AP National News

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks. The meetings mark a one-year anniversary of a Moscow-brokered peace deal that ended fighting in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a decades-old dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, a

By KEN SWEET and PAUL WISEMAN NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are sharply lower on Wall Street Friday after South Africa found a fast-spreading coronavirus variant and the European Union proposed suspending air travel from southern Africa. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 890 points after an hour of trading. The S&P 500

By SCOTT SONNER Associated Press RENO, Nev. (AP) — A new pledge to match half the contributions for a $1 million expansion at a wildlife rescue center at Lake Tahoe is a welcome relief for staff and volunteers who’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster since a bear cub burned in a summer wildfire escaped. The

By NOHA ELHENNAWY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — The U.N. mission in Libya has condemned an attack by armed men on an appeals court as it was set to re-examine an earlier decision that disqualified the son of the country’s late dictator, Moammar Gadhafi from running for president. The mission warned on Friday that such

By OLEG CETINIC and THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press CALAIS, France (AP) — French fishing crews have briefly blocked French ports, ferry traffic across the English Channel and the freight entrance to the Eurotunnel to disrupt the flow of goods to the U.K., in a protest over post-Brexit fishing licenses. It’s the latest tension point between

The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening sharply lower on Wall Street Friday after South Africa found a fast-spreading coronavirus variant and the European Union proposed suspending air travel from southern Africa. The S&P 500 is down 1.4% in early trading, heading for its worst fall since late September and solidly lower

by KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer Climate activists have blockaded Amazon warehouses in three European countries. It’s part of a global effort to pressure the ecommerce giant on one of its busiest days of the year to improve working conditions and end business practices that hurt the environment. Members of Extinction Rebellion targeted 15 Amazon

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A state-affiliated broadcaster has purported to show Ethiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning prime minister on the battlefront of the country’s yearlong war against Tigray forces. His appearance on Friday comes four days after he announced he would direct the army from there. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s government has refused to back calls for a swift and sharp lockdown to curb the country’s worsening coronavirus situation, which has seen daily confirmed cases hit a new peak. Health Minister Jens Spahn said contacts between people need to be sharply reduced, warning Friday that “the

By KRISTIN M. HALL AP Entertainment Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country star Miranda Lambert readily admits that she doesn’t really like Christmas music at all. The only thing that would get her in the spirit to do a holiday record was singing with her two best gal pals from the Pistol Annies, Ashley Monroe

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer U.S. health officials say Merck’s experimental COVID-19 pill is effective but they raised questions about its safety during pregnancy. The Food and Drug Administration posted its review Friday ahead of a public meeting next week where outside experts will debate the drug’s benefits and risks. If FDA authorizes the

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia’s defense ministry says 487 migrants, including 93 children, have been rescued off the North African country’s coast as they tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in an overloaded boat. The ministry said in a statement Friday that the vessel had left from neighboring Libya carrying migrants from Africa,

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press CAMDEN, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina sees the upcoming 250th anniversary of the American Revolution as a chance to remind people that the state played a huge part in winning the nation’s independence, even if it did try later to tear the United States apart in the Civil War. A

By YURAS KARMANAU The Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is alleging that his country’s intelligence service has uncovered plans for a Russia-backed coup d’etat in Ukraine next week that involves one of the country’s richest oligarchs. Both the oligarch and the Russian government have rejected the allegations. At a news

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union says it will ease its restrictions on exporting COVID-19 vaccines. The Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said Friday that as of January it will no longer require vaccine producers to request special authorization to export outside the 27-nation bloc. Earlier this year when vaccines

The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Global stocks and oil prices have tumbled after South Africa found a fast-spreading coronavirus variant and the European Union proposed suspending air travel from southern Africa. London’s benchmark fell 3% and Tokyo lost 2.5%. Shanghai, Frankfurt and Hong Kong also declined. Dow and S&P 500 futures fell with

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL AP Science Writer NEW DELHI (AP) — The Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, has resumed exports of coronavirus vaccines to the U.N.-backed COVAX distribution program after halting most overseas sales in March. The company was to have been COVAX’s main supplier, but an explosion of cases in India

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press The brother of a British socialite charged with helping Jeffrey Epstein exploit underage girls says her prosecution is “the most over-hyped trial of the century,” designed to break a woman targeted by authorities who are desperate to blame someone for the late financier’s crimes. Ghislaine Maxwell continues to have the

ANDREW WILKS ISTANBUL (AP) — A Turkish court has extended the imprisonment of philanthropist Osman Kavala, whose case caused a diplomatic crisis with the U.S. and other Western countries after they called for his release. The court’s decision on Friday paves the way for the Council of Europe to launch infringement proceedings against Turkey. Kavala