News

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top court says it will take up a petition seeking prosecution of several saffron-robed Hindu religious leaders for allegedly making highly provocative speeches against Muslims at a closed-door meeting last month. Three Supreme Court judges issued a notice to the Uttarakhand state government that they

By KRISTEN GELINEAU Associated Press SYDNEY (AP) — The omicron variant of the coronavirus has swept across Australia despite its high vaccination rate and strict border policies that kept the country largely sealed off from the world for almost two years. Those measures turned Australia into a virtually COVID-19-free utopia at the start of the

By FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press MUREHWA, Zimbabwe (AP) — The number of pregnancies among girls and teenagers in Zimbabwe rose dramatically during the pandemic. Zimbabwe has long struggled with such pregnancies and child marriages because of lax enforcement of laws, poverty, and cultural and religious practices. But COVID-19 intensified the situation. The country of 15

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer HONOLULU (AP) — The Sony Open is a reunion of sorts for three No. 1 amateur players in the world. The mentor is Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama. Joining him at Waialae this year are Takumi Kanaya and Keita Nakajima. Matsuyama is their inspiration. Both remember watching Matsuyama win the

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese minister assigned the task of containing COVID-19 while steering the world’s third largest economy toward growth says Japan must learn to coexist with the coronavirus. Daishiro Yamagiwa said Wednesday he is confident he can carry out that precarious “balancing act.” Japan had managed to

MARATHON, Fla. (AP) — A segment of a 110-year-old Florida Keys bridge has reopened to pedestrians and bicyclists following a $44 million restoration project. Rehabilitation construction on the oft-photographed 2.2-mile span of the Old Seven Mile Bridge began in late 2017.  Nicknamed “Old Seven,” the iconic bridge was completed in 1912 as part of Henry

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean rescuers have resumed their search for six missing construction workers believed to be trapped at a collapsed construction site in the southern city of Gwangju. About 10 vehicles were destroyed and dozens of nearby households and shops were forced to evacuate Tuesday afternoon following the partial collapse of

By JOHN RABY Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. The Republican governor’s office says Justice had a sudden onset of symptoms, then was administered a PCR test that was positive for the coronavirus. A test by a state laboratory confirmed the initial result and

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Twin panda cubs have made their first public appearance before devoted fans in Tokyo, but they will be on display only briefly for now — over three days — due to a spike in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly transmissible omicron variant. The twins, male cub

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer Novak Djokovic’s attempt to stave off deportation and be allowed to play in the Australian Open despite not being vaccinated against COVID-19 is headed for a legal hearing the day before he is scheduled to begin his title defense at a Grand Slam tournament he’s won a record nine

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The COVID-19 surge caused by the omicron variant means once-reliable indicators of the pandemic’s progress are much less so, complicating how the media is able to tell the story. The Associated Press is telling its journalists not to rely too much on skyrocketing case counts