AP National News

VIENNA (AP) — Austria’s parliament is due to vote on introducing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for adults, the first of its kind in Europe. The mandate would apply to all residents of Austria age 18 and over, with exemptions for pregnant women, individuals who for medical reasons can’t be vaccinated, and people who have recovered

By MARIA CHENG AP Medical Writer Some European countries such as Spain are making tentative plans for when they might start treating COVID-19 as an “endemic” disease, but the World Health Organization and other officials have warned that the world is nowhere close to declaring the pandemic over. Diseases are endemic when they occur regularly

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon says it plans to open a clothing store in a Southern California mall later this year, a first for the online behemoth and a fresh challenge for already struggling traditional retailers. Amazon said Thursday that the store will sell women’s and men’s clothing, as

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Some Conservative lawmakers in Britain are talking about ousting their leader, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, over allegations that he and his staff held lockdown-breaching parties during the coronavirus pandemic. The party has a complex process for changing leaders that starts by lawmakers writing letters to demand a

By ARITZ PARRA Associated Press MADRID (AP) — With one of Europe’s highest vaccination rates and its most pandemic-battered economies, the Spanish government is laying the groundwork for a new different COVID-19 playbook. The idea is to move from crisis mode to control mode, from pandemic to endemic, approaching the virus in much the same

By ERIKA KINETZ Associated Press At some of the world’s most sensitive spots, authorities have installed security screening devices made by a single Chinese company with deep ties to China’s military and the highest levels of the ruling Communist Party. The company, Nuctech, has been frozen out of the U.S. for years due to national

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s exports and imports both reached record highs in December, largely because of surging oil prices and a weaker yen. Japan’s imports last month surged 41% from the same month a year earlier. Exports rose 17.5% from the previous year, on stronger shipments of autos and

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistani court has sentenced a Muslim woman to death after finding her guilty of blasphemy for insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. The woman, Aneeqa Atteeq, was arrested in May 2020 after the man alerted police that she sent him caricatures of the Prophet — considered sacrilegious — via WhatsApp. Under Pakistan’s

By LUJAIN JO Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Even trash has become a commodity fought over in the streets in Lebanon, mired in one of the world’s worst financial crises in modern history. In Beirut, the desperately poor scavenge the city’s waste for scrap to sell. Some tag trash cans with graffiti to mark territory

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The first flights carrying fresh water and other aid to Tonga finally arrived after the Pacific nation’s main airport runway was cleared of ash left by a huge volcanic eruption. New Zealand and Australia each sent military transport planes that were carrying water containers, kits

By CEDAR ATTANASIO Associated Press / Report for America ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — A proposal to overhaul New Mexico’s social studies standards has stirred debate over how race should be taught, with thousands of parents and teachers weighing in on changes that would dramatically increase instruction related to racial and social identity beginning in kindergarten. New

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand is among the few remaining countries to have avoided any outbreaks of the omicron variant. But Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says an outbreak is inevitable and the nation would tighten restrictions as soon as one was detected. She also said Thursday that New

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly has approved an Israeli-sponsored resolution condemning any denial of the Holocaust and urging all nations and social media companies “to take active measures to combat antisemitism and Holocaust denial or distortion.” The 193-member world body approved the resolution Thursday by consensus

By AAMER MADHANI and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden ends his first year in the White House with a clear majority of Americans for the first time disapproving of his handling of the presidency in the face of an unrelenting pandemic and roaring inflation. That’s according to a new poll

By ROBERT BURNS AP National Security Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is unlikely to answer a further Russian invasion of Ukraine by sending U.S. combat troops. But it could pursue a range of less dramatic yet still risky options, including giving military support to a post-invasion Ukrainian resistance. The rationale for not directly

By AMY FORLITI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Three former officers who were with Derek Chauvin during the arrest that led to George Floyd’s death face federal trial this week on charges they violated the Black man’s civil rights. J. Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao are broadly accused of willfully depriving Floyd of his

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA has adopted a sport-by-sport approach for transgender athletes, bringing the organization in line with the U.S. and International Olympic Committees. Under the new guidelines, approved by the NCAA Board of Governors, transgender participation for each sport will be determined by the policy for the sport’s national governing body. It will

By AMY FORLITI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jury selection is scheduled to begin in the federal case against three former Minneapolis police officers who were with Derek Chauvin when he pinned George Floyd to the street. J. Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao are charged with depriving Floyd of his constitutional rights while acting

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine has become the fifth coronavirus vaccine approved for use in Australia. The country has ordered 51 million doses of the U.S.-manufactured vaccine, supplied under the brand Nuvaxovid, for its population of 26 million. Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines are already in use. Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen vaccine is

By MICHAEL PHILLIS Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps will spend $732 million to expand a congested lock and dam in Missouri. Federal officials said adding a second lock in Winfield, Missouri, will reduce travel time for barges and allow for two-way traffic. Funding for the lock’s construction was part of