AP National News

BERLIN (AP) — Authorities say that hundreds of thousands of tons of junk have been removed from a valley in western Germany since it was devastated by flooding in mid-July, equivalent to four decades’ worth of garbage. More than 180 people died in Germany and hundreds more were injured in the July 14-15 floods, which

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Heavy rain has caused flash flooding in Bosnia, prompting evacuations and submerging local roads in some parts of the country on Friday. Homes were flooded around Sarajevo while local roads were submerged in the southwest of the country, prompting some schools to cancel classes. Dozens of people had to be evacuated

By DALATOU MAMANE Associated Press NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Officials in Niger say suspected Islamic extremists have killed 69 people in an attack on a self-defense group near the border with Mali. Niger’s Interior Ministry says the Tuesday ambush targeted civilians who are aiding the military in the fight against militants in the volatile border

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch Supreme Court has upheld part of a Russian appeal against a $50 billion arbitration award to former shareholders of bankrupted oil giant Yukos. The highest Dutch court ruled Friday that a lower Dutch appeal court wrongly dismissed, on procedural grounds, Russia’s claim that

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s atomic agency says that its stockpile of 20% enriched uranium has reached over 210 kilograms (463 pounds), the latest defiant move ahead of upcoming nuclear talks with the West. The figure, attributed to agency spokesman Behrouz Kamalvan, was carried in a report by the semi-official Tasnim and Fars news agencies.

LONDON (AP) — Entertainer Lionel Blair, a staple on British stage and television for decades, has died. He was 92. Blair’s agent said he died Thursday. No cause of death was given. Blair was born Lionel Henry Ogus in Montreal to Russian Jewish parents. The family moved to Britain when he was a toddler. Among

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s environmentalist Greens are signaling that negotiations to form a new governing coalition are progressing slowly and differences remain over climate policy. The Greens last month entered negotiations with the center-left Social Democrats and the business-friendly Free Democrats on a new government after all three parties made gains in Germany’s Sept. 26

PARIS (AP) — A train struck and killed a migrant from Eritrea and injured several others on the northern coast of France that is the main jumping-off point for migrants seeking to reach Britain. A French official said that among the injured in the accident Thursday evening in Calais, one was in critical condition. Two

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — An influential LGBT advocacy group in China that has spearheaded many of the legal cases pushing for greater rights is halting its work amid growing restrictions on social activism. LGBT Rights Advocacy China announced it was ceasing all activities and shutting down its social media accounts

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Doctors in Bosnia are bracing for a new wave of the coronavirus in the Balkan nation, which has a low vaccination rate and has been among the hardest hit countries in Europe earlier in the pandemic. In the northwestern town of Banja Luka, the COVID-19 ward of the main hospital

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Shares have opened lower in Europe after a downbeat day in Asia, where Chinese benchmarks sagged under revived concerns over property developers. Benchmarks fell in London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai but rose in Paris and Sydney. Jitters over troubles in China’s property sector flared after

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch Supreme Court is set to rule in a $50 billion legal battle between Russia and former shareholders of the country’s bankrupted oil giant Yukos. If the highest Dutch court rules in favor of the former shareholders Friday in the long-running legal battle, it will likely lead them to

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s conservative former top prosecutor, who has called for a stronger U.S. security guarantee to neutralize North Korean nuclear threats, has won the main opposition party’s hotly contested nomination for next March’s presidential election. Recent opinion surveys showed Yoon Suk Yeol would be locked

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Honda has lowered its profit and vehicle sales forecasts for the fiscal year, pointing to a supply crunch in chips and rising material costs. Honda recorded a 31% drop from last year in its fiscal second quarter profit, to $1.5 billion. Honda Executive Vice

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany has recorded its second consecutive daily record for new coronavirus cases as infections pick up across Europe. Its disease control center says unvaccinated people now face a “very high” risk of infection. The center said Friday that the country saw 37,120 reported new infections over the

By SHLOMO MOR Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews have gathered at the Western Wall in Jerusalem to protest against a Jewish women’s group that holds monthly prayers there in a long-running campaign for gender equality at the site. For decades the “Women of the Wall” group has campaigned for equality of

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government has canceled a multimillion dollar deal with Emergent BioSolutions, a Maryland- based vaccine manufacturer with facilities in Baltimore that were found to have produced millions of contaminated vaccine doses this spring. The Washington Post reported that the company disclosed the development on Thursday in a conference call discussing its

By JOVANA GEC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Standing close together on a sunny autumn day, a group of people wait patiently by a blue bus parked beneath a bridge in Belgrade. This will be a rare chance for them to have a shower, wash their clothes or get a medical checkup. Three times

By MARÍA VERZA, CHRISTINA LARSON and VICTORIA MILKO Associated Press PROGRESO, Mexico (AP) — On Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, efforts are underway to protect and restore mangrove forests, even as more are lost elsewhere. From 1980 to 2005, 20% to 35% of the world’s mangrove forests disappeared. In the next decade, the rate of loss declined

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Thousands of women have fled Afghanistan in response to the Taliban takeover, fearing a return to the brutal repression that marked the group’s previous rule in the late 1990s. Yet some made a conscious decision to stay, for a range of reasons. A top female bureaucrat