By DAVID McHUGH Associated Press FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The risk of recession is looming for Germany after Europe’s biggest economy shrank at the end of 2021 and as it faces a bumpy start to this year. The rapid spread of COVID-19’s omicron variant is deterring people from shopping and travel and supply bottlenecks are
Continue ReadingKAOHSIUNG, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan has commissioned new navy minelayers to add to its defenses against giant rival China. President Tsai Ing-wen presided over a ceremony commissioning the navy’s First and Second Mining Operations Squadrons. The ships are able to automatically sow large numbers of small but powerful mines without the need for divers. Such
Continue ReadingBy NINIEK KARMINI and EDNA TARIGAN Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A powerful earthquake has shaken parts of Indonesia’s main island of Java, damaging buildings and houses and sending people into the streets, but no casualties were reported. Officials say there is no danger of a tsunami. The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude
Continue ReadingBy ULIANA PAVLOVA and SUZAN FRASER Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Turkish and Armenian envoys have met in Moscow to try to end decades of bitterness between their countries and to establish diplomatic ties. Turkey was among the first countries to recognize Armenia’s independence in 1991. But the neighbors share a bitter relationship and have
Continue Readingolivertapia (CNN) — A medida que las hospitalizaciones por covid-19 alcanzan nuevos máximos en EE.UU., cada vez más estados y sistemas de atención médica están recortando servicios y apoyándose en la Guardia Nacional para llenar los vacíos de personal. El aumento de la variante ómicron, que se detectó por primera vez en EE.UU. hace poco
Continue ReadingBy Steven Jiang, CNN Business People trying to fly from the United States to China may soon be confronted with an unthinkable scenario: Starting next week, there are likely to be no commercial flights bound for the country as Beijing tries to keep coronavirus infections out ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Beginning January 19
Continue ReadingBy ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong International Airport is banning transit passengers from 150 countries and territories starting Sunday, tightening stringent travel controls in an effort to stem the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant. Authorities also said Friday they will extend social distancing restrictions, including a ban on
Continue ReadingBy ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong International Airport is banning transit passengers from 150 countries and territories starting Sunday, tightening stringent travel controls in an effort to stem the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant. Authorities also said Friday they will extend social distancing restrictions, including a ban on
Continue ReadingBEIJING (AP) — China is dismissing a warning from Britain’s domestic intelligence service to lawmakers that a London-based lawyer is trying to “covertly interfere in U.K. politics” on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party as “irresponsible.” A Foreign Ministry spokesperson says China has “no need to and will never engage in the so-called interference,” and
Continue ReadingALTENMARKT-ZAUCHENSEE, Austria (AP) — Olympic downhill medal contender Breezy Johnson is skipping World Cup races this weekend in Austria to let a knee injury heal. Johnson has been runner-up in all three World Cup downhills this season won each time by Olympic champion Sofia Goggia. Johnson writes on Instagram she’s taken medical advice over a
Continue ReadingDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A fire that erupted during maintenance work at a major oil refinery in Kuwait has killed two workers and critically injured five others. The Kuwait National Petroleum Company says the blaze broke out on Friday at a gas liquefaction unit that had been out of service for maintenance work.
Continue ReadingDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A fire that erupted during maintenance work at a major oil refinery in Kuwait has killed two workers and critically injured five others. The Kuwait National Petroleum Company says the blaze broke out on Friday at a gas liquefaction unit that had been out of service for maintenance work.
Continue Readingolivertapia Nueva Delhi (CNN) — Al menos nueve personas murieron y otras 36 resultaron heridas luego de que un tren de pasajeros descarrilara en el estado de Bengala Occidental en la India el jueves por la noche, según el operador ferroviario. El portavoz de Indian Railways, Rajesh Bajpai, dijo que cuatro de los 12 vagones
Continue ReadingBy Swati Gupta, Manveena Suri and Rhea Mogul, CNN An Indian court on Friday acquitted a Catholic bishop of rape charges, a prosecution lawyer said — in a case that attracted international attention and shocked the country’s Christian community. Prosecution lawyer Sandhya Raju told CNN the court in the southern state of Kerala found Franco
Continue ReadingBEIJING (AP) — China is tightening its anti-pandemic measures in Beijing and across the country as scattered outbreaks continue ahead of the opening of the Winter Olympics in a little over two weeks. The actions appear to reflect nervousness about a possible surge in cases ahead of the Beijing Games. Beijing has ordered children at
Continue ReadingBEIJING (AP) — China is tightening its anti-pandemic measures in Beijing and across the country as scattered outbreaks continue ahead of the opening of the Winter Olympics in a little over two weeks. The actions appear to reflect nervousness about a possible surge in cases ahead of the Beijing Games. Beijing has ordered children at
Continue ReadingBy VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has strongly repeated its demand that NATO doesn’t expand eastward despite the rejection of that by the military alliance amid a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday described Moscow’s demands that NATO will neither expand nor deploy forces to Ukraine and
Continue ReadingBy Laura Studley, Laura Dolan and Mallika Kallingal, CNN The chief prosecutor for the city of Baltimore has been indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of perjury and two counts of making false statements on loan applications for the purchase of two vacation homes in Florida, according to court documents filed Thursday.
Continue ReadingJERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Health Ministry says more than 500,000 people have received a 4th vaccine dose. The country began administering second boosters to the most vulnerable late last month and later began offering them to everyone over 60. Authorities hope the additional boosters will blunt a wave of infections driven by the omicron variant.
Continue ReadingSTOCKHOLM (AP) — A top military chief in Sweden said Friday that they are seeing increased Russian activity in the Baltic Sea which “deviate from the normal picture” to explain why the Scandinavian nation’s military has raised its preparedness. Lt. Gen Leif Michael Claesson said Friday that “it does not have to mean an increased
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