AP National News

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The Belgian government has tentatively committed to phasing out the country’s existing nuclear power plants by 2025. Under a complicated compromise agreement reached Thursday after all-night negotiations, the country would use gas as a bridge toward sustainable energy sources and possible new-technology nuclear options later. The government

BEIJING (AP) — China has plunged a city of 13 million people into lockdown to stamp out an increase in coronavirus infections, as the country doubles down on its “zero tolerance” policy just weeks before it is set to host the Winter Olympics. The restrictions in the northeastern city of Xi’an took effect at midnight

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The vehicle stolen at gunpoint in Philadelphia from U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon was found in neighboring Delaware with five suspects inside, who were in police custody Thursday, police said. Scanlon’s blue Acura MDX was located Wednesday night in Newark, Delaware, about 45 miles (74 kilometers) from Philadelphia, Delaware State Police said.

By HOPE YEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is announcing more than $241 million in grants to bolster U.S ports. It’s part of President Joe Biden’s near-term plan to address America’s clogged supply chain with infrastructure improvements to speed the flow of goods. The transportation money is being made available immediately

By MATT O’BRIEN and CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Computers have become amazingly precise at translating spoken words to text messages and scouring huge troves of data for answers to complex questions – as long as you speak English or another of the world’s dominant languages. Try talking to your phone in

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Five suspects were in custody Thursday after being found in a vehicle stolen at gunpoint in Philadelphia from U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, Delaware State Police said. Scanlon’s blue Acura MDX was located Wednesday night in Newark, Delaware, state police said, approximately 45 miles (74 kilometers) from Philadelphia. State police said the

Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A United Nations report estimates that 22 million Ethiopians will require humanitarian assistance in 2022. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated in a report that Ethiopia’s already high humanitarian needs are expected to rise in the coming year due to the ongoing conflict, drought, flooding,

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged the West to move quickly to meet Russia’s demand for security guarantees precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine and the deployment of the military alliance’s weapons there. Putin accused the West during a marathon news conference on Thursday of trying to make

BERLIN (AP) — Police have launched a manhunt for a 56-year-old German who went on the run this week after losing his final appeal of a murder conviction for the killing of a schoolgirl in 1993. German news agency dpa on Thursday quoted a police spokesperson in the western city of Muenster as saying investigators

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has urged Vatican cardinals, bishops and bureaucrats to embrace humility this Christmas season. Francis used his annual Christmas address on Thursday to take Vatican administrators to task for their perceived moral and personal failings. He said their pride, self-interest and the “glitter of our armor”

BEIJING (AP) — Under orders not to leave home unless necessary, the 13 million residents of the northern Chinese city of Xi’an are adjusting to a lockdown imposed after a spike in coronavirus cases. The measure comes just weeks before the country hosts the Winter Olympics in Beijing. There’s no word on whether the virus

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — A monument at a Hong Kong university that was the best-known public remembrance of the Tiananmen Square massacre on Chinese soil was removed early Thursday, wiping out the city’s last place of public commemoration of the bloody 1989 crackdown. For some at the University of Hong

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia’s state news agency says a court has sentenced former President Moncef Marzouki in absentia to four years in prison for “undermining the external security of the state.” Marzouki had urged France to end its support for Tunisia, calling current President Kaïs Saied a “dictator.” Saied froze parliament, sacked the prime

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s health minister says he expects a surge in coronavirus cases around the New Year period, as the national disease control center says the country has now recorded its first death of someone with the new omicron variant. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said Thursday that Germany hasn’t seen a big, rapid wave

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — World shares are higher after stocks advanced on Wall Street, buoyed by encouraging reports about the potential impact of the omicron variant of coronavirus. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that the U.S. economy grew at a 2.3% rate in the third quarter, slightly better than previously

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — U.S. officials have denied an American citizen who was arrested in Turkey for allegedly providing a fake passport to a Syrian man is a U.S. diplomat. Turkish officials said Wednesday they detained a U.S. diplomat at Istanbul Airport on Nov. 11. Authorities in Turkey publicly identified the man only by his

By LAURA UNGAR and TALI ARBEL Associated Press For the second year in a row, the ever-morphing coronavirus presents would-be holiday revelers with a difficult choice: cancel their trips and celebrations yet again or figure out how to forge ahead as safely as possible. Many health experts are begging people not to let down their

BEIJING (AP) — Under orders not to leave home unless necessary, the 13 million residents of the northern Chinese city of Xi’an are adjusting to a lockdown imposed after a spike in coronavirus cases. The measure comes just weeks before the country hosts the Winter Olympics in Beijing. There’s no word on whether the virus