AP National News

By ELODIE SOUPAMA Associated Press LE GOSIER, Guadeloupe (AP) — Schools have closed across the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe and the French president has warned of a “very explosive” situation in the overseas department. Protests against COVID-19 rules and vaccinations descended into days of rioting and looting. France’s central government sent in police special

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson has hailed preschool favorite Peppa Pig as an inspiring model for the U.K. economy. Johnson told a conference of business group the Confederation of British Industry on Monday that he would champion a green industrial revolution for Britain. During a rambling speech in

By RISKA MUNAWARAH Associated Press CALANG, Indonesia (AP) — An Indonesian court has begun a trial against a group of men accused of poaching endangered Sumatran elephants and trading in illegal ivory, in a case that wildlife conservation officials have hailed as a milestone. The defendants in the hearing on Monday included nine men accused

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte has condemned rioters in Rotterdam and other towns and cities across the Netherlands over the weekend as “idiots.” He said Monday that police and prosecutors would do all they can to bring them to justice. Rutte’s comments came after

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Environmental activists are welcoming the end of electricity generation from coal in Portugal. But they said Monday the possible conversion of the country’s last coal-fired power plant into one that burns wood pellets would be a step in the wrong direction. The last Portuguese coal plant stopped generating over the weekend.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece has introduced a wide range of new restrictions aimed at curbing a COVID-19 infection spike that has pushed the rate of death to nearly double the European Union average.  A government order went into effect through Dec. 6, mandating masks at all workplaces, staggering opening hours in the public and

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Target will no longer open its stores on Thanksgiving Day, making permanent a shift to the unofficial start of the holiday season that was suspended during the pandemic. To limit crowds in stores, retailers last year were forced to turn what had become a weekend

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — The authoritarian leader of Belarus has criticized the European Union for its refusal to hold talks on the influx of migrants on the country’s border with Poland. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on Monday urged Germany to accommodate about 2,000 migrants who remained on the

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Opposition supporters have blocked traffic in Armenia’s capital to urge the government to take a tougher stance amid tensions with neighboring Azerbaijan. The protesters demanded Monday that the authorities don’t sign documents on the delimitation and demarcation of the border between the countries and reject Azerbaijan’s plans for transport corridors across

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian state media have published photographs of the trial investigating the shootdown of a Ukrainian passenger jet in 2020 by the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. The move Monday appeared aimed at trying to tamp down criticism of the largely closed-door proceeding before a military court in Tehran. The downing

By JOHN FLESHER AP Environmental Writer TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — It’s a ghastly sight: ticks by tens of thousands burrowed into a moose’s broad body and sucking its lifeblood. Winter tick infestation is common with moose across the northern U.S. And a study released Monday says climate change may make it worse. It’s based

CAIRO (AP) — A Sudanese doctors’ group says that the country’s security forces have targeted hospitals and prevented injured protesters from getting treatment since top generals initiated a coup last month. In a statement Monday, The United Office of Sudanese Doctors said security forces have stopped ambulances carrying injured protesters from reaching hospitals, entered emergency

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press VIENNA (AP) — Austrians savored one last mulled wine in packed Christmas markets before the curtain came down on the holiday season that was just getting underway, plunging the country that gave the world “Silent Night” into its fourth lockdown of this pandemic on Monday.  The capital, Vienna, awoke groggily

By KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — China is demanding that Lithuania end its newly enhanced relationship with Taiwan that has already prompted Beijing to downgrade diplomatic ties with the EU-member nation. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday demanded Lithuania “immediately put right its mistake” of allowing the self-governing island to open a de-factor

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has drawn criticism from the United States for his remarks about the status of the Crimean Peninsula. It came Monday after he secured his second term with a landslide victory in a runoff election Sunday. The U.S. Embassy released a statement voicing “deep concern” over Radev’s recent

By LISA RATHKE and WILSON RING Associated Press Vermont’s sole congressman, Democratic Rep. Peter Welch, says he’ll run for Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy’s Senate seat next year. Welch made the announcement Monday, a week after the 81-year-old Leahy said he won’t seek reelection. The 74-year-old Welch is one of the most liberal members of Congress.

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s health minister says the rapid rise in coronavirus cases means it’s likely everyone in the country who isn’t vaccinated will have caught COVID-19 by the end of the winter, and some of those will die. Official figures showed more than 30,000 newly confirmed cases in Germany

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s coronavirus death toll continues to hover near all-time highs, but the number of new infections has continued to decline. The state coronavirus task force on Monday reported 1,241 COVID-19 deaths, down from the pandemic’s record of 1,254 recorded last week. The task force also reported 35,681

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer Markets have opened higher in Europe after a mixed day of trading in Asia. A resurgence of coronavirus outbreaks has prompted some countries to look to stricter precautions to curb yet another wave of the pandemic. Shares rose in London, Paris, Tokyo, South Korea and Shanghai but fell in