Month: November 2021

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s outgoing health minister is calling on state governments to reactivate some specialized COVID-19 vaccination centers that were closed in the late summer to help administer booster shots as new coronavirus infections increase rapidly. Germany’s standing committee on vaccination currently recommends booster shots for over-70s and a few other groups, but the

By CARLA K. JOHNSON AP Medical Writer The global death toll from COVID-19 has topped 5 million, nearly two years into a crisis that has not only devastated poor countries but also humbled wealthy ones with first-rate health care systems. Together, the United States, the European Union, Britain and Brazil account for one-eighth of the

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippines forces have killed a key communist rebel commander in one of Asia’s longest-running insurgencies, in what the military described as a daring raid in the remote south, but what guerrilla leaders said was an ambush. Jorge Madlos, who used the nom de guerre Ka Oris,

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — World leaders are turning up the heat and resorting to end-of-the-world rhetoric in an attempt to bring new urgency to sputtering international climate negotiations. The metaphors were dramatic and mixed at the start of the talks known as COP26 on Monday. For British Prime Minister

BY AHMED AL-HAJ Associated Press SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni officials say at least 10 civilians were killed after two ballistic missiles fired by Houthi rebels stuck a religious educational facility in the central province of Marib. The missiles hit Dar al-Hadith, a religious school and a mosque, in the residential neighborhood of al-Aumd. At

By ZEN SOO AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Official data show Chinese manufacturing activity contracted for a second straight month in October amid materials shortages and widespread power cuts. The National Bureau of Statistics said the official manufacturing purchasing managers index dipped to 49.2 in October, down from 49.6 in September. The index is

LONDON (AP) — The chief executive of British bank Barclays has stepped down following a report by United Kingdom regulators into his past links with the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Jes Staley has previously said he “deeply regrets” his relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail in 2019

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has begun welcoming individual tourists for the first time since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Authorities hope the return of solo travelers will breathe new life into the struggling tourism industry. Before the pandemic, the Christmas season saw hundreds of thousands of people visit Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus,

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Tonga’s government says the isolated South Pacific nation’s main island will go into lockdown for a week after it reported its first case of the coronavirus. The lockdown was announced Monday and will begin just after midnight on Tuesday and apply only to the island

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison denies lying to French President Emmanuel Macron while secretly negotiating a submarine deal with the United States and Britain. The accusation has escalated a rift over Australia’s surprise cancelation of a French deal. Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce suggested France was