given the merged company a global stranglehold on the production of liquified natural gas carriers.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — The Pakistani Taliban are confirming the weekend killing of a former spokesman in neighboring Afghanistan. The outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, known as TTP, announced the Jan. 9 assassination of Mohammad Khurasani, which is an alias. His real name is Khalid Balti. He was killed in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. The TTP spokesman vowed

By SALLY FRENCH of NerdWallet Travel in the second half of 2021 was a chaotic mess in many capacities, with canceled flights, long delays and other interruptions. It wasn’t uncommon for travelers to find themselves among the mob of people hovering over the customer service counter, jockeying against everyone else to get rebooked on the

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has recorded a sharp increase in coronavirus cases amid warnings that another surge in infections driven by the highly contagious omicron variant could be on its way. Russia’s state coronavirus task force reported 21,155 new contagions on Thursday, 18% more than the previous day and 33%

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says the government plans to double to 1 billion the rapid, at-home COVID-19 tests to be distributed free to Americans. Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Biden says his administration will also make the most protective N95 masks available for no charge. He

By The Associated Press (AP) — Italy on Thursday marks the 10th anniversary of the Costa Concordia cruise ship wreck off the Tuscan island of Giglio. There are some key dates in the saga, including the trial of the captain and the remarkable engineering feat to right the liner from its side so it could

BEIJING (AP) — China is defending what it calls historical rights to virtually the entire South China Sea, following a new U.S. government report saying Beijing’s claims are almost entirely invalid. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson called the State Department report an attempt to distort international law, confuse the public, sow discord and disrupt the regional

PARIS (AP) — France will let in travelers from Britain who are vaccinated against COVID-19 without having to self-isolate or to offer an valid reason for the trip. French Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday that travel restrictions will be eased starting Friday because the highly-contagious omicron variant is now largely dominant in both

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Senior British government ministers have expressed support for Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson and rejected demands he resign for attending a garden party during the country’s first coronavirus lockdown. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said Johnson had made a “very, very sincere” apology, and Foreign Secretary Liz

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel is investigating after an 80-year-old Palestinian with U.S. citizenship died of a heart attack after being detained by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank. The State Department says it is in touch with the Israeli government to seek “clarification” about the incident, which occurred early Wednesday. Omar Asaad was detained

By CHRISTOPH NOELTING and FRANK JORDANS Associated Press KOBLENZ, Germany (AP) — A former Syrian secret police officer has been convicted by a German court of crimes against humanity for overseeing the abuse of detainees at a jail near Damascus a decade ago. The top United Nations human rights official described Thursday’s ruling as “historic.”

PARIS (AP) — A French prosecutor has freed a suspect held in custody since Wednesday morning over the 2012 slayings of a British-Iraqi family and a cyclist in the French Alps. The suspect was released Thursday afternoon without any charges, and the Annecy prosecutor said in a short message on Twitter that “investigations are continuing”

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The emirate of Ajman is warning its government employees that they will be penalized for coming into contact for a second time with anyone who has contracted COVID-19. State-linked media in the United Arab Emirates reported Thursday that federal employees in Ajman will not receive paid sick leave for

BEIRUT (AP) — A general strike by public transportation and labor unions has paralyzed Lebanon as the nation suffers through one of the world’s worst economic crises. Thursday’s protests come as the country’s ruling class has done almost nothing to pull Lebanon out of its meltdown, which is rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement.

By STEVE McMORRAN Associated Press Novak Djokovic was included in the draw for the Australian Open — but he’s still waiting to learn if he can stay in the country. All eyes are now on Immigration Minister Alex Hawke, who must decide whether to deport the tennis star, effectively overruling a judge who ruled Djokovic

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe’s natural gas crisis isn’t letting up. Prices are high. Reserves that are relied on in cold weather are low. Major Russian supplier Gazprom isn’t selling gas like it used to. Pipeline operators say that if there’s a cold winter, the continent’s gas companies will

PARIS (AP) — French teachers have walked out in a nationwide strike Thursday to express anger at the way the government is handling the virus situation in schools, denouncing confusing rules and calling for more protection. Exhausted by the pressures of surging COVID-19 cases, a large majority of teachers were expected to support the call