Year: 2021

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Coronavirus infections and deaths in Ukraine have surged to all-time highs amid a laggard pace of vaccination, with overall inoculations among the lowest in Europe. Ukrainian authorities on Thursday reported 22,415 new confirmed infections and 546 deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest numbers since

MIAMI (AP) — The mask mandate for students in some South Florida schools could soon be eased as local rates of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations continue to fall. Miami-Dade school Superintendent Alberto Carvalho says the number of students being quarantined has dropped significantly since school started. He says a decision will be based on the

BERLIN (AP) — Police say a gas station attendant in Germany has been punched and kicked by a customer after an argument over the latter’s failure to wear a mask. The incident in Bremen came about a month after a gas station clerk was fatally shot in western Germany by a man who refused to

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — The head of environmental group Greenpeace has warned against efforts by countries and corporations to “greenwash” their ongoing pollution of the planet at the forthcoming U.N. climate talks. The summit in Glasgow is expected to see a flurry of new commitments from governments and businesses to reduce

By RANDA KRISS of NerdWallet The Paycheck Protection Program provided small-business owners with just under $800 billion in COVID-19 relief. That program ended on May 31, but business owners’ need for affordable financing didn’t go away with it. Other government funding options may help those still affected by the pandemic. For example, recent changes to

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Hundreds of Greek state hospital workers have marched through central Athens as part of a 24-hour strike to protest staff shortages and compulsory coronavirus vaccinations. About 500 protesters demonstrated Thursday in the center of the capital, heading to the health ministry chanting slogans and holding up banners. Unions representing the doctors,

By MIKE CORDER, RAF CASERT and SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders are meeting to discuss ways to ease the pain of soaring energy bills for consumers. They’re also seeking to safeguard energy supplies to the 27-nation bloc by speeding up the transition away from polluting fossil fuels to sustainable alternatives.

LYONS, Ill. (AP) — Authorities say an officer accidentally fired his handgun during a struggle while police were making arrests in suburban Chicago, wounding two other officers. Police say Chicago officers spotted a car Wednesday night that was tied to homicide and a police helicopter tracked it to a gas station in Lyons. Chicago Police

By RAF CASERT and SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders are pressuring a defiant Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to fall back into line on recognizing that EU law trumps national decision-making, hoping that dialogue will stave off a fundamental crisis in the bloc. Morawiecki this week painted a picture of

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO defense ministers are weighing what lessons to draw from the military mission in Afghanistan, including whether to even undertake major operations outside Europe and North America. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Afghanistan “highlights the challenges and the risks to engage in big missions and operations outside

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Australia and Britain are defending their nuclear submarine deal with the U.S. amid concerns it could escalate tensions in the region and spark an arms race. U.K. Minister for Armed Forces James Heappey says there “has been a lot of overhyping” of the pact known as AUKUS. He says the