AP National News

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has withdrawn his candidacy for a Senate seat in next year’s elections in his latest change of mind over what he plans to do after his turbulent term ends. Critics say Duterte, once out of power, would likely face an array of

BRUSSELS (AP) — Serbia is taking a significant step toward joining the European Union. Belgrade opened talks Tuesday on a series of policies linked to the environment but it was warned that progress on its European path still depends on normalizing relations with its former territory, Kosovo. Countries wanting to join the 27-country EU must

BEIJING (AP) — China has detected its second case of the omicron variant in a 67-year-old man who tested positive after more than two weeks of quarantine. State broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday said the man returned from overseas on Nov. 27 and underwent two weeks of quarantine and repeatedly tested negative for the virus. On

MADRID (AP) — A volcano that has been spewing lava in Spain’s Canary Islands for almost three months has fallen quiet. But scientists are warning that the lull doesn’t necessarily mean the eruption is over. Scientists recorded no seismic activity from the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma island for almost 12 hours. That’s the

GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. weather agency has certified a 38-degree Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit) reading in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk last year as the highest temperature ever recorded in the Arctic. The World Meteorological Organization said the temperature “more befitting the Mediterranean than the Arctic” was recorded in June 2020 during a heat wave

By ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A large-scale analysis in South Africa says that two-dose Pfizer/BioNTech vaccination provides just 33% protection against infection by the omicron coronavirus variant but 70% protection against hospitalization. Tuesday’s first large-scale analysis of vaccine effectiveness in the region where the new variant was discovered appears to support early

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

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A British freighter reportedly didn’t noticed it had rammed a smaller Danish freighter that capsized off southern Sweden, leaving one person dead and another missing. It only stopped when it was ordered back by authorities. The British shipping company said crew aboard the Scot Carrier were tested for drugs and alcohol

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s jobs market appears to have brushed aside the ending of a salary support program that supported millions of jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. The Office for National Statistics found Tuesday that the number of workers on payroll rose by a record 257,000 in November to a

BERLIN (AP) — A group representing Germany’s machinery industry says it expects a weaker rebound in production this year than previously forecast because of persistent supply chain bottlenecks. The VDMA group said Tuesday it now expects production to grow by 7% this year. That’s down from the 10% it predicted in September. Machinery is a

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — This year’s inductees into the National Film Registry include an epic Star Wars and Lord of the Ring films, projects starring Jennifer Lopez and the late Cicely Tyson along with films that took on racially motivated violence against people of color.. The Library of

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Police in Hungary say seven migrants have been killed and three others injured when the vehicle they were traveling in crashed into a house while fleeing a police stop. The accident occurred just before midnight near the center of Morahalom, a town of around 6,000 people less than five miles from

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s jobs market appears to have brushed aside the ending of a salary support scheme that supported millions of jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. The Office for National Statistics found Tuesday that the number of workers on payroll rose by a record 257,000 in November to a

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — European diplomats are expressing frustration with Iran’s stance in talks aimed at salvaging Tehran’s tattered 2015 nuclear deal, saying they are wasting “precious time” dealing with new Iranian demands and that “time is running out.” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday diplomacy remains the

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Toyota is beefing up its electric vehicle lineup, offering 30 new fully electric models by 2030. President Akio Toyoda said Toyota plans to sell 3.5 million electric vehicles globally in 2030. That’s up from its earlier plan to sell 2 million zero emission hydrogen

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Police in Hungary say seven migrants have been killed and three others injured when the vehicle they were traveling in crashed into a house while fleeing a police stop. The accident occurred just before midnight near the center of Morahalom, a town of around 6,000 people less than five miles from

BERLIN (AP) — Austria’s leader says no high-ranking politicians from his country will attend the Beijing Winter Olympics, but he says that is entirely because of coronavirus restrictions in China and is not a diplomatic protest. Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s comments to Tuesday’s edition of German daily Die Welt came after foreign ministers from Austria and

By BEN WALKER AP Baseball Writer Major League Baseball umpire Tripp Gibson grew up in Mayfield, Kentucky, and is back home this week after the town was devastated by a tornado last week. The 40-year-old Gibson says no one in his immediate family was injured in the storm that killed at least 74 in Kentucky.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s foreign minister says Turkey and Armenia will appoint special representatives to discuss steps to normalize their ties. Speaking in parliament late Monday, Mevlut Cavusoglu also said charter flights between Istanbul and Yerevan would restart soon. Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic ties and Turkey shut down their common border in