AP National News

LONDON (AP) — The European Union on Monday accused Facebook parent Meta of breaching the bloc’s antitrust rules by distorting competition in the online classified ads business. The bloc’s executive commission said Monday that it “takes issue” with the tech company tying its online classified ad business, Facebook Marketplace, to Facebook. That means Facebook users

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Judges at Britain’s High Court say the U.K. government’s controversial plan to send asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda is legal. But two judges also ruled Monday that the government failed to consider the circumstances of the individuals it tried to deport. The ruling is a

By JARI TANNER Associated Press HELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s defense minister has made a stirring argument for his country’s new gender-neutral parental leave system when he announced he would be stepping aside in few weeks to take care of his 6-month-old son. He also reassured the nation that it would be in good hands amid

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A Greek court has decided that a police officer accused of fatally injuring a Roma teenager during a car chase over an allegedly unpaid gas station bill should be released on bail pending trial. The Dec. 5 shooting of 16-year-old Kostas Frangoulis, a father of one, triggered days of protests which

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Since the pandemic, Elizabeth Hulanick has turned to toys from her childhood to relieve stress. She and her co-workers chip in to buy Legos at Target and play at their desks. She also started playing with Silly Putty again, noting she felt comforted by the

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has won reelection as leader of the ruling African National Congress party. The results announced Monday showed an unexpectedly close race between Ramaphosa and former Health Minister Zweli Mkhize. The voting for the party leadership took much longer than scheduled, stretching out

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordanian police say a shootout that erupted in the country’s south during an arrest raid in the case of the recent slaying of a police commander left three officers and the suspect dead. Police said that eight other suspects in the killing of a senior policeman last week were arrested. Monday’s

BERLIN (AP) — A closely watched survey shows that German business confidence has improved more than expected in December. Managers in Europe’s biggest economy are taking a brighter view of both their current situation and the outlook for the next six months. The Ifo institute said Monday that its monthly confidence index rose to 88.6

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norway’s 83-year-old King Harald V has been admitted to a hospital due to an infection and is being treated with intravenous antibiotics. The Norwegian palace said in a brief statement Monday that the king will remain in the hospital in Oslo for a few days. Harald has been hospitalized several times

BERLIN (AP) — Black ice and freezing rain are causing disruption in parts of Germany as a lengthy freeze gives way to milder and wetter weather, with trains traveling at reduced speed, cancellations at the country’s busiest airport and a spate of traffic accidents. The German Weather Service warned of widespread black ice on Monday

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Multiple drones targeted Ukraine’s capital in an attack before dawn Monday, local authorities reported, as Russian President Vladimir Putin prepared to visit ally Belarus, which provided the Kremlin’s forces with a launch pad for its invasion of Ukraine almost 10 months ago. The drone attack came three days after what Ukrainian

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union ministers are trying again to finalize a long-awaited deal to implement a natural gas price cap that they hope can help households and businesses better weather excessive price surges. The ministers have previously failed to overcome their differences at five previous so-called emergency meetings. Several

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press MONTREAL (AP) — Negotiators reached a historic deal at a U.N. biodiversity conference early Monday that would represent the most significant effort to protect the world’s lands and oceans and provide critical financing to save biodiversity in the developing world. The global framework comes a day before the United Nations

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Police have charged three men following a violent pitch invasion that left a goalkeeper and a referee injured and forced an Australian top-flight soccer match between rivals Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory to be abandoned on the weekend. Video on social media shows a man throwing a metal bucket of sand

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s High Court is set to rule on whether the U.K. government’s controversial plan to send asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda is legal. Several asylum-seekers, aid groups and a border officials’ union are trying to stop the Conservative government acting on a deportation agreement with

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai navy ships and helicopters were searching on Monday for more than two dozen sailors still missing more than 12 hours after a warship sank in rough seas overnight in the Gulf of Thailand. As of noon, 75 sailors from the HTMS Sukhothai corvette had been rescued and 31 were still in

WAVERLY, Ohio (AP) — A man convicted in the killings of eight people from another southern Ohio family faces the possibility of life in prison without parole when he’s sentenced. A judge may hear Monday from relatives of the victims before deciding whether to give 31-year-old George Wagner the possibility of parole. Wagner denied any