AP National News

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A U.K. parliamentary report says Britain’s Conservative government waited too long to impose a lockdown early in the COVID-19 pandemic, a delay that cost thousands of lives. A joint report from the House of Commons’ science and health committees published Tuesday says the deadly delay resulted from

By BASSEM MROUE and SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s state news agency says the judge leading the investigation into last year’s massive explosion at Beirut’s port has issued an arrest warrant for a former Cabinet minister after he didn’t show up for questioning. It wasn’t immediately clear if and when the

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of the House are scrambling to Washington to pass a short-term lift of the nation’s debt limit. The vote Tuesday evening will ensure the federal government can continue fully paying its bills into December. House Democrats expect to have enough votes on their own to ensure

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — A European court has ruled that the Vatican can’t be sued in a local court for sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests. The European Court of Human Rights affirmed that it enjoys sovereign immunity and that the misconduct of priests and their superiors cannot be attributed to

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Six women and nine children abducted by Nigeria’s Boko Haram extremist rebels in the country’s troubled northeast have escaped after months in captivity. The 15 former hostages have met with Borno Governor Babagana Zulum in the state’s capital, Maiduguri. The governor said he is hoping for

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Job vacancies in the U.K. have risen to a record high of nearly 1.2 million. That’s a further sign that the British economy is experiencing worker shortages in an array of sectors as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and Britain’s departure from the European Union. There

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER and ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writers WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund has expressed confidence in its managing director in response to allegations World Bank staff were pressured to change business rankings for China in an effort to placate Beijing. The IMF’s 24-member executive board said Tuesday its review “did not

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer Shares have fallen in Europe and Asia as surging prices of oil, coal and other energy fanned fears over inflation. Benchmarks declined in Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Oil prices extended gains, having closed above $80 per barrel on Monday. On Wall Street, stocks closed broadly lower,

PARIS (AP) — A train has hit and killed three people and seriously injured another person in southwestern France. The mayor of a town near the collision on Tuesday morning said the victims were thought to be migrants who were resting on the tracks. The train was on a line that links the seaside resort

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku, who last year published his best-selling memoir, “The Happiest Man on Earth,” has died in Sydney. He was 101. Jewish community leader Darren Bark on Tuesday described Jaku as a “beacon of light and hope for not only our community, but the

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Government forces have killed five suspected militants in two clashes in Indian-controlled Kashmir, a day after rebels killed five army soldiers in a gunfight in the disputed region. Police say the first clash erupted following a raid by soldiers and counterinsurgency police. Troops cordoned off the area late Monday leading to

LONDON (AP) — Official figures show that the number of workers on payroll in the U.K. has risen above the level that existed before the coronavirus pandemic struck more than a year and a half ago. The Office for National Statistics also revealed Tuesday that job vacancies remained above a million for the second month

By KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — China is pledging $230 million to establish a fund to protect biodiversity in developing countries and asking other countries to contribute. President Xi Jinping made the pledge at a U.N. conference in southwest China that began global talks on protecting the world’s plants and animals from extinction.

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A group of climate lawyers is calling on the International Criminal Court to launch an investigation into Brazil’s president for possible crimes against humanity over his administration’s Amazon policies. The AllRise group filed a dossier Tuesday with the global court alleging that Jair Bolsonaro’s administration

By RAF CASERT and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and Britain are back to quarreling less than a year after finalizing Brexit. Britain wants changes to the deal it reached on trade in Northern Ireland. The EU insists on keeping the essence of the deal. France wants more fishing licenses

BAGUIO, Philippines (AP) — A tropical storm set off landslides and flash flooding as it barreled over the tip of the northern Philippines overnight, and officials say nine people died and 11 are missing. Hundreds were evacuated in places swamped by floods and battered by pounding rains and wind from Tropical Storm Kompasu. Landslides buried

By RAF CASERT and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and Britain are back to quarreling less than a year after finalizing Brexit. Britain wants changes to the deal it reached on trade in Northern Ireland. The EU insists on keeping the essence of the deal. France wants more fishing licenses

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban are in power in Afghanistan but a new enemy is ascending in the country: the Islamic State group. There has been an uptick in IS attacks since the Taliban took over on Aug. 15, most recently a deadly bombing of a mosque used by

By REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press LAFITTE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana task force is working to gather vaults and caskets disrupted from their burial sites by Hurricane Ida and rebury them. The storm came ashore on Aug. 29. Cemetery Response Task Force chairman Ryan Seidemann says members start surveying cemeteries as soon as they can

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has kicked off a massive, two-day air defense drill in the country’s sprawling central desert in another show of force by the Islamic Republic. State TV reported that both the army and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard are taking part in the annual maneuvers dubbed “Velyat.” It said elite air force