News

By LORNE COOK and DAVID KEYTON Associated Press RIGA, Latvia (AP) — NATO foreign ministers are debating a report on the lessons to learn from the military organization’s 18-year presence in conflict-ravaged Afghanistan. The security effort is estimated to have cost the United States alone $2.3 trillion. The price in lives includes 2,324 American troops

BERLIN (AP) — Austria’s lockdown has officially been extended until Dec. 11 as planned amid signs that the measures are helping to bring down a sky-high coronavirus infection rate. A parliamentary committee signed off Tuesday on the extension of the country’s fourth national lockdown of the pandemic that started on Nov. 22. That was necessary

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia says it has detected its first case of the new coronavirus variant omicron. The kingdom’s state-run Saudi Press Agency said the case was a citizen coming from what it described as a “North African country.” The report said the infected individual and his close contacts had been

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria has detected its first case of the omicron coronavirus variant in a sample collected in October, weeks before South Africa alerted the world about the variant last month. The Nigeria Center for Disease Control said genomic sequencing of positive COVID-19 cases from incoming international travelers

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand will send up to 65 military and police personnel to the Solomon Islands in the coming days after rioting and looting broke out there last week over several issues, including concerns about the country’s increasing links with China. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s transportation ministry says it has asked international airlines to stop taking new reservations for all flights arriving in Japan until the end of December. The ministry says it made the request as an emergency precaution amid growing concern over the spread of the new omicron variant

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Tight family bonds are usually admirable, but in Chris Cuomo’s case, loyalty to his brother has put his job as a journalist at CNN at risk. CNN suspended its prime-time anchor indefinitely while it further investigates his role in trying to help his brother, former

BEIJING (AP) — China is urging its citizens to leave three provinces in eastern Congo as violence intensifies in the mineral-rich region. A posting Wednesday from the Chinese Embassy in Kinshasa on the WeChat online messaging says a number of Chinese citizens had been attacked and kidnapped over the past month in the provinces of

By RYAN KRYSKA and MIKE HOUSEHOLDER Associated Press OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at his Michigan high school, killing three students, including a 16-year-old boy who died in a deputy’s patrol car on the way to a hospital. Eight other people were wounded, some critically. Oakland County Sheriff

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares are mostly higher amid nervous trading due to worries over the newest coronavirus variant. Benchmarks rose in Japan, South Korea and China, but fell slightly in Australia. Wall Street’s losses deepened Tuesday after the head of the Federal Reserve said it will consider shutting