AP National News

By MAURO BUCCARELLO Associated Press LAMPEDUSA, Sicily (AP) — A rusty and overloaded fishing boat carrying 686 migrants has arrived at an Italian island port. It’s the biggest single arrival in Italy in years, since most migrants cross the Mediterranean in smaller flimsy vessels and are rescued at sea. Italian coast guard ships escorted the boat

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan’s official news agency says the country’s national airline will resume direct flights to Syria’s capital Damascus on Oct. 3. The announcement Tuesday comes nearly a decade after Royal Jordanian flights were suspended because of the war in Syria. It’s the latest sign of thawing relations between the two neighbors. The

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Oprah Winfrey’s new book club pick is Richard Powers’ “Bewilderment.” It’s his first novel since the Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Overstory.” “Bewilderment” is already on the fiction longlist for the National Book Awards. The 64-year-old Powers’ other books include “Orfeo” and “The Echo Maker,” which won

By MARIA CHENG and AL-HADJI KUDRA MALIRO Associated Press BENI, Congo (AP) — A panel commissioned by the World Health Organization has identified more than 80 alleged cases of sex abuse during the U.N. health agency’s response to an Ebola outbreak in Congo. The cases involve allegations implicating 20 WHO staff members. The panel’s report

By AHMED AL-HAJ Associated Press SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni officials say fierce clashes between government forces and Houthi rebels over a crucial central city have killed more than 130 fighters in the past two days. They said Tuesday that most of the dead are rebels. The escalation of fighting over energy-rich Marib has come

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The European Union’s home affairs commissioner says the 27-member bloc stands firm on its regime of sanctions against Belarus’ authoritarian president who’s “pushing” migrants into the EU out of “desperation.” EU commissioner Ylva  Johansson said Tuesday that President Alexander Lukashenko “can’t really deal” with the sanctions and is bringing migrants into

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Toyota is revving up acquisitions in mobility technology, adding Renovo Motors, a Silicon Valley software developer, to its Woven Planet team, which is working on automated driving. Earlier, Toyota bought CARMERA Inc., a U.S. venture that specializes in sophisticated road mapping updates. It has

By KIM COOK Associated Press Fall is a busy time for moving and changing homes. And many people have relocated because of pandemic-related changes in work, school and home life. Over the centuries, traditional housewarming gifts have included bread and salt or wine or honey. Some suggestions from designers for creative, modern housewarming presents include

PARIS (AP) — French drugmaker Sanofi says it is shelving plans for a COVID-19 vaccine based on messenger RNA despite positive results from early stage testing. The Paris-based company said it will continue to develop another vaccine candidate that is already undergoing late stage human trials. That vaccine, being developed with Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline, uses a

By EDNA TARIGAN Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The operator of an oil tanker seized by Indonesian authorities at the request of Cambodia is protesting the detention of its crew, calling it a human rights violation. World Tankers Management, the Singapore-based operator of the MT Strovolos, says the crew members, who have been detained

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press AMSTERDAM (AP) — There is a gathering at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum of people from around Europe depicted in more than 100 Renaissance portraits as COVID-19 lockdowns ease and borders reopen. The Dutch national museum’s new exhibition “Remember Me” covers the century 1470-1570. It features portraits from across the continent by masters

PARIS (AP) — A French government spokesperson says France plans to reduce the number of visas issued to people in North Africa because governments there are refusing to take back deported migrants. Radio network Europe-1 reported Tuesday that the French government expects to reduce the number of visas given to Algerians and Moroccans by half,

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Pressure is growing for a quick start to talks on Germany’s next government as newly elected lawmakers hold their first meetings and tensions simmer in outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bloc, which declined to its worst-ever result in the country’s election. The narrow winners of Sunday’s parliamentary election,

By LAURA MCMULLEN of NerdWallet Emotions influence our decisions, including whether or not we should buy something. And these are emotional times, given the prolonged pandemic and upcoming holidays. To manage your feelings while shopping, financial therapists recommend spending time away from a potential purchase before making a decision. When you’re not in the middle

MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Sam has strengthened again to a powerful Category 4 storm. It’s centered well offshore in the Atlantic Ocean but could still send dangerous swells and rip currents later this week to the Bahamas, Bermuda and eventually the northeastern U.S. coast. Sam is located about 610 miles east of the northern Leeward

PARIS (AP) — A 19-year-old student who threw an egg at French President Emmanuel Macron has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital. The egg hit Macron on the shoulder as he milled with a crowd at an international food fair in Lyon on Monday. The man was detained and an investigation was opened. The Lyon

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Council has approved a 5 billion-euro ($5.8 billion) reserve aimed at helping EU businesses tackle the short-term effects of Brexit. The council represents the national government of every EU member nation. It said on Tuesday that the reserve money will cover extra costs and compensate the losses from the U.K.’s

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron says European nations must boost their defense plans and make themselves “respected.” Speaking publicly for the first time on Tuesday about a Indo-Pacific defense deal among the U.S., Australia and Britain, Macron said Tuesday that “Europeans must come out of their naivety.” The

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — The family of a Lebanese man who was critically injured in last year’s massive explosion at Beirut’s port say he has died, nearly 14 months after the blast. The family says the 35-year-old Ibrahim Harb was in his downtown office near the port when the explosion occurred.

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer Bowing — if only for a moment — to pressure from lawmakers, critics, the media and child development experts, Facebook said Monday it will “pause” its work on a kids’ version of its photo-oriented Instagram app. The move follows an explosive report by The Wall Street Journal showing that