AP National News

BRUSSELS (AP) — Official figures show that consumer prices across the 19 countries that use the euro currency are rising at a record rate. The European Union’s statistics agency said Tuesday that the eurozone’s annual inflation rate hit 4.9% in November, largely as a result of a huge spike in energy costs. That’s the highest

RIGA, Latvia (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says there’s little chance the military organization would ever introduce a system for expelling anyone among its ranks. That’s despite the fact that tensions are quietly simmering between a number of the 30 member countries. Stoltenberg says he doesn’t plan to recommend such a system and that

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal’s president has refused to sign for the second time a parliament-sanctioned bill allowing euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, arguing the wording is imprecise and effectively shelving the piece of legislation until a new parliament and government are chosen early next year. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a staunch Catholic, already showed reservations

PARIS (AP) — A far-right former TV pundit with multiple hate-speech convictions is poised to officially enter the race for France’s presidency. Eric Zemmour has already shaken it up with his anti-immigration and anti-Islam invective. The essayist has climbed in the polls despite having no hands-on political experience. Zemmour’s supporters said that he would announce

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — World markets and U.S. futures have fallen as investors cautiously weigh how much damage the new omicron coronavirus variant may unleash on the global economy. Shares fell in Frankfurt, London and Paris after sinking in most Asian markets. Analysts say a serious economic downturn likely can be averted because

By ARITZ PARRA Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Spanish officials say a fire in part of a building occupied by squatters in central Barcelona has killed four members of the same family including two children ages 1 and 3. Firefighters managed to put out the fire after rescuing four more people who are being treated

KUWAIT CITY (AP) — Several prominent Kuwaiti opposition figures have returned home from a decade of self-exile after getting amnesty from the ruling emir. The long-awaited move celebrated Tuesday is aimed at ending a political paralysis that has burned a hole in public finances. Faisal al-Muslim was the latest to be greeted by screams of

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s highest court has rejected complaints against curfews and other restrictions imposed by federal legislation earlier this year in areas where the coronavirus was spreading quickly. Tuesday’s decision could help the country’s leaders as they struggle to tackle a sharp rise in infections. The ruling from the

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia has barred entry to travelers from 10 African countries, citing the threat from the new omicron coronavirus variant. The move, announced in a Health Ministry statement issued late Monday, came just two weeks after Cambodia reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travelers. The Health Ministry said the entry ban

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s state-run news agency says authorities have arrested a prominent member of an opposition party over accusations that he engaged in “political and military espionage.” Anadolu Agency said late Monday that a court in Ankara ordered Metin Gurcan, a retired army officer and founding member of the opposition Democracy and Progress

BERLIN (AP) — A court in Frankfurt is expected to issue a verdict Tuesday in the trial of a former Islamic State member accused of killing a 5-year-old girl he had purchased as a slave, by chaining her in the hot sun. The defendant, an Iraqi citizen, is the first person to go on trial

By LEE KEATH Associated Press KABUL (AP) — Human Rights Watch says that Afghanistan’s Taliban fighters have killed or forcibly “disappeared” more than 100 former police and intelligence officers since taking power in mid-August. A new report from the group points to continuing retaliation against members of the former armed forces, despite an announced amnesty.

PARIS (AP) — Japan and France confirmed their first cases of the new variant of the coronavirus on Tuesday. Countries around the world are scrambling to close their doors or find ways to limit its spread while scientists study how damaging it might be. The World Health Organization says the global risk from the omicron

By ARITZ PARRA Associated Press MADRID (AP) — A fire in part of a building occupied by squatters in central Barcelona has killed four members of the same family, including two children aged 1 and 3, in the early hours of Tuesday. Firefighters managed to put out the fire after rescuing four more people, who

By SYLVIE CORBET and JEFFREY SCHAEFFER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — France has inducted U.S.-born entertainer, anti-Nazi spy and civil rights activist Josephine Baker into the Pantheon. She is the first Black woman to receive the nation’s highest honor. French President Emmanuel Macron presided over an elaborate ceremony Tuesday at the domed Pantheon monument in

By DEREK GATOPOULOS and THEODORA TONGAS Associated Press LESBOS, Greece (AP) — Pope Francis is heading back to the Greek island of Lesbos to meet migrants and asylum-seekers for the second time in five years. It comes as European governments are hardening borders and policies to keep migrants out, but as religious faiths seeks broader

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Olivia Rodrigo, H.E.R and The Weeknd have all won honors at a revamped Apple Music Awards, which has grown larger to encompass global music patterns. Rodrigo was named breakthrough artist of the year, her “Sour” was named best album of the year and her “drivers

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares have fallen, with South Korea’s benchmark down 2.4%, as investors cautiously weigh how much damage the new omicron coronavirus variant may unleash on the global economy. Stocks also fell in Tokyo and Hong Kong but rose in Shanghai and Sydney. Analysts say a serious

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan has confirmed its first case of the new omicron coronavirus variant, a Namibian diplomat who recently arrived from his country. A government spokesperson says the patient, a man in his 30s, tested positive upon arrival at Narita airport on Sunday and was isolated and is being

By NASSER KARIMI Associated Press TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran is striking a maximalist tone after just one day of restarted talks in Vienna over its tattered nuclear deal. The comments on Tuesday suggested everything discussed in previous rounds of diplomacy could be renegotiated. Iranian state media reported the remarks by Ali Bagheri, Iran’s top