AP National News

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden’s domestic security agency says it has taken over the preliminary investigation into drones that last week were seen hovering over the country’s three nuclear power plants. At first police said there had been drones over two nuclear plants — one at Forsmark, north of Stockholm, and the other at Oscarshamn

By The Associated Press President Joe Biden took office at a particularly polarized time in American history, so it’s not surprising that citizens are divided on his performance at the one-year mark. A Georgia teacher who voted for Biden would give him a “C” grade, faulting the president for not pushing earlier to end the

By ZEYNEP BILGINSOY Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — A Turkish court has ordered that prominent Turkish civil rights activist and philanthropist Osman Kavala should stay in prison, despite his more than four years in pre-trial detention. The hearing Monday took place as a Council of Europe deadline that could trigger infringement procedures looms. The European

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press SHAMONG, N.J. (AP) — Advocates for New Jersey’s ecologically sensitive Pinelands region say the state is not doing nearly enough to protect the fragile woodlands from damage caused by motorcycles and off-road vehicles. Large tracts of numerous state forests are marred by tire tracks, huge potholes flooded with water and

By DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece has imposed a vaccination mandate for people 60 and older, as a spike in infections has put sustained pressure on Greek hospitals. People in that age group who fail to get vaccinated will face a 50-euro ($57) fine in January and monthly fines of 100

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — China is showing no signs of slowing its demand for American lobster this year despite disruption to the supply chain and international trade caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese demand for the crustaceans grew dramatically during the 2010s in part because of the expansion of the

PARIS (AP) — A Paris court has convicted French far-right presidential candidate Éric Zemmour for inciting racial hatred over 2020 comments he made about unaccompanied migrant children. Zemmour was also sentenced to pay several thousands euros in damages to anti-racist groups. His lawyer said he advised him to appeal the decision. He has two prior

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s top diplomat has angrily rejected the U.S. allegations that it was preparing a pretext to invade Ukraine as Russian troops have remained concentrated near the border. The comments Monday came as Russian troops near the Ukraine border launched more drills. The White House

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The U.S. Senate’s only Black Republican is putting forth what he characterizes as a positive response to partisan rhetoric on race that he’s best-positioned to rebut. Tim Scott of South Carolina tells The Associated Press that he hopes a video series on issues he sees as

LONDON (AP) — Amazon’s British website has backed away from plans to stop accepting Visa credit cards issued in the United Kingdom. The online retailer said Monday that the change would not be implemented as planned Wednesday while talks between the two sides continue. Amazon had announced the move in November, blaming “the high fees

GENEVA (AP) — Credit Suisse says its chairman has resigned following an internal investigation that reportedly turned up that he had violated quarantine rules intended to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The resignation of Antonio Horta-Osorio, a British-Portuguese national who took the job barely eight months ago, was announced Monday. It’s the latest upheaval at the

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities have reported a sharp spike in new coronavirus cases apparently driven by the rapid spread of the omicron variant health officials warned about last week. The country’s state coronavirus task force on Monday registered 30,726 new infections. That’s twice as many as 15,830 just a

By LIZ WESTON of NerdWallet We may think spending money on ourselves will make us happier than spending it on someone else. But research shows that spending money on others is more likely to make us happy. To maximize your happiness while helping others, include a social connection such as taking someone out to dinner

ISTANBUL (AP) — A Turkish court has acquitted German journalist Mesale Tolu after years on trial for terror-related charges. She was accused of engaging in terror propaganda and being a member of a banned left-wing group — the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party. The 38-year-old German citizen was placed in pre-trial detention for eight months in 2017.

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is visiting Albania to talk with Prime Minister Edi Rama on strengthening bilateral ties and also inaugurate new apartments funded by Turkey for Albanians left homeless by the 2019 earthquake. Upon landing Erdogan immediately headed to the northwestern town of Lac,

By ILAN BEN ZION Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian residents of a flashpoint east Jerusalem neighborhood are locked in a tense standoff with Israeli authorities after police came to evict them from a disputed property. Several residents of a home in Sheikh Jarrah climbed onto the roof of the building on Monday with gas

PARIS (AP) — A Paris court will deliver a verdict in a case involving far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour. Zemmour went on trial for inciting racial hatred after comments he made on unaccompanied migrant children. He has two prior hate speech convictions. The prosecutor requested a 10,000-euro (more than $11,000) fine against him. The former

By SHEIKH SAALIQ Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian police say that a Hindu monk has been charged with inciting religious violence after he called for the “genocide” of India’s Muslims at a meeting of right-wing supporters. Police in the northern holy town of Haridwar said Monday the monk, Yati Narsinghanand Giri, was being

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Weary of some of the harshest COVID-19 border restrictions in the world, many Australians wanted tennis star Novak Djokovic kicked out of their country for traveling to a tennis tournament without being vaccinated. But the backdrop to the government’s tough line on the defending Australian Open

By KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Former NBA great Yao Ming says he and others had a pleasant talk when they met last month with Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai. The Grand Slam champion in women’s doubles had disappeared after making a sexual assault allegation against a former high-ranking Chinese official. Yao played