Year: 2021

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. migration agency says the coronavirus pandemic has “radically altered” mobility around the world, projecting in a new report that the growth in the number of international migrants is likely to remain weaker as long as travel and other restrictions remain. The International Organization for Migration

By ZEKE MILLER, OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The U.S. identified its first known case of the omicron variant Wednesday — in a vaccinated traveler returning to California from South Africa — as scientists around the world raced to establish whether the new, mutant version of the coronavirus

By RAF CASESRT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The chief of the European Union’s executive arm says EU nations should consider making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory because too many people still refuse to get shots voluntarily. The EU-wide vaccination rate stands at 66%, and unexpectedly high case surges in much of the 27-nation bloc has led

By LORNE COOK and DAVID KEYTON Associated Press RIGA, Latvia (AP) — NATO foreign ministers are debating a report on the lessons to learn from the military organization’s 18-year presence in conflict-ravaged Afghanistan. The security effort is estimated to have cost the United States alone $2.3 trillion. The price in lives includes 2,324 American troops

BERLIN (AP) — Austria’s lockdown has officially been extended until Dec. 11 as planned amid signs that the measures are helping to bring down a sky-high coronavirus infection rate. A parliamentary committee signed off Tuesday on the extension of the country’s fourth national lockdown of the pandemic that started on Nov. 22. That was necessary

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates say they have detected their first cases of the new coronavirus variant, marking the first known instances of omicron infections in the Persian Gulf region. Saudi Arabia’s state-run Saudi Press Agency said Wednesday its case was a citizen coming from a “North

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria has detected its first case of the omicron coronavirus variant in travelers that arrived from South Africa in the past week. The country’s national public health institute corrected its earlier statement that it found the variant in samples taken in October. The Nigeria Center for

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand will send up to 65 military and police personnel to the Solomon Islands in the coming days after rioting and looting broke out there last week over several issues, including concerns about the country’s increasing links with China. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Cuomo says it “hurts to even say” he’s been suspended from CNN after revelations that he was more involved in damage control for his politician brother than his bosses had been aware. Cuomo said Wednesday on his SiriusXM show that “the last thing I

BEIJING (AP) — China is urging its citizens to leave three provinces in eastern Congo as violence intensifies in the mineral-rich region. A posting Wednesday from the Chinese Embassy in Kinshasa on the WeChat online messaging says a number of Chinese citizens had been attacked and kidnapped over the past month in the provinces of

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Fueled by several financial technology companies as well as an entry by the big credit card companies, Americans now have the option to “buy now, pay later” on everything from a $1,500 Peloton bicycle to a $60 floral bouquet. Retailers’ websites often come with an

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets are mixed after a turbulent day on Wall Street as traders tried to forecast the impact of the coronavirus’s omicron variant. Shanghai and Tokyo fell while Hong Kong and Seoul advanced. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index ended down 1.2%. That was despite