AP National News

By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian prosecutors have postponed their sentencing demand for a top terror suspect who eluded capture for 18 years and is accused of masterminding deadly attacks and sectarian conflict in the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Aris Sumarsono, better known as Zulkarnaen, is the former military commander

BERLIN (AP) — The World Health Organization says the number of COVID-19 cases recorded worldwide increased by 11% last week compared with the previous week, with the biggest increase in the Americas. The gain followed a gradual increase since October. It said in its weekly epidemiological report that the overall risk related to the advancing

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Stand News online media outlet says it is ceasing operations following a police raid and arrests of current and former editors, board members and a journalist. The outlet issued a statement Wednesday saying its website and social media are no longer being updated and will be taken down.

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — European benchmarks have opened mixed, with London’s FTSE 100 at nearly a two-year high, after Asian shares mostly finished lower. U.S. futures edged higher. Stocks have wobbled as investors assess the omicron coronavirus variant’s potential impact on the world economy. Much is still uncertain about omicron,

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Stand News online media outlet says it is ceasing operations following a police raid and arrests of current and former editors and board members. The outlet issued a statement Wednesday saying its website and social media are no longer being updated and will be taken down. It says

BEIJING (AP) — China is urging the United States to protect a Chinese space station and its three-member crew after Beijing complained that satellites launched by Elon Musk’s SpaceX nearly struck the station. The foreign ministry accused Washington of ignoring its treaty obligations to protect the Tiangong’s crew following the incidents in July and October.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s defense minister has approved a raft of measures aimed at improving relations with the Palestinians following a rare meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Israel. Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s office said Wednesday that he approved “confidence-building measures” including the transfer of tax payments to the Palestinian Authority. Also approved were

By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer Desmond Tutu is being remembered for his passionate advocacy on behalf of LQBTQ people as well as his fight for racial justice. But the South African archbishop’s campaigning against homophobia had limited impact in the rest of Africa before he died Sunday at age 90. Most countries criminalize gay

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press PARALIMNI, Cyprus (AP) — Many well-off Lebanese who escaped their country’s economic tailspin for a new life in Cyprus say the transition has been a roller coaster. They are grateful they didn’t have to turn to human smugglers and embark on risky Mediterranean crossings to reach European shores. But they

By LAURIE KELLMAN and KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Harry Reid, the former Senate majority leader and Nevada’s longest-serving member of Congress, has died at home in Henderson, Nevada. He was 82. Landra Reid says her husband died peacefully Tuesday after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer. The combative former boxer-turned-lawyer was

WILTON MANORS, Fla. (AP) — Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a suspect in a hit-and-run crash in South Florida that killed two children and hospitalized four more children on Monday. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that physical evidence led detectives to Sean Charles Greer, who was jailed Tuesday evening. Police said

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares are mostly lower amid lingering worries about the omicron coronavirus variant’s potential to damage the regional economy and mixed cues from Wall Street. Benchmarks fell in Japan, South Korea and China, while the index jumped in Australia. Although reported infection cases from the omicron

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press ENIWA, Japan (AP) — Japan has been building up its defenses to counter strategic threats, but its arms industry is struggling both on the home front and overseas. The country’s Self Defense Force needs the more advanced aircraft and weaponry of U.S. arms manufacturers as it faces incursions by Chinese

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities say the slashed-up bodies of five men have been found on a roadside in southern Mexico. The bodies were lying on a road near the city of Iguala in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero. The state prosecutors office said Tuesday that all the men had knife wounds on

Associated Press SYDNEY (AP) — Coronavirus cases are surging across Australia as an outbreak of the omicron variant spreads, prompting Prime Minister Scott Morrison to schedule an emergency national cabinet meeting. The surge has already overwhelmed testing stations, prompted new vaccine mandates and caused at least one state to cut back on elective surgeries. New