AP National News

By ABDUL QAHAR AFGHAN and TAMEEM AKHGAR Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The family of a prominent Afghan doctor says he was kidnapped and killed in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. The doctor’s son said on Saturday that Mohamed Nader Alemi was abducted two months ago by kidnappers demanding a ransom. The son says

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s record high coronavirus death toll persisted for a second straight day on Saturday, as the number of new infections declined. The state coronavirus task force reported 1,254 COVID-19 deaths, matching Friday’s tally. The task force also reported 37,120 new confirmed cases. The daily new infections in recent weeks appear to have

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon says its navy has rescued a boat carrying migrants that had left the country heading west across the Mediterranean Sea, but broke down off the coast. It’s the latest case of desperate people — mostly Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians — sailing toward European Union member Cyprus, and sometimes Turkey, seeking to

LONDON (AP) — The man who was once Britain’s most powerful newspaper editor has dropped his bid to head the country’s broadcasting regulator. The decision is a blow to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre was the government’s favorite candidate to be chairman of Ofcom — so much so that when

VIENNA (AP) — Thousands of protesters are expected to gather in Vienna after the Austrian government announced a nationwide lockdown to contain the quickly rising coronavirus infection rate in the country. Among others, the far-right opposition Freedom Party has called for Saturday’s protest and vowed to combat the new restrictions. The lockdown will start early

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Police opened fire on protesters in rioting that erupted in downtown Rotterdam around a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions. The Dutch city’s mayor called Friday night’s rioting “an orgy of violence.” Police say that two rioters were hospitalized after being hit by bullets and investigations were

BEIJING (AP) — An employee of Chinese state TV has posted photos of missing tennis star Peng Shuai online in a new effort to dispel concern about her disappearance after she accused a senior leader of sexual assault. The photos appeared Friday on Twitter, which cannot be seen by most internet users in China. The

PRAGUE (AP) — Soaring coronavirus infection rates in the Czech Republic have hit a new record for the second time this week. The Health Ministry says the daily tally jumped to 22,936 on Friday, almost 500 more than the previous record set on Tuesday. The country’s infection rate has risen to 929 new cases per

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Police opened fire on protesters and seven people were injured in rioting that erupted in downtown Rotterdam around a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions. The Dutch city’s mayor called it “an orgy of violence.” He told reporters in the early hours of Saturday morning that “on

By OMER FAROOQ Associated Press HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Authorities in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh say at least 17 people have died and dozens are reported missing after days of heavy rains. The state has been struck by intense torrents since Thursday, sparking massive floods in at least five districts. Police say

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC Associated Press ZRENJANIN, Serbia (AP) — Vietnamese workers helping construct the first Chinese car tire factory in Europe say they’re shivering in barracks without heat, going hungry and stuck in a plainland in Serbia because their passports have been taken by their Chinese employer. The Associated Press visited the construction site in

By RAF CASERT and KAREL JANICEK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — With coronavirus infections spiking again across Europe despite nearly two years of restrictions, the health crisis increasingly is pitting citizen against citizen — the vaccinated against the unvaccinated. Governments desperate to shield overburdened healthcare systems are imposing rules on unvaccinated people in hopes that

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer Some of the world’s most famous tennis players are distraught by the disappearance of colleague Peng Shuai and are challenging China’s Communist Party to get answers. So far it’s a standoff with little visible impact as tennis players like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal — joined by tennis governing

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — America’s top defense official has vowed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to counter its “dangerous use” of suicide drones in the wider Mideast . Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s comments Saturday in Bahrain at the annual Manama Dialogue appear aimed at

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The more than 87,000 personnel in U.N. peacekeeping missions are confronting greater threats today because conflicts have become more complex and are driven by an increasing number of factors ranging from ethnic tensions and the impact of organized crime to illegal exploitation of resources and

By NOMAAN MERCHANT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine has left U.S. officials perplexed. Some Republican lawmakers have been pressing the Biden administration to step up military support for Ukraine. But that risks turning what may be mere muscle-flexing by Russian President Vladimir Putin into a full-blown confrontation that

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — America’s top defense official will vow to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to counter its “dangerous use” of suicide drones in the wider Mideast in an upcoming speech. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s coming comments Saturday in Bahrain at the annual Manama

BEIJING (AP) — China’s market regulator has fined tech giants including Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings for failing to report corporate acquisitions. The moves add to an anti-monopoly crackdown by the ruling Communist Party. The State Administration for Market Regulation said the companies failed to report 43 acquisitions that occurred up to eight years ago

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — The grind of legislating is treacherous for some, a sport for others, and rarely successful in the slow-moving Congress. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appears to have mastered the artform better than most. On Friday she advanced President Joe Biden’s roughly $2 trillion domestic policy package