AP National News

By ALBERT AJI Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A former Syrian lawmaker allegedly shot dead by an Israeli sniper has been laid to rest following an official funeral attended by hundreds of people near the Syrian capital. Midhat Saleh was fatally shot Saturday in Ein el-Tineh, a village along the Israeli border in the

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is calling for increases in Japan’s military capability and spending in response to what he says are growing threats from China and North Korea in a public debate with eight other political party leaders ahead of upcoming national elections. The party leaders also

By Liz Weston of NerdWallet Supply chain disruptions could make purchasing longed-for toys a lot more difficult this year. This isn’t just a scramble to get the “it” toys — it has more to do with bottlenecks at ports and drastically higher prices for shipping. This may be the year to check out handmade gifts

By KELVIN CHAN and MATT O’BRIEN Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Facebook says it plans to hire 10,000 workers in the European Union over the next five years to work on a new computing platform. The company said in a blog post Sunday that those high-skilled workers will help build “the metaverse,” a futuristic notion

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Azerbaijan’s deputy foreign minister has accused Armenia of “ethnic cleansing” and continuing to lay landmines in Nagorno-Karabakh even after a cease-fire ended a six-week war in the disputed region late last year. His comments Monday came as a second case related to the conflict opened

PEKANBARU, Indonesia (AP) — A critically endangered Sumatran tiger has been found dead after being caught in a trap on Indonesia’s Sumatra island in the latest setback for a species whose numbers are estimated to have dwindled to about 400. Officials say an examination of the female tiger determined it died from dehydration five days

BEIJING (AP) — China says its launch of a new spacecraft was merely a test to see whether the vehicle could be re-used. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson says the launch involved a spacecraft rather than a missile and was of “great significance for reducing the use-cost of spacecraft and could provide a convenient and affordable

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — European Union foreign ministers have looked at ways to stop illegal migration into the 27-nation bloc from neighboring Belarus including stopping companies from leasing jets to Belarusian airline Belavia. Several EU leaders have accused the government of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of facilitating migration into the EU in retaliation for EU sanctions.

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s total number of coronavirus infections has topped 8 million and the daily infection toll hit a new record. The national coronavirus task force said Monday that 34,325 new infections over the past day raised the pandemic-long total to 8,027,012. That figure represents more than 5% of

By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS and THANASSIS STAVRAKIS Associated Press ANCIENT OLYMPIA. Greece (AP) — Three activists protesting human rights abuses in China have sneaked into the archaeological site where the flame lighting ceremony for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is being held and ran toward the Temple of Hera holding a Tibetan flag and a banner

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Twelve pianists from around the world have been admitted to the final stage of the 18th edition of the prestigious Frederic Chopin piano competition, reputed for launching world careers for its winners and finalists. In a sign of appreciation for the competitors’ artistry, the international jury admitted two more finalists than

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union says it now has exported over 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the rest of the world. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the exports have been sent to over 150 nations, making the 27-member bloc the largest exporter of the

LONDON (AP) — Ford Motor Co. plans to spend up to 230 million pounds to turn a transmission factory in northwest England into a plant that will make electric power units for cars and trucks sold throughout Europe. The carmaker said Monday that the Halewood plant would begin producing the power units, which replace the

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer World shares are mostly lower after China reported its economy grew at a meager 4.9% annual pace in July-September. Benchmarks declined in Paris, Frankfurt, Shanghai and Tokyo but rose in Hong Kong and Sydney. U.S. futures edged lower. On Friday, Wall Street added to its recent gains, with the

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — An international police operation has nabbed cocaine with a street value of around 200 million euros ($232 million) on a yacht in the Atlantic Ocean. Portuguese police said Monday the seizure was the largest in Europe in recent years and the biggest in Portugal for 15 years. Police localized and intercepted

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s government says it will require public servants to have a vaccination certificate or show a weekly negative COVID-19 test before entering their workplaces. It’s the latest measure to boost the country’s vaccination rate. Officials say roughly 14% of Egypt’s more than 100 million people are fully

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The trial has opened of two men charged with murder in the killing of Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries. The journalist was gunned down in the center of Amsterdam on July 6 in a brazen attack that sent shockwaves through the Netherlands. Dutch

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will lead tributes in Parliament to David Amess, a Conservative lawmaker stabbed to death as he met constituents. The attack shocked Britain, and it has raised questions about how the country protects it politicians and grapples with extremism at home. It came

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Preliminary results show that center-right opposition parties have dominated in Kosovo’s municipal elections but more than half the communes will go to runoffs in a month’s time. Voters in the small Balkan nation were electing mayors for 38 municipalities and about 1,000 town hall lawmakers. Election officials said Monday preliminary turnout

By TAIJING WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The Taiwanese company that manufactures smartphones for Apple Inc. and other global brands says it plans to make electric cars for auto brands under a similar contract model. The chairman of Foxconn Technology Group said it will produce cars and buses for brands in China, North