AP National News

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit hit an all-time high of $80.9 billion in September as American exports fell sharply while imports, even with supply chain problems at American ports, kept climbing. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the September deficit topped the previous record of $73.2 billion

By DARKO BANDIC Associated Press ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Central and Eastern Europe is seeing spiraling coronavirus cases. Several countries in the regions that have lower vaccination rates than the rest of the continent reported daily record highs on Thursday. Other countries registered the most infections in months. Most countries in Central and Eastern Europe

By DAVID KOENIG Associated Press Tens of millions of Americans who work at companies with 100 or more employees will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 4 or get tested for the virus weekly. The new requirements are the Biden administration’s boldest move yet to persuade reluctant Americans to finally get a vaccine

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch newspaper reporter has been expelled from Russia, a move denounced as “unacceptable” by the Netherlands’ foreign ministry. The De Volkskrant newspaper reported Thursday that its Moscow correspondent, Tom Vennink, was ordered to leave Russia earlier this week after his residency permit was withdrawn

PARIS (AP) — The son of a former al-Qaida hostage has struck back at criticism of her decision to return to the West African country where she was held for four years. Sophie Petronin’s return without a visa to Mali has sparked criticism and made headlines in her native France. The French government spokesman accused

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has confounded market expectations and held interest rates steady. It said Thursday that it wanted to see more information about what happens to unemployment after the government recently ended a program that subsidized worker pay during the coronavirus pandemic. The decision to keep

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government is facing allegations of favoritism and corruption after a backlash from lawmakers and the public over efforts to rewrite lobbying rules and shield a member of Johnson’s party from censure. The Conservative Party lawmaker at the center of the dispute resigned

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has watched from the sidelines as the government that toppled him after 12 years in power passed a national budget, dealing a major blow to his hopes of a swift comeback. The man whose shadow loomed so large for

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer Moderna is scaling back expectations for the number of COVID-19 vaccine deliveries it expects to make this year and the revenue it will record from them. Issues including longer delivery lead times for exports and a temporary impact from expanding the company’s capacity to fill vials with vaccine and

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — The number of bodies recovered from a collapsed high-rise apartment building in Nigeria’s most populous city has risen to 36, an emergency official told The Associated Press. Ibrahim Farinloye of Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency said 15 bodies more bodies have been recovered from the site

By KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities have squelched virtually all online discussion of sexual assault accusations apparently made by a Chinese professional tennis star against a former top government official, showing how sensitive the ruling Communist Party is to such charges. In a lengthy social media post, Peng Shuai wrote that

BERLIN (AP) — Official data shows that German factory orders, an important indicator for Europe’s biggest economy, made a feeble recovery in September after a big drop the previous month. The Economy Ministry said Thursday that orders were up 1.3% after a steep 8.8% decline in August. Even September’s small gain was boosted by bulk

By SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s prime minister has again urged his information minister to step down over an unprecedented diplomatic rift with Saudi Arabia that threatens to destabilize the new government and escalate its economic tailspin. The prime minister on Thursday said the information minister’s resignation would help resolve a

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has set another record for daily coronavirus deaths as it struggles through a long surge of infections that has prompted restrictions throughout the country. The national coronavirus task force on Thursday said 1,195 people died of COVID-19 over the past day. That exceeds the 1,189 recorded

By FRANK JORDANS and SYLVIA HUI Associated Press GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Several major coal-using nations are pledging for the first time to phase out their use of the heavily-polluting fossil fuel or to speed up their plans to do so. Others announced commitments on the sidelines of the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow to

GENEVA (AP) — The head of a World Health Organization regional office says a 53-country region in Europe and Central Asia faces the “real threat” of a resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic in the coming weeks or already is experiencing it. Dr. Hans Kluge said Thursday that case counts are beginning to near record levels

By MATTHEW PERRONE and MARIA CHENG Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain has granted a conditional authorization to Merck’s coronavirus antiviral. It’s the first pill shown to successfully treat COVID-19. The U.K. is the first country to OK the treatment. But it wasn’t immediately clear how quickly the drug known as molnupiravir will be available.

By HAU DINH Associated Press HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam is seeking more information about a Vietnamese oil tanker that was seized at gunpoint last month by Iranian soldiers in the Gulf of Oman, while vowing to ensure the safety and humane treatment of the ship’s crew members. Iran’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard troops on

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press MILAN (AP) — A rescue ship carrying nearly 400 migrants picked up another 400 people from a two-tier wooden boat that had started to sink overnight in the central Mediterranean Sea. A German charity that operates the ship said Thursday that a distress call from the crowded boat originated in

By DAVID McHUGH and JOSH BOAK Associated Press FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The oil-producing alliance known as OPEC+ is meeting to decide how much oil to pump. U.S. President Joe Biden has been calling for faster increases to make up for production cuts during the coronavirus pandemic. But chief OPEC member Saudi Arabia and the