AP National News

By DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece and a handful of other European Union members have started vaccinating children ages 5-11 against COVID-19 as governments brace for the spread of the omicron variant during the holiday season. An Athens children’s hospital administered its first shots to younger children hours after authorities announced

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — World shares are mixed as traders await the outcome of the last Federal Reserve meeting of this year. Benchmarks rose in Paris, Tokyo and Frankfurt but fell in Hong Kong and Shanghai after the U.S. Labor Department reported wholesale prices jumped a record 9.6% in November

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Consumer prices in the United Kingdom are rising at their highest rate in over a decade as a result of soaring energy costs and blockages in the supply chain. The Office for National Statistics found Wednesday that inflation rose by 5.1% in the year to November. That’s

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Olaf Scholz is vowing that his new government will win the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and make Germany “structurally fit” for the 21st century. He promised Wednesday that efforts to combat climate change will be central to its agenda as he made his first major

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press CHAVANNES-DE-BOGIS, Switzerland (AP) — The head of vaccine alliance Gavi says in an interview he’s seen early signs that rich countries are beginning to withhold donations out of fears about the omicron variant – warning it could lead to “Inequity 2.0.” CEO Dr. Seth Berkley took stock of the nearly

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — A human rights watchdog has urged the United Nations to deploy monitors to Sudan’s western region of Darfur, where a surge in tribal clashes has killed more than 180 people since October. Human Rights Watch said in a statement Wednesday that the monitors should include experts on

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Dozens of people were trapped on the rooftop of a Hong Kong skyscraper after a major fire broke out, as firefighters rushed to rescue them and put out the blaze. The fire started in the early afternoon Wednesday at the World Trade Centre on Gloucester Road

By ALEX TURNBULL Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Harry’s Bar in Paris is celebrating the 100th birthday of the bloody mary, the vodka-tomato juice cocktail believed to have been invented at the iconic watering hole in 1921. The bar known for hosting F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway plans a centenary celebration on Thursday night

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Kim Yong Ju, the younger brother of North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, has died, according to state media. He was once regarded as North Korea’s No. 2 official before his nephew was anointed as the next ruler. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press RANYA, Iraq (AP) — The specter of unemployment haunts both students and teachers at universities in northern Iraq. Many speak of growing numbers of empty seats in classrooms across the semi-autonomous Kurdish region — seats once occupied by students who have left for Europe. Those who remain are making plans

By The Associated Press The luxury fashion house Chanel has chosen Leena Nair, an industry outsider from India and longtime executive at Unilever, to be its new CEO. Nair said in a Twitter post that she was “humbled and honored to be appointed the Global Chief Executive Officer of @CHANEL, an iconic and admired company.”

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Dozens of people are trapped on the rooftop of a Hong Kong skyscraper after a major fire broke out, as firefighters rush to rescue them and put out the blaze. The fire started in the early afternoon Wednesday at the World Trade Centre on Gloucester Road

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Libya is scheduled to hold elections in just over a week, on Dec. 24, a long-awaited vote that is the lynchpin of efforts to bring peace after a decade of civil war. But calls are mounting for a delay, amid warnings that an election now could only

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — A Berlin court will deliver its verdict Wednesday in the trial of a Russian man accused of a killing in the German capital two years ago that prosecutors say was ordered by Russia. The slaying of a 40-year-old Georgian citizen of Chechen ethnicity sparked outrage in Germany.

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Human rights activists are lobbying major jewelers to stop buying gems sourced in Myanmar as a way to put pressure on Myanmar’s military leaders by limiting profits from the country’s lucrative mining industry. A report by the group Global Witness released Wednesday outlines how the army

By The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The prosecution has made its case against Ghislaine Maxwell. Starting Thursday, her defense takes its turn. Maxwell has denied all charges levied against her. Her defense contends she’s being victimized by a need to make someone pay for the alleged crimes of Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York City lawmakers are poised to decide whether to prohibit most new buildings from using natural gas. The move would make the most populous U.S. city a showcase for a climate-change-fighting policy that has been both embraced and blocked elsewhere in the country. The measure