AP National Business

BEIJING (AP) — Crews have safely rescued 20 of 21 Chinese coal miners trapped inside a flooded shaft, with one still missing. The accident at the illegal operation occurred at about 11 p.m. Wednesday in Xiaoyi city in Shanxi province, a major coal-producing region southwest of Beijing. State broadcaster CCTV showed rescue crews bringing the

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has suffered a stunning defeat in a parliamentary by-election that was viewed as a referendum on his government amid weeks of scandal and soaring COVID-19 infections. Liberal Democrat Helen Morgan overturned a Conservative majority of almost 23,000 votes from the

By ELDAR EMRIC Associated Press SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Some migrants in Bosnia were able to escape the hardship of their everyday lives for the glamour of fashion world for an evening. A fashion show featuring migrant models was held on Thursday evening in Sarajevo. They presented a brand created jointly by a Bosnian designer

By KAREL JANICEK Associated Press PRAGUE (AP) — A new coalition government has taken office in the Czech Republic and faces the coronavirus pandemic and soaring inflation as immediate policy challenges. President Milos Zeman swore in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Petr Fiala at the presidential chateaux in Lany on Friday. Two political coalitions that

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says his government is accelerating COVID-19 booster shots and securing oral medicines after speaking with Pfizer Inc. CEO Albert Burla. Japan has confirmed a handful of omicron variant cases, while revealing a cluster of infections of about 100 U.S. troops on Japan’s

BEIJING (AP) — China has said it will take unspecified “necessary measures” to safeguard its institutions and enterprises after the U.S. Senate passed a new law barring imports from the Xinjiang region unless businesses can prove they were made without forced labor. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday that the legislation approved Thursday indicates that

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Istanbul governor’s office says at least 22 people have died in Istanbul after drinking bootleg alcohol. At least 16 people have been hospitalized and are in serious condition. The governor’s office said Friday that 11 of the dead and five of those who had fallen ill were foreign nationals. It

BERLIN (AP) — A closely watched survey shows business confidence in Germany has dropped for the sixth month in a row amid concern over the latest wave of coronavirus infections. The Ifo institute said Friday that its monthly confidence index for Europe’s biggest economy dropped to 94.7 points in December from 96.6 last month. The

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is setting conditions for working with Russia on its new security proposal. But he says NATO will cooperate with Moscow to build fresh confidence between them should Russia help ease tensions with Ukraine. Russia has submitted draft documents outlining security arrangements it wants to negotiate with the U.S.

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares are mostly lower in Europe and Asia after a retreat on Wall Street led by technology companies. Investors are weighing the implications of higher interest rates, surging coronavirus cases and tensions between Beijing and Washington. Benchmarks declined in Paris, London, Frankfurt and Tokyo but rose

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s biggest opposition party, the center-right Christian Democratic Union of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, is set to announce the results of a ballot on who will become its new leader after a painful election defeat. Armin Laschet, the CDU’s leader since January, is stepping down after leading the Union bloc, which the

By ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press HERAT, Afghanistan (AP) — The value of Afghanistan’s currency is tumbling, exacerbating an already severe economic crisis in the wake of the Taliban takeover and deepening poverty in a country where more than half the population already doesn’t have enough to eat. The afghani lost more than 11% of its

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares are mostly lower in Asia after a retreat on Wall Street led by technology companies. Investors are weighing the implications of higher interest rates, surging coronavirus cases and tensions between Beijing and Washington. Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai declined while Sydney was higher. U.S. shares

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has spoken by phone with Pfizer Inc. CEO Albert Burla, apparently to ensure a fast supply of COVID-19 vaccines for booster shots amid the global spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. Japan, which lacks home-developed vaccines, has so far approved

By SCOTT SONNER Associated Press RENO, Nev. (AP) — Conservationists are suing three federal agencies over an environmental review the government says satisfies requirements to resume killing coyotes, mountain lions and other wildlife in federally protected wilderness areas in Nevada. The move comes five years after the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Wildlife Services settled a similar

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares have fallen in Asia after technology companies led Wall Street benchmarks lower. Investors are weighing the implications of higher interest rates, surging coronavirus cases and tensions between Beijing and Washington. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul declined while Sydney was higher. U.S. shares dropped a

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press A federal judge has rejected OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s sweeping deal to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon in New York found flaws in the way the bankruptcy settlement protects members of the Sackler family who own the company from lawsuits.