Month: January 2022

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech government has decided to cut isolation restrictions for those testing positive for COVID-19 from 14 to five days, and also similarly shortened quarantine time for close contacts of infected people. The measure will become effective Jan. 11, Health Minister Vlastimil Valek said. It was approved Wednesday ahead of an anticipated

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving might be just the jolt the Brooklyn Nets need to escape a midseason slump. After refusing to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, Irving has been unable to play at home, and for much of the season unwelcome on the road. The Nets didn’t

By DANICA KIRKA and MIKE CORDER Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Health authorities across the U.K. have simplified COVID-19 testing requirements in a move designed to cut isolation times for many people. It may also ease the staffing shortages that are hitting public services from hospitals to garbage collection amid an omicron-fueled surge in infections.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Authorities say a large house fire in Philadelphia has caused fatalities, but they declined to say how many people died. Officials say firefighters and police responded to the fire at a three-story rowhouse early Wednesday in the Fairmount neighborhood around 6:40 a.m. and found flames coming from the second-floor windows. The house

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — An Italian museum is lending a fragment of the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece in what both sides hope will be a permanent return that will encourage the British Museum to send its own pieces of the works back, too. Sicily’s regional archaeological museum said Wednesday it had

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden’s health authorities have recommended that the use of the country’s digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate be expanded to include restaurants, cultural activities and other venues starting next week. The move was announced Wednesday and it will take effect on Jan. 12. It is a step up from previous guidance to only

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus is further tightening its pandemic restrictions, reducing the number of people permitted at social gatherings and mandating virus testing for schoolteachers and all inbound travelers over 12 amid surging COVID-19 infections. Cypriot Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela said on Wednesday that teachers, students and staff will need to produce a negative

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A British newspaper is reporting that the Duchess of Sussex will receive the nominal sum of 1 pound after a court found that another newspaper invaded her privacy. The Guardian reported the figure on Wednesday. The 1-pound payment covers only the duchess’s invasion of privacy claims against

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer More weakness in technology companies pulled most major stock indexes lower in morning trading on Wall Street. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq pulled back 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 blue-chip companies managed a tiny gain of 0.1%, pulling just above the