AP National News

By SYLVIE CORBET and JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — France’s government is forging ahead with efforts to increase pressure on unvaccinated people to get coronavirus jabs. The country reported 208,000 new cases of COVID-19 infection. It’s a record fueled by the highly-contagious omicron variant. Health Minister Olivier Veran on Wednesday defended a government

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Sudanese authorities say rescue workers retrieved at least 31 bodies from a collapsed gold mine in West Kordofan province. The country’s state-run mining company said workers and villagers were still searching the Darsaya mine for more bodies or possible survivors. The defunct mine collapsed earlier this week,

By SABINA NIKSIC Associated Press SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Bosnia’s rate of vaccination against the coronavirus is one of the lowest in Europe, but one population in the Balkan country has bucked the national trend: its prison inmates. Authorities say that over 80% of the 2,000 men and women serving sentences in Bosnia’s 13 prisons

Greece’s health minister says music will be banned at all commercial venues for New Year’s celebrations as part of new restrictions announced in response to a surge in COVID-19 infections fueled by the omicron variant. The restrictions were originally supposed to take effect on Jan. 3. But they will start early Thursday after the daily

By YAYAN ZAMZAMI Associated Press BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities have decided to allow a boat carrying 120 Rohingya Muslims to land after drifting for days off the country’s northernmost province of Aceh. An official says the decision was made because of the severe conditions experienced by the passengers, who are overwhelmingly women

By MAURICIO SAVARESE and CHRISTIAN PRENDERGAST Associated Press SAO SEBASTIAO, Brazil (AP) — The coast of Sao Paulo has become the epicenter of Brazilian surfing that, in just a few years, has become a global powerhouse. The three world titles of local star Gabriel Medina have drawn surfers from all over to an area that

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer World Cup ticket sales begin in January but supporters are in for a shock when they look for somewhere to stay: Qatar already looks sold out. Extensive searches by The Associated Press of hotel websites found only one property with availability for the entire tournament which runs from

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri boarding school doctor accused of several child sex crimes has been taken into custody in Arkansas. The Kansas City Star reports that 57-year-old David Smock was captured Tuesday night in Harrison, Arkansas, not far from the Missouri border. He had been considered a fugitive for several days. Smock has

BERLIN (AP) — A court says six men will go on trial in Germany next month over their alleged role in the spectacular theft of 18th-century jewels from a Dresden museum in 2019. The Dresden state court said Wednesday that the trial will open on Jan. 28. The suspects, German nationals aged 22 to 28,

BY JOHN SEEWER and JENNIFER McDERMOTT Associated Press For more than 50 years, a Boston man kept a secret that not even his family knew until just before his death last May. Ted Conrad was a fugitive wanted in one of the biggest bank robberies in Cleveland’s history. And he had spent most of his

A key part of the car buying process is familiarizing yourself with some of the key terms you’ll encounter on automaker websites or on the dealership lot. You want to ensure that you’re getting the right features in your new vehicle. But if you’re new to buying cars or aren’t familiar with auto industry lingo,

By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Bill de Blasio swept into the New York City mayor’s office eight years ago promising a liberal remolding of the nation’s largest city that would level deep inequities and reform police practices. He had some successes, delivering on a promise to offer universal pre-kindergarten and

By KATE ASHFORD of NerdWallet Many adults find themselves helping their aging parents sign up for Medicare, a complex process with many steps and considerations. There are penalties for delaying enrollment, and not everyone understands their options. Moreover, making the wrong choices can lead to headaches down the road. There are several ways you can

By ZEN SOO and HUIZHONG WU Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — For Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, 2021 has been a year in which the city’s authorities and the central government in Beijing stamped out nearly everything it had stood for. Activists have fled abroad or been locked up under a draconian new National Security

PARIS (AP) — France’s government is forging ahead with efforts to increase pressure on unvaccinated people to get coronavirus jabs, as the omicron variant fuels a record surge in infections. At a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday afternoon, the health minister will defend a government plan to allow only the fully vaccinated to enjoy continued access

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — A court in Moscow has granted a request to shut down another prominent human rights organization amid a sweeping crackdown on Russia’s rights groups, independent media and opposition supporters. The Moscow City Court’s decision on Wednesday to shut down the Memorial Human Rights Center came a day

By EDNA TARIGAN Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia is lifting its ban on Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft, three years after one crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 189 people on board. The Transportation Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that the aircraft will be permitted to fly in Indonesia, but only after airlines

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Here are some athletes who were money in the bank for sports bettors this year: Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans and Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani. And here are some who lost gamblers the most: Kansas City