AP National News

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Two people are missing after a pair of cargo ships collided in the Baltic Sea off southern Sweden. Authorities said at least 11 vessels, one airplane and one helicopter searched for the missing crewmembers on Monday. But the Swedish Maritime Administration said later in the day that it had ended its

By ELOGE WILLY KANEZA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Burundi’s government has signaled that it won’t allow a recently appointed United Nations special rapporteur on human rights into the East African nation. Foreign Minister Albert Shingiro last week told reporters, and separately told a meeting with diplomats, that Burundi would “never” allow the special

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities have backed away from introducing some of the restrictions for the unvaccinated that were announced a month ago and elicited public outrage all across the vast country where vaccine uptake remains low. The speaker of the State Duma, Russia’s lower parliament house, on Monday announced

BERLIN (AP) — A German court has convicted eight people over their role in a data processing center installed at a former military bunker that hosted sites dealing in drugs and other illegal activities. The data center at the former NATO bunker in Traben-Trarbach, a picturesque town on the Mosel River in western Germany, was

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts church that supports immigrants fleeing their countries for their sexual orientation has opened a new home for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender asylum seekers. The LGBT Asylum Task Force, a ministry of Hadwen Park Congregational Church in Worcester, purchased and renovated a multi-family home.

By JUSTIN SPIKE and SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is in Hungary’s capital for talks with the leaders of the European Union’s eastern member nations. The discussions on Monday are likely to highlight political rifts over the scope of the EU’s authority as France prepares to take over

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — A leading Catholic LGBTQ advocacy group is praising a Vatican official for apologizing for the pain caused when he yanked a reference to the group on the Vatican website. The Vatican’s General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops, which is organizing a two-year consultation of rank-and-file Catholics ahead

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Several European Union nations have made it clear they have little appetite to join the U.S. initiative for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Games because of concerns over China’s human rights record. EU foreign ministers are seeking a united front on how to handle the

By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA Associated Press KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Two brothers who are among Nepal’s most famous Sherpa guides have set out to scale the highest peaks on each of the world’s seven continents, in a sweeping global trek that will take them across both the North and South Poles. Mingma Sherpa and Chhang Dawa

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is set to release a federal strategy to build 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles across the country and ultimately transform the U.S. auto industry. The $1 trillion infrastructure law President Joe Biden signed last month authorizes the charging stations and sets aside $5

By LIZ WESTON of NerdWallet For people 50 and older, taking care of year-end financial tasks can help you make the most of your money. As 2021 draws to a close, begin your end-of-the-year financial to-do list with evaluating your retirement savings rate and considering making catch-up contributions to tax-advantaged accounts such as a 401(k)

By BISWAJEET BANERJEE Associated Press VARANASI, India (AP) — India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a dip in the sacred Ganges River before a crowd of thousands, as he opened part of a large-scale development project in the holy city of Varanasi. The highlight of the opening ceremony on Monday was a $45 million

By BRUCE SCHREINER and DYLAN LOVAN Associated Press MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — Dozens of people in five states have been killed by tornadoes that leveled entire communities on Friday night, but the toll at a Kentucky candle factory is not as devastating as initially feared. Officials initially said only 40 of 110 workers at Mayfield

By KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES Associated Press SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — North Macedonia’s ruling Social Democrats have elected Dimitar Kovachevski as their party’s new leader and he is set to take over as prime minister if a coalition agreement remains intact. Kovachevski replaces Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who relinquished the party post in the wake of

LONDON (AP) — British antitrust regulators are opening an investigation into Microsoft’s $16 billion acquisition of speech recognition company Nuance. It’s the latest sign they’re tightening up scrutiny of big technology deals. The Competition and Markets Authority said Monday that it’s looking into the purchase because of concerns that it could result in a “substantial

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Turkish currency has dipped to an all-time low amid another anticipated interest rate cut later this week and after the S&P credit rating agency downgraded its outlook for Turkey. The Turkish lira plummeted to 14.75 against the U.S. dollar Monday, prompting Turkey’s Central Bank to intervene by selling off foreign

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A gem company in Sri Lanka has unveiled a rare and massive gemstone weighing 683 pounds (310 kilograms) that has been certified as one of the biggest corundums ever found in the country. Sri Lanka’s National Gem and Jewelry Authority says it has done a series of gemological tests on

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — West Africa’s regional bloc is threatening further sanctions against Mali if the country fails to make “concrete progress” toward holding democratic elections in February. The new warning came Sunday after leaders from the bloc known as ECOWAS held a summit in Nigeria’s capital. The new sanctions

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is announcing $1.2 billion in commitments from international businesses to support the economies and social infrastructure of Central American nations. Harris was tapped in March by President Joe Biden to work to counter the social, economic and political forces that drive migrants and asylum seekers to the U.S.