Month: December 2021

By BARBARA SURK and JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — France has announced multibillion-euro deals to sell fighter planes and combat helicopters to the United Arab Emirates. The contracts announced Friday aim to boost military cooperation with its top ally in the Persian Gulf amid their shared concerns about Iran. France

BERLIN (AP) — Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer says he will be the acting leader of the conservative People’s Party and will seek to become Austria’s next chancellor. The current chancellor, Alexander Schallenberg, said Thursday that he would step down to make way for someone to take over as both the head of government and

By ZEINA KARAM and SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s information minister has resigned in a bid to ease an unprecedented, weekslong diplomatic crisis with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab countries. The minister made the announcement at a press conference on Friday. The crisis erupted in early October, after he made

BERLIN (AP) — A research institute’s analysis has concluded the incoming German government’s plans for curbing greenhouse gas emissions are insufficient to put Germany on course to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris climate accord. The German Institute for Economic Research study released Friday was conducted by leading economists and commissioned by 140 civil

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s defense minister estimates that Russia has amassed more than 94,000 troops near their borders and says there is a probability of a “large-scale escalation” in late January. Ukrainian and Western officials recently voiced alarm that a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine could herald an invasion.

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — World Health Organization officials say that the measures used to counter the delta variant should remain the foundation for fighting the coronavirus pandemic, even in the face of the new omicron version of the virus. They acknowledged Friday that the travel restrictions imposed by some countries

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press RANYA, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi Kurds seem to make up the majority of Middle Eastern migrants seeking to move to Europe these days. Although northern Iraq is more prosperous than the rest of the conflict-scarred country, growing unemployment and frustration over corruption forces many to consider the risky journey. Last

By BABAR DOGAR and MUNIR AHMED Associated Press LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police say a Muslim mob descended on a sports equipment factory in eastern Punjab province, killing a Sri Lankan and burning his body over allegations of blasphemy. A police chief in the district of Sialkot, where the killing occurred, said factory workers

BEIJING (AP) — The prime minister of Laos has ridden the first run of a $5.9 billion Chinese-built train connecting his isolated, mountainous country with southern China. The two governments tout the line as a boost to economic growth. But it leaves a debt that foreign experts say Laos might struggle to repay. The railway

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Europe’s democracy and human rights-promoting body says it is initiating a disciplinary process against Turkey after it failed to comply with a court’s ruling to release a jailed businessman and philanthropist. A Turkish court extended Osman Kavala’s imprisonment last week, defying the European Court of Human