AP National News

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Polish diplomat appointed to improve contacts with Jews worldwide has been fired after he criticized his own government’s approach to regulating Holocaust speech. Jaroslaw Nowak, the plenipotentiary for contacts with the Jewish diaspora, described a Holocaust speech law passed by his country’s ruling party as “stupid.” The Foreign Ministry said

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Global stocks are mixed after Wall Street fell on worries the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates as soon as March. Frankfurt and Shanghai advanced. Seoul declined while London was little-changed. Wall Street futures were higher and oil prices rose. Japanese markets were closed for a

By KONSTANTIN MANENKOV and JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Senior U.S. and Russian officials have formally launched special talks on strategic stability as part of a flurry of diplomatic activity in Europe this week aimed at defusing tensions over a Russian military buildup on the border with Ukraine. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL AP Science Writer NEW DELHI (AP) — Healthcare and front-line workers along with people above age 60 with health problems are lining up at vaccination centers across India to receive booster shots as infections linked to the omicron variant surge. India is better prepared now than it was last year when the

JERUSALEM (AP) — Two former Israeli prime ministers are facing off in a Tel Aviv courtroom as Benjamin Netanyahu’s defamation suit against Ehud Olmert gets underway. Netanyahu, his wife and son appeared in the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s court Monday for the opening of their case against Olmert, Netanyahu’s predecessor as Israel’s prime minister. The Netanyahus

By DAVID PORTER, BOBBY CAINA CALVAN and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Hospitals worked Monday to save the lives of multiple people gravely injured by inhaling smoke in a fire that is already New York City’s deadliest in three decades. Dozens of people were hospitalized, and as many as 13 were

By ROD McGUIRK and MARK D. BAKER Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Tennis star Novak Djokovic has won a court battle to stay in Australia to contest the Australian Open despite being unvaccinated against COVID-19, but the government has threatened to cancel his visa a second time. A judge reinstated Djokovic’s visa, which was

By WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel has granted residency rights to thousands of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip after years of legal limbo. The residency allows people to get an official ID number and passport. Without this official status, it is impossible to

By BRIAN SLODYSKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are mounting an impassioned bid to overhaul Senate rules that stand in the way of their sweeping voting legislation. They argue dramatic action is needed to counteract dark forces unleashed by Donald Trump’s falsehoods about the 2020 election. Seizing on the one-year anniversary of the Jan.

BANGKOK (AP) — A legal official says a court in Myanmar has sentenced ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to four more years in prison after finding her guilty of illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies and violating coronavirus restrictions. Suu Kyi was convicted last month on two other charges and given a four-year prison sentence,

By REGINA GARCIA CANO and JUAN PABLO ARRAEZ Associated Press BARINAS, Venezuela (AP) — Twice in less than two months, Venezuela’s opposition has prevailed in the gubernatorial race in the home state of the late President Hugo Chávez, with the results giving hope to that faction while shocking the ruling party. Voters in the state

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, one of former President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Congress, has rejected a request for an interview by the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. In a combative letter Sunday to committee chairman Bennie Thompson, Jordan says, “The American people are tired of Democrats’

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stocks were mixed Friday after a Federal Reserve official suggested U.S. interest rates might have to be raised higher than expected to cool inflation. Shanghai and Hong Kong gained while Tokyo declined. Oil prices gained. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index lost 0.3% on Thursday

By ROD McGUIRK and MARK D. BAKER Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian judge who will decide whether top-ranked tennis star Novak Djokovic plays in the Australian Open has questioned what more the Serbian could have done to meet Australia’s coronavirus entry requirements. The 34-year-old is fighting deportation and the cancellation of his

BEIJING (AP) — A major Chinese city near Beijing has placed its 14 million residents on partial lockdown after 40 children and adults tested positive for COVID-19, including at least two with the omicron variant. China has stepped up its zero tolerance anti-virus strategy in the runup to the Winter Olympics, which open Feb. 4