AP National News

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union nations have set fish catch quotas for next year in an attempt to protect fragile stocks and fishing fleets at the same time, but environmentalists claim they will protect neither. The traditional year-end bartering session between EU coastal nations to secure as many catch rights

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican’s big fraud and embezzlement trial has suffered another delay. The tribunal postponed any further decisions until prosecutors finish redoing their investigation for four of the original 10 defendants.  The delay means the trial won’t get off the ground until mid-February at the earliest. Tribunal

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s intelligence minister says Syria cannot be allowed to obtain chemical weapons. Elazar Stern’s remarks come after a report emerged that Israel targeted Syria’s chemical weapons facilities. In an interview Tuesday with Israeli Army Radio, Stern would not directly comment on the report in the

MILAN (AP) — Italian women are having dramatically fewer babies than ever during the pandemic, accentuating one of the world’s lowest birth rates. The Italian statistics agency ISTAT said Tuesday that in January 2021, 10 months after the start of Italy’s draconian lockdown, marked the lowest birth rate ever recorded, with a 13.6% decline. ISTAT

By ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The omicron variant is offering more hints about what it may have in store as it spreads around the globe: A highly transmissible virus that may cause less severe disease, and one that can be slowed — but not stopped — by today’s vaccines. An analysis Tuesday

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The banking industry appears to have overdone it on overdraft fees. After decades of raking in billions of dollars from mostly poor Americans short of cash in their accounts, the biggest banks _ under pressure from lawmakers and regulators _ are slowly decreasing their reliance

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — An unvaccinated Greek commentator and publisher has died of respiratory failure and resulting complications from COVID-19. The 71-year-old Giorgos Trangas’ death on Tuesday is focusing public attention on the large number of older people in Greece who remain unvaccinated as the country struggles with a spike in infections and deaths. Trangas

By EVENS SANON Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Officials in Haiti say a truck carrying gasoline has exploded and killed more than 50 people. Reports say that dozens of others have been injured. Prime Minister Ariel Henry said Tuesday that the explosion late Monday occurred in the northern coastal city of Cap-Haitien. No further

By KATHY GANNON Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Afghan survivors of an errant U.S. drone strike that killed 10 members of their family in August say they are frustrated and saddened that U.S. troops involved in the attack will not face disciplinary action. A hellfire missile had slammed into a car belonging to

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — A Portuguese and a Swedish company are joining forces to build in Portugal what they say will be Europe’s largest lithium conversion plant. Portuguese energy company Galp and Swedish electric vehicle battery maker Northvolt said Tuesday that their goal is for the plant to deliver enough lithium hydroxide to provide batteries

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is calling for thousands of volunteers to staff new vaccination centers in shopping areas, stadiums and racecourses as the government accelerates its booster program to combat the omicron variant of COVID-19. The drive comes two days after Johnson set a target of

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares have opened higher in Europe after Asian shares followed Wall Street lower. Investors are awaiting fresh inflation data and the outcome of a meeting of the Federal Reserve. Benchmarks advanced in Paris, London and Frankfurt, but fell in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. Markets will

BERLIN (AP) — Members of a new expert panel advising the German government on its response to the coronavirus pandemic are holding their first meeting. The meeting Tuesday comes amid signs that restrictions imposed in recent weeks are beginning to slow infection rates. Germany’s disease control agency reported 30,823 newly confirmed cases in the past

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s Health ministry says that a Polish teenager who flew from Warsaw to China last week is continental China’s first person to test positive for the omicron variant of COVID-19. Ministry spokesman said Tuesday the teenager, who traveled with her mother, has been hospitalized in isolation. She shows no symptoms of

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — An official says that more than 40 people have been killed in northern Haiti after a gas truck exploded. Former Prime Minister Claude Joseph said Tuesday that the explosion occurred in the north coastal city of Cap-Haitien. No further details were immediately available. Police didn’t immediately return calls requesting comment. 

By MELISSA LAMBARENA of NerdWallet When you’re trying to stay accountable and motivated while paying down debt, visual aids can offer encouragement and help you celebrate the small wins. They can shift the focus to your progress instead of a distant debt-free date. A simple search online can open the door to a variety of

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A court in Belarus has sentenced the husband of the country’s opposition leader to 18 years in prison. The charges against Siarhei Tsikhanouski included organizing mass unrest and inciting hatred and have been widely seen as politically motivated. Tsikhanouski, a popular video blogger, planned to challenge

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Pfizer says that its experimental COVID-19 pill appears effective against the omicron variant. The company also confirmed Tuesday that the pill delivered on promising early results in reducing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. The updates come as U.S. regulators are expected to soon decide on whether to

BY JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he has applied to be the next governor of Norway’s central bank in an appointment that would last for six years if he gets the job. The current governor of Norges Bank is retiring in early 2022 after holding the

BERLIN (AP) — Police say several windows at a mosque in the eastern German city of Leipzig were broken after dozens of people set off fireworks, set fire to garbage cans and threw bottles at cars. It wasn’t clear on Tuesday whether the mosque was targeted deliberately. Police said the windows were broken on Monday