AP National News

By PETER SMITH and EVENS SANON PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A religious group based in Ohio has announced that a violent gang in Haiti has released three more hostages, while another 12 remain abducted. The statement Monday from Christian Aid Ministries said the people were released on Sunday in Haiti and are “safe and seem

The Associated Press Stocks are opening mostly higher on Wall Street, led by gains in airlines and other travel-related companies that would benefit from more reopening of the economy. The S&P 500 edged up 0.1% in the early going Monday and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9%. Tech companies fell, pulling the Nasdaq down

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatian health authorities have confirmed the first two cases of the new omicron variant in the country. Health officials said Monday they are trying to establish the source of infection as the two people had not traveled abroad. They say they most likely got the virus at a business gathering they

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi was convicted on two charges and handed a four-year sentence that was quickly reduced. The civilian leader was ousted in a de facto coup this year. Her trial has been widely criticized as a further effort by the country’s military rulers to

By GEIR MOULSON and FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — A three-party deal to form a new German government under center-left leader Olaf Scholz has cleared its final hurdle. That sets the scene for Scholz to succeed longtime Chancellor Angela Merkel later this week. Germany’s environmentalist Greens said Monday that their members approved the

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer To protect yourself against the omicron variant, experts say to do what you would against any other variant. That means getting vaccinated if you haven’t already, getting a booster if you’re eligible and stepping up other precautions you may have relaxed, like wearing a mask. For all the attention

MIAMI (AP) — A wake and funeral services in Florida are being prepared for former Congresswoman Carrie Meek, who died last week at 95 following a long illness. Meek was the grandchild of a slave and a sharecropper’s daughter who became one of the first Black Floridians elected to Congress since Reconstruction. Her family plans

By KATIE WORKMAN Associated Press Looking for that perfect little thinking-of-you gift for people who made your life better this year? Great stocking stuffers begin in the kitchen. AP food writer Katie Workman has a range of suggestions from specialty or nostalgic chocolate bars to infused maple syrups to a cheery new kitchen utensil. Perhaps

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and KAREN MATTHEWS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York Mayor Bill de Blasio says all private employers big and small in the city will have to require their workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 27. It is the most sweeping vaccine mandate of any state or big

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian official has criticized a travel ban imposed on the West African nation by the British government amid fears about the new omicron variant as “punitive, indefensible and discriminatory.” U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid on Saturday added Nigeria to the U.K.’s travel “red list,” which

NEW YORK (AP) — Mayor Bill de Blasio says all New York City employers will have to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for their workers by Dec. 22. De Blasio said Monday that the new mandate is aimed at preventing a spike in coronavirus infections during the holiday season and the colder months. He called it a

By DON BABWIN and SARA BURNETT Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — The big question when Jussie Smollett’s trial resumes will be whether the actor will tell his side of the story. Two brothers spent hours telling a jury last week how Smollett paid them to carry out a fake racist and anti-gay attack on himself

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi was convicted of incitement and another charge and sentenced to four years in prison. The civilian leader was ousted in a de facto coup this year. Her trial has been widely criticized as a further effort by the country’s military rulers to

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis says he accepted the resignation of the archbishop of Paris because the monsignor could no longer govern effectively thanks to the “gossip” about his relationship with a woman a decade ago. Francis was asked en route home from Greece about the surprise

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Police in Slovenia say body of a man from Bangladesh has been found near the border with Croatia. The remains were discovered in an area where migrants cross the border illegally while trying to reach Western Europe.  Police in the coastal town of Koper said Monday the 31-year-old man’s body was

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s environmentalist Greens say their members have approved a deal to form a new coalition government with two other parties, clearing the way for parliament to elect Olaf Scholz as chancellor. The Greens’ membership ballot was the last hurdle for the coalition deal reached last month. The

By AGOES BASOEKI Associated Press SUMBERWULUH, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian rescuers on Monday retrieved more bodies buried under volcanic debris, as improved weather conditions allowed them to resume their search after a volcano on Indonesia’s Java island erupted with fury, killing at least 22 people and leaving 27 others missing. Mount Semeru spewed thick columns

BERLIN (AP) — Karl Nehammer has been sworn in as Austria’s third chancellor in two months. Monday’s ceremony capped a round of upheaval triggered by the decision last week of Sebastian Kurz to bow out of politics. The 49-year-old Nehammer has been Austria’s interior minister since early 2020. He also is taking over as leader

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says attacks on Muslim houses of worship on Cyprus would “not go unanswered” following reports of an attempted arson attack on a mosque on the southern, internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot part of the divided island. Turkey’s pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper said at least one suspect was detained

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Thousands of Sudanese have taken to the streets in the capital of Khartoum and other cities. They are the latest protests against the October military coup and subsequent deal that reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. Footage circulated on social media purportedly showed demonstrators marching Monday in different