AP National News

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — Italy, Spain and other European countries are reinstating or stiffening mask mandates as their hospitals struggle with mounting numbers of COVID-19 patients. Other nations like the Netherlands are considering introducing masking rules. The use of more protective FFP2 masks in Italy is also seen as a way

By ALEKSANDAR FURTULA and MIKE CORDER Associated Press VALKENBURG, Netherlands (AP) — Shops, bars and restaurants in a southern Dutch town have opened in a protest action that underscored growing anger at weeks of coronavirus lockdown measures. The move Friday comes a day before some of the restrictions are expected to be eased. People are

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s Defense Ministry says that a massive leak from a military equipment database includes only publicly available information and is not harmful. The ministry said Friday that the database found on the internet is a list coming from a body responsible for making purchases for Poland’s military. It blamed the leak

By ULIANA PAVLOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian government has decided to delay a controversial bill requiring QR codes confirming vaccination or recovery from COVID-19 to access public places, despite surging cases and warnings from top officials about the highly infectious omicron variant. Russia on Friday reported 23,820 new infections, a 12% increase

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatian authorities say last year’s population census in the European Union country has shown an almost 10% drop over the past decade. Officials said Friday that the census listed 3.8 million citizens compared to close to 4.2 in the previous census in 2011. The decrease reflects the depopulation problem in Croatia

By DAVID EGGERT Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s attorney general is asking federal prosecutors to open a criminal investigation into 16 Republicans who submitted false certificates stating they were the state’s presidential electors despite Joe Biden’s 154,000-vote victory in 2020. Democrat Dana Nessel disclosed that her office has been evaluating charges for nearly

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Novak Djokovic’s supporters in Serbia were dismayed after waking up to the news that the top-ranked tennis player again faces deportation from Australia after his visa was revoked for a second time. Australia’s immigration minister used his ministerial discretion to cancel the 34-year-old Serb’s visa on

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Boris Johnson’s office has apologized to the royal family for a lockdown-breaching staff parties in Downing Street on the eve of Prince Philips funeral. They are the latest in a string of rule-breaking social events that are threatening to topple the British prime minister. The Daily Telegraph

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The office of Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson says she has tested positive for COVID-19. She took part in a debate in parliament with other party leaders earlier this week and at least two other top politicians also have since tested positive. Andersson is working from home and is doing fine. Following

By YURAS KARMANAU, FRANK BAJAK and DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials say a cyberattack has left a number of government websites temporarily unavailable. It wasn’t immediately clear who was behind Friday’s cyberattack. But it comes amid heightened tensions with Russia and after talks between Moscow and the West failed to

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A fire  that erupted during maintenance work at a major oil refinery in Kuwait has killed two workers and critically injured five others. The Kuwait National Petroleum Company says the blaze broke out on Friday at a gas liquefaction unit that had been out of service for maintenance work.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean rescuers have pulled a body from a heap of rubble at the construction site of a 39-floor building that partially collapsed four days earlier in the southern city of Gwangju. City officials say the man, one of six construction workers who were missing after the collapse, was pronounced

LONDON (AP) — British prosecutors say a court hearing for an American citizen who left Britain after being involved in a crash that killed a teenage motorcyclist has been called off. Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service said last month the case against Anne Sacoolas would be heard at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Jan. 18. It

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials and media reports say a number of government websites in Ukraine are down after a massive hacking attack. While it is not immediately clear who was behind the attacks, they come amid heightened tensions with Russia and after talks between Moscow and the West

BEIJING (AP) — China says it gained support on issues including the treatment of Uyghur Muslims from Persian Gulf states following talks at which they agreed to upgrade relations. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson says Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers expressed firm support for China’s positions on issues related to Taiwan, Xinjiang and human rights. He

By COLLEEN BARRY AP Fashion Writer MILAN (AP) — Milan fashion houses were charting a path out of the pandemic that included a menswear calendar packed with 22 live runway shows and another 18 physical presentations this month. But that was before the omicron surge. Milan Fashion Week with previews for fall-winter 2022-23 opens Friday

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A top military chief in Sweden said Friday that they are seeing increased Russian activity in the Baltic Sea which “deviate from the normal picture” to explain why the Scandinavian nation’s military has raised its preparedness. Lt. Gen Leif Michael Claesson said Friday that “it does not have to mean an increased

GENEVA (AP) — The government of Ethiopia has sent a letter to the World Health Organization accusing its Ethiopian director-general of “misconduct” after his sharp criticism of the war and humanitarian crisis in the country. Ethiopia nominated Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to be the head of the U.N. health agency four years ago, but says he

By NASSER KARIMI and JON GAMBRELL Associated Press TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian author whose bestselling comic novel, “My Uncle Napoleon,” lampooned Persian culture’s self-aggrandizing and paranoid behavior as the country entered the modern era, has died. Iraj Pezeshkzad (ee-RAJ peh-ZESHK-zad) was 94. The travails of Uncle Napoleon, whose delusions have him seeing Britain’s

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press The Transportation Department is launching a $27 billion program to repair and upgrade U.S. bridges. It’s happening as part of the infrastructure law approved in November and comes as President Joe Biden tries to showcase how his policies are delivering for the public. The program is expected to help repair