Month: November 2022

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer Pfizer said its updated COVID-19 booster may offer some protection against newly emerging omicron mutants even though it’s not an exact match. Few Americans have gotten updated boosters made by Pfizer and rival Moderna, shots tweaked to target the BA.5 omicron strain that until recently was the most common

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A strong undersea earthquake has shaken western Indonesia but no serious damage or casualties have been reported. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake measured magnitude 6.9 and was centered at a depth of 15 miles. No tsunami alert was issued by Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency. Indonesia, a vast

BERLIN (AP) — The Berlin Zoo shut its doors to visitors after one of its aquatic birds tested positive for avian flu, the facility said Friday. A routine check on a hamerkop – a medium-sized wading bird – that had died last week found that it was positive for the disease. The zoo will remain

BERLIN (AP) — A former German military reserve officer has been convicted of spying for Russian intelligence for several years and given a suspended sentence of a year and nine months. The Duesseldorf state court found that the defendant was in contact from October 2014 at the latest with several high-ranking employees of the military

By LISA RATHKE Associated Press ST. ALBANS, Vt. (AP) — Authorities in Vermont say a Ugandan activist who fled his country after he says he was tortured for his human rights work and would fear for his life if he was deported can stay another year. Earlier this week, 37-year-old Steven Tendo was granted a

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Experts from Ukraine have joined Polish and American investigators who are looking into a missile blast that killed two men in eastern Poland this week. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Friday that the Ukrainian experts were at the grain-drying facility in the Polish village of Przewodow where the missile landed

LONDON (AP) — A sexual predator with a string of convictions has pleaded guilty to killing a woman as she walked home in London. It was one in a string of attacks that heightened fears about women’s safety on the streets of the British capital. Jordan McSweeney admitted sexually assaulting and murdering 35-year-old Zara Aleena,

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian soldier opened fire at a military base in the northeast region, killing a humanitarian worker and a fellow soldier and injuring a pilot with United Nations Humanitarian Air Service. Samson Nantip Zhakom, a spokesman for the Nigerian army, said the unidentified soldier was “immediately

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Diane Warren was in the recording studio with Sofia Carson to work on her new song “Applause” when she got an unexpected phone call earlier this year. It was David Rubin, the former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and he

By THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — What is bigger: A ronna or a quetta? Scientists meeting outside of Paris on Friday — who have expanded the world’s measuring unit systems for the first time this century as the global population surges past 8 billion — have the answer. Rapid scientific advances and vast

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary will not support a European Union plan to provide Ukraine with billions in budget assistance next year, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday. Speaking at a conference in Budapest, Orban said that while Hungary condemns Russia’s aggression and supports the Ukrainian people, he is

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The head of a taskforce from the International Atomic Energy Agency says it is examining whether Japan’s planned release into the sea of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant meets international standards, but the decision on whether to go ahead with the plan is

BERLIN (AP) — Four bullet holes have been found in the door of a former rabbi’s residence that adjoins an old synagogue in the German city of Essen. A regional security official said Friday that a male suspect was being sought in what he called an attack. Police in the western city said they were

By LEANNE ITALIE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The look of Nancy Meyers’ movies. Inside Ina Garten’s kitchen. Oversize cable knit sweaters. A quality, timeless trench. All things pumpkin spice. These are some of Lex Nicoleta’s favorite things. The California TikToker who coined the term “coastal grandmother” in a video that has racked up

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s electricity grid chief warned of hours-long power outages Friday as Russia zeroed in on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with heavy artillery and missile attacks that have interrupted supplies to as much as 40% of the country’s people at the onset of winter. Freezing temperatures are putting

By DAVID RISING Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping has used his first face-to-face meetings with America’s Asia-Pacific allies since 2020 to forge fresh diplomatic inroads as Washington pushes back against Beijing’s influence in the region. Xi has not backed away from China’s longstanding claims to Taiwan and most of the South

MENTONE, Texas (AP) — A strong earthquake that struck a remote area of the West Texas desert caused damage in San Antonio, hundreds of miles from the epicenter, officials said. University Health said Thursday that its Robert B. Green historical building was deemed unsafe because of damage sustained from the quake, which hit Wednesday in

By ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The defense ministers of Israel and Greece have stressed the importance of maintaining strong alliances to tackle global and regional threats such as the war in Ukraine and ongoing tension in the eastern Mediterranean. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz met in Athens on Friday with his

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — A top U.N. official says West Africa is next in line to receive Russian fertilizer that is tied up in European ports and prevented from being exported to needy countries,  Rebeca Grynspan, the head of the U.N. trade office, on Friday hailed “very good news for the

By EILEEN NG Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian political candidates are making their final pitches on the eve of national elections in an attempt to win over a divided electorate worried about the economy, rising costs of living and political turmoil that resulted in three prime ministers since the last polls in

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Conservative government is defending its decision to hike taxes for millions of working people in the “squeezed middle” class as it tries to shore up an economy battered by double-digit inflation. An emergency budget announced Thursday includes 25 billion pounds ($30 billion) in tax hikes. Combined

By PATRICK WALL and KALYN BELSHA of Chalkbeat and ANNIE MA of The Associated Press Mira Ugwuadu felt anxious and depressed when she returned to her high school in Cobb County, Georgia, last fall after months of remote learning, so she sought help. But her school counselor kept rescheduling their meetings because she had so

By CAROLYN THOMPSON Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A dangerous lake-effect snowstorm paralyzed parts of western and northern New York on Friday, dumping over 5 feet in some spots with more expected to fall through the night into Saturday. The storm was blamed for the deaths of two people stricken while clearing snow. The