AP National News

By SHLOMO MOR Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews have gathered at the Western Wall in Jerusalem to protest against a Jewish women’s group that holds monthly prayers there in a long-running campaign for gender equality at the site. For decades the “Women of the Wall” group has campaigned for equality of

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government has canceled a multimillion dollar deal with Emergent BioSolutions, a Maryland- based vaccine manufacturer with facilities in Baltimore that were found to have produced millions of contaminated vaccine doses this spring. The Washington Post reported that the company disclosed the development on Thursday in a conference call discussing its

By JOVANA GEC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Standing close together on a sunny autumn day, a group of people wait patiently by a blue bus parked beneath a bridge in Belgrade. This will be a rare chance for them to have a shower, wash their clothes or get a medical checkup. Three times

By MARÍA VERZA, CHRISTINA LARSON and VICTORIA MILKO Associated Press PROGRESO, Mexico (AP) — On Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, efforts are underway to protect and restore mangrove forests, even as more are lost elsewhere. From 1980 to 2005, 20% to 35% of the world’s mangrove forests disappeared. In the next decade, the rate of loss declined

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Thousands of women have fled Afghanistan in response to the Taliban takeover, fearing a return to the brutal repression that marked the group’s previous rule in the late 1990s. Yet some made a conscious decision to stay, for a range of reasons. A top female bureaucrat

By TOM KRISHER and PAUL WISEMAN AP Business Writers The sweeping Biden administration’s new COVID-19 mandate will apply to 84 million workers at mid-size and large companies. President Joe Biden has described the new rules as urgently needed to get more Americans inoculated. Though confirmed viral cases and deaths have fallen sharply since the start

By CARA ANNA and NOMAAN MERCHANT Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Tigray forces have joined with other armed and opposition groups in an alliance against Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to seek a political transition after a year of devastating war. They leave the possibility open for his exit by force. One Tigray official

By AGUS BASUKI Associated Press KOTA BATU, Indonesia (AP) — Flash floods from torrential rains on Indonesia’s main island of Java have killed at least six people and three others are missing. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency says rivers overflowed their banks and inundated five hamlets in a city in East Java province. It says

By FARES AKRAM Associated Press GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel and Egypt have enforced tight travel restrictions as part of a blockade of Gaza for 14 years, since the takeover of the territory by the Islamic militant group Hamas. But when a 19-year-old woman, en route to a Turkish university, was prevented from

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A LGBT advocacy group in China that has spearheaded many of the country’s legal cases pushing for greater rights is halting its advocacy work for the foreseeable future. LGBT Rights Advocacy China announced it was ceasing all activities and shutting down its social media accounts in

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — For a few brief hours, the skyscraper-lined superhighway that cuts through the center of Dubai emptied of the cars always clogging it to give way to tens of thousands of bicyclists. The annual Dubai Ride on Friday saw bikes race down Sheikh Zayed Road, a 10-lane asphalt jungle that

By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — When New York City voters this week chose Eric Adams as the city’s next mayor and Alvin Bragg as the Manhattan district attorney, they elevated two Black men into two of the city’s most powerful elected offices. Adams and Bragg’s ascent comes at a time

By The Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Throughout his time in Haiti, photographer Rodrigo Abd had his hand on his camera, but even before he could raise it he would hear the chorus of “No photo!” from the people he was talking to and those just passing by. They would consider trading a picture

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — A murder trial is set to open for three white men in Brunswick, Georgia, who are charged with chasing and shooting Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man. The death in February 2020 was recorded on video and caused a national outcry. Jurors are to be sworn

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — The president of Japanese video game maker Nintendo says the shortage in computer chips needed to make its Switch machine is a serious problem unlikely to be fixed soon. Shuntaro Furukawa said Friday that the Switch sales forecast for this fiscal year was cut to 24

By AGUS BASUKI Associated Press KOTA BATU, Indonesia (AP) — Flash floods from torrential rains on Indonesia’s main island of Java have killed at least five people and four others are missing. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency says rivers overflowed their banks and inundated five hamlets in a city in East Java province. It previously

By THOMAS BEAUMONT, AARON MORRISON and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans plan to forcefully oppose race and diversity curricula in public schools as a core piece of their strategy in the 2022 midterm elections. The party is supercharging a message that helped catapult Republican Glenn Youngkin to a win in Virginia’s governor’s

By ROBERT BURNS and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Colin L. Powell, the widely praised soldier-diplomat who died of complications from COVID-19 last month, is being remembered at a funeral service Friday at the Washington National Cathedral. Powell was a model for minorities in public and private life. A Vietnam combat veteran, he

By NOMAAN MERCHANT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of intelligence officers could soon face dismissal for failing to comply with the U.S. government’s vaccine mandate, leading to concerns from Republican lawmakers about potentially hurting agencies considered critical to national security. Several intelligence agencies had at least 20% of their workforces that were unvaccinated as

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — While people are now able to travel freely in Australia’s more populated east, COVID-19-free Western Australia will maintain its tight restrictions into next year. Australia’s largest state by land mass has the nation’s lowest vaccination rates, and is the only Australian state or territory that does