Beijing Offering COVID-19 Booster Shots Ahead of Olympics
BEIJING (AP) — China’s capital Beijing has begun offering booster shots against COVID-19, four months before the city and surrounding regions are to host the Winter Olympics.
Russians to Stay Off Work for a Week as Virus Deaths Rise
MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered most Russians to stay off work for a week starting later this month amid rising COVID-19 infections and deaths, and he strongly urged reluctant citizens to get vaccinated.
Queen Cancels Northern Ireland Trip Out of Medical Reason
LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II has reluctantly accepted medical advice to rest for a few days and has canceled a trip to Northern Ireland, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday.
Crowds Outside Myanmar’s Prisons Greet Freed Detainees
BANGKOK (AP) — Crowds gathered Tuesday outside prisons around Myanmar, waiting for at least a glimpse of friends and relatives who were being freed under an amnesty for people arrested for protesting against military rule.
NZ Cop Answers 4-Yr-Old’s Call, Confirms His Toys Are Cool
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — An emergency call made by a 4-year-old New Zealand boy asking for police to come over and check out his toys prompted a real-life callout and confirmation from an officer that the toys were, indeed, pretty cool.
Colin Powell: A Trailblazing Legacy, Blotted by Iraq War
WASHINGTON (AP) — A child of working-class Jamaican immigrants in the Bronx, Colin Powell rose from neighborhood store clerk to warehouse floor-mopper to the highest echelons of the U.S. government. It was a trailblazing American Dream journey that won him international acclaim and trust.
US, Haiti Seek Release of 17 Missionaries Snatched by Gang
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — U.S. officials are working with Haitian authorities to try to secure the release of 12 adults and five children with a U.S.-based missionary group who were abducted over the weekend by a gang notorious for killings, kidnappings and extortion.
Fauci Dismayed by Texas’ Move to Ban Vaccine Mandates
WASHNGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci is saying Sunday that it is “really unfortunate” that Gov. Greg Abbott has moved to ban vaccine mandates in the state of Texas.
Russian Filmmakers Land After Shoot Aboard Space Station
MOSCOW (AP) — A Soyuz space capsule carrying a cosmonaut and two Russian filmmakers has landed after a 3 1/2-hour trip from the International Space Station.
‘Squid Game’ Strikes Nerve in Debt-Ridden South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — “Squid Game," a brutal Netflix survival drama about desperate adults competing in deadly children’s games for a chance to escape severe debt, hit a little too close to home for Lee Chang-keun.
