AP National News

By The Associated Press A war that erupted in November 2020 between Ethiopian forces and fighters from the country’s Tigray region has killed tens of thousands of people. But how many have really died? How many women and girls have been raped by Ethiopian forces and their allies, or by Tigray fighters? How many people

BEIJING (AP) — Crews have safely rescued 20 Chinese coal miners trapped inside a flooded shaft, while two others were found dead. The accident at the illegal operation occurred at about 11 p.m. Wednesday in Xiaoyi city in Shanxi province, a major coal-producing region southwest of Beijing. State broadcaster CCTV showed rescue crews bringing the

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The two straw goats of Gavle, Sweden’s most endangered Christmas decorations, have gone up in flames after surviving nearly a month on a downtown square. The animals are a beloved Swedish Christmas symbol, dating back to pagan times. But in what’s become a tradition of sorts in Gavle, 163 kilometers (101

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India and France have discussed future collaboration and co-production of defense equipment during a visit by the French defense minister. Florence Parly and her Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh expressed their commitment to increase defense cooperation in all domains. Parly said in an interview with The Times

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Emirati billionaire Majid Al Futtaim, who rose from working as a bank clerk to creating an eponymous business empire, including a massive Dubai mall with an indoor ski slope, has died. Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced Al Futtaim’s death on

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s prime minister says his government is moving to close theaters, cinemas, concert halls, amusement parks, museums and art galleries as part of new restrictions to contain a faster than expected resurgence of the coronavirus. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the proposed measures would require

BANGKOK (AP) — Hundreds of inmates have set fire at a prison in southern Thailand in a riot over demands for better medical care for those suffering from COVID-19. Thailand’s justice minister says some 400 inmates at Krabi’s main provincial prison became violent Thursday night when a core group demanded that those infected with the

By FRANCESCA EBEL Associated Press TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Opponents and supporters of Tunisia’s leader held rival demonstrations on the new date President Kais Saied chose to mark the country’s Revolution Day. A few hundred demonstrators gathered in Tunis on Friday morning to protest Saied’s consolidation of power and his actions that have raised fears

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME and ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s government says the country will donate just over 2 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to other African countries to boost the continent’s vaccine drive. The doses are worth approximately $18 million and will be produced at the Aspen Pharmacare

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN and RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Heading into the Christmas week, nuclear energy has become a big thorn in the side of the European Union. The 27-nation bloc needs to decide whether to include nuclear-generated energy among the economic activities that qualify for sustainable investment. A big rise in energy

BY KELVIN CHAN and DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Travel restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus are hammering the already beleaguered travel and tourism industries and adding to the gloom in Europe in the midst of the crucial holiday season. Travelers are rearranging or canceling trips

By CHISATO TANAKA and MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press OSAKA, Japan (AP) — A fire that spread from a fourth-floor mental clinic in an eight-story building in downtown Osaka in western Japan has left 24 dead in what police are treating as a possible case of arson. Police are searching for a man who witnesses saw

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and LORNE COOK Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has published draft security pacts demanding that Ukraine and other ex-Soviet countries be barred from joining NATO and that restrictions on troops and weapons in Europe be put in place. The documents have been submitted to the U.S. and its allies. Russia is

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer The Federal Reserve and most other central banks are shifting into inflation-fighting mode as pandemic recoveries power ahead despite renewed outbreaks of coronavirus. But while surging prices are haunting consumers and confounding economic planners in the U.S. and other countries, they’re still a distant concern in Japan. Its economy,

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s currency has crashed to an new all-time low against the dollar a day after the Central Bank again lowered a key interest rate despite surging consumer prices. The lira’s fall prompted the Central Bank to intervene by selling off more foreign currency. It was the bank’s fifth intervention in recent

BEIJING (AP) — Crews have safely rescued 20 of 21 Chinese coal miners trapped inside a flooded shaft, with one still missing. The accident at the illegal operation occurred at about 11 p.m. Wednesday in Xiaoyi city in Shanxi province, a major coal-producing region southwest of Beijing. State broadcaster CCTV showed rescue crews bringing the

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM, JENNIFER PELTZ and ALI SWENSON Associated Press This year’s holiday season was supposed to be a do-over for last year’s subdued celebrations. Instead it’s turning into a redux of restrictions, cancellations and rising angst over the never-ending pandemic. Lines again stretch around blocks at some COVID-19 testing sites. Refrigerated mobile morgues are

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has suffered a stunning defeat in a parliamentary by-election that was viewed as a referendum on his government amid weeks of scandal and soaring COVID-19 infections. Liberal Democrat Helen Morgan overturned a Conservative majority of almost 23,000 votes from the