AP National News

By HELENA ALVES Associated Press LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal has tightened passenger entry requirements and mandated masks indoors to curb an upward trend in coronavirus infections in the country with one of the strongest vaccination records in Europe. A “state of calamity” that Portugal entered on Wednesday is one step below a state of

BEIJING (AP) — China is lashing out at Shinzo Abe after the former Japanese prime minister warned of the serious security and economic consequences of any Chinese military action against self-ruled Taiwan. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Abe had talked nonsense, pointed fingers at Taiwan issues and made irresponsible remarks on China internal affairs.

By RISHI LEKHI Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian man has built a one-third sized replica of the historic Taj Mahal for his wife, but unlike the original, it’s their residence, not a mausoleum. Constructed with white marble from the same city that provided the Taj Mahal’s stone, the imitation includes the real

By MARI YAMAGUCHI and FOSTER KLUG Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan has asked international airlines to stop taking new reservations for all flights arriving in the country until the end of December in a further tightening of already strict border controls. The transportation ministry says the request is an emergency precaution. The move by

HUMBOLDT, Tenn. (AP) — Two people were shot, one fatally, following a pair of basketball games Tuesday night at a Tennessee high school. Humboldt Police Chief Reynard Buchanan Sr. told the Jackson Sun, “We know of one who was deceased, and another was flown to The Med in Memphis and was in surgery last I

By AAMER MADHANI WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration in its new HIV/AIDS strategy is calling racism “a public health threat” that must be fully recognized as the world looks to end the epidemic. The strategy released Wednesday on the annual commemoration of World AIDS Day is meant to serve as a framework for how

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has arrived in South Korea for annual security talks expected to bolster the countries’ decades-long military alliance in the face of North Korean nuclear threats and mounting challenges from China. Austin tweeted after landing that “The U.S.-South Korea alliance “is

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. migration agency says the coronavirus pandemic has “radically altered” mobility around the world, projecting in a new report that the growth in the number of international migrants is likely to remain weaker as long as travel and other restrictions remain. The International Organization for Migration

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Global shares are mostly higher amid nervous trading due to worries over the newest coronavirus variant. Shares rose in Paris, Frankfurt and London after most markets in Asia also finished higher. The detection of the omicron variant in Japan and other countries is raising fears that

ATLANTA (AP) — Police say four people are dead, including a police officer and the shooter, after officers responded to a domestic disturbance call Tuesday in Clayton County, south of Atlanta. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says Clayton County police Officer Henry Laxson was killed when a man started shooting at officers when they arrived.

By RAF CASESRT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — A European Union official says the bloc has decided against holding a special remote summit of EU leaders on the omicron coronavirus variant for the time being. The official said Wednesday that the EU’s 27 health ministers will first assess the situation  next Tuesday before it will

By LORNE COOK and DAVID KEYTON Associated Press RIGA, Latvia (AP) — NATO foreign ministers are debating a report on the lessons to learn from the military organization’s 18-year presence in conflict-ravaged Afghanistan. The security effort is estimated to have cost the United States alone $2.3 trillion. The price in lives includes 2,324 American troops

BERLIN (AP) — Austria’s lockdown has officially been extended until Dec. 11 as planned amid signs that the measures are helping to bring down a sky-high coronavirus infection rate. A parliamentary committee signed off Tuesday on the extension of the country’s fourth national lockdown of the pandemic that started on Nov. 22. That was necessary

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia says it has detected its first case of the new coronavirus variant omicron. The kingdom’s state-run Saudi Press Agency said the case was a citizen coming from what it described as a “North African country.” The report said the infected individual and his close contacts had been

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria has detected its first case of the omicron coronavirus variant in a sample collected in October, weeks before South Africa alerted the world about the variant last month. The Nigeria Center for Disease Control said genomic sequencing of positive COVID-19 cases from incoming international travelers

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand will send up to 65 military and police personnel to the Solomon Islands in the coming days after rioting and looting broke out there last week over several issues, including concerns about the country’s increasing links with China. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s transportation ministry says it has asked international airlines to stop taking new reservations for all flights arriving in Japan until the end of December. The ministry says it made the request as an emergency precaution amid growing concern over the spread of the new omicron variant

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Tight family bonds are usually admirable, but in Chris Cuomo’s case, loyalty to his brother has put his job as a journalist at CNN at risk. CNN suspended its prime-time anchor indefinitely while it further investigates his role in trying to help his brother, former

BEIJING (AP) — China is urging its citizens to leave three provinces in eastern Congo as violence intensifies in the mineral-rich region. A posting Wednesday from the Chinese Embassy in Kinshasa on the WeChat online messaging says a number of Chinese citizens had been attacked and kidnapped over the past month in the provinces of

By RYAN KRYSKA and MIKE HOUSEHOLDER Associated Press OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at his Michigan high school, killing three students, including a 16-year-old boy who died in a deputy’s patrol car on the way to a hospital. Eight other people were wounded, some critically. Oakland County Sheriff