AP National News

By JOSH BOAK and EMILY SWANSON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s popularity has slumped — with half of Americans now approving and half disapproving of his leadership. That’s according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Support for the president who pledged to bring the country

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Belarus human rights group said Friday that some 100 people have been detained in the wake of a shootout that left an opposition supporter and a KGB officer dead. The Viasna center said the detentions appeared to be connected to comments made on social media

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says it has test-fired a new anti-aircraft missile. It is its fourth weapons launch in recent weeks, which experts say is part of a strategy to win sanctions relief and other concessions. South Korea, Japan and the United States typically confirm North Korean

LONDON (AP) — Police in Northern Ireland have arrested two more men Friday over the death of a young journalist who was shot and killed while covering a 2019 riot. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said the men, ages 44 and 53, were arrested in the Londonderry area under the Terrorism Act on Friday.

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia has outlined plans to lift its pandemic ban on its vaccinated citizens traveling overseas from November. But no date has yet been set for welcoming international tourists back. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says travel restrictions that have trapped most Australians and permanent residents at home

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China has sent 25 fighter jets toward self-ruled Taiwan in a large display on China’s National Day. The People’s Liberation Army flew 18 J-16 fighter jets as well as two H-6 bombers on Friday, among other planes. Taiwan says it deployed air patrol forces in response and tracked the Chinese aircraft

By KIM TONG-HYUNG and HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — As North Korea goes back to its pattern of pressuring South Korea to get what it wants from the United States, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un has emerged as the face of its campaign of mixing weapons demonstrations and

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s chief prosecutor is accusing Slovenia of interfering in the EU’s justice system and fears the 27-nation bloc’s budget may not be protected from fraud or corruption. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office began work in June with the aim of independently investigating crimes against the

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Drugmaker Merck says its experimental COVID-19 pill reduced hospitalizations and deaths by half in people recently infected with the coronavirus. That is potentially a leap forward in the global fight against the pandemic. The company said Friday it will soon ask health officials in the U.S.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Hundreds of Iraqis are marching in the center of Baghdad to mark two years since mass anti-government protests erupted in the Iraqi capital and southern provinces. Around one thousand protesters took part in the event, many of them carrying photos of loved ones who were killed by security forces during the protests.

MADRID (AP) — An erupting volcano on a Spanish island off northwest Africa has blown open another fissure on its hillside. The new fissure is the third to crack open since the Cumbre Vieja crater erupted on La Palma island on Sept. 19. Authorities were watching Friday to see whether lava from the new fissure

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari says he has directed that the ban on Twitter’s use in Africa’s most populous country be lifted but only if the social network meets some conditions, including Twitter’s registration and positive use in Nigeria. The ban which took effect on April 5

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s government says a defense pact between Greece and France aimed at bolstering Athens’ capabilities amid tensions with Ankara, threatens to harm NATO. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tanju Bilgic on Friday described the deal as a bilateral alliance formed against fellow NATO member Turkey “in a way that harms the NATO alliance.”

GENEVA (AP) — The Swiss government has decided to set up a dedicated embassy to the Vatican. Switzerland’s ambassador to Slovenia is currently responsible for diplomatic relations with the Holy See. A government statement Friday said it determined that the current arrangement “no longer allows all the work entailed by Switzerland’s diplomatic relations with the

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Union’s statistics agency says sharply higher oil and gas prices have helped push annual inflation in the 19 countries that use the euro to its highest in more than a decade. Eurostat reported Friday that inflation came in at 3.4% for September, up

By JAMEY KEATEN and MUNIR AHMED Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Pakistan wants the European Union to revise its plan to step up human rights monitoring under the new Taliban leadership in Afghanistan in part by taking into account socio-economic concerns. The European bloc is leading an effort backed by over 40 countries at the

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — Burkina Faso’s government has suspended the Norwegian Refugee Council aid group from operating in the West African country, the organization says. Earlier this week, the ministry of humanitarian action ordered the NRC to indefinitely suspend all operations, a decision linked to media coverage of a

BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors say they are investigating a Turkish man who was arrested in Dusseldorf on suspicion that he spied on supporters of cleric Fethullah Gulen’s movement while acting on behalf of Turkish intelligence. The suspect was detained at a Duesseldorf hotel on Sept. 17 after an employee found a weapon on him.

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia has opened the country’s first public oxygen plant as the Horn of Africa nation with one of the world’s weakest health systems combats COVID-19. The oxygen plant was installed Thursday at a hospital in the capital, Mogadishu. It is expected to produce 1,000 cylinders of oxygen a week. The scarcity

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — A round of free trade talks between the European Union and Australia has been postponed by one following a dispute over the Australian government’s decision to cancel a multibillion-euro French submarine deal. The EU commission spokesperson in charge of trade said Friday that the delay doesn’t mean