News

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