TOKYO (AP) — Japan extended its own sanctions against North Korea for another two years as Pyongyang continues to develop its nuclear weapons without any progress in resolving the abductions of Japanese nationals. Japan bans all trade between the countries and prohibits North ...

BOCHNIA, Poland (AP) — European countries scrambled Monday to tamp down a surge in COVID-19 cases and ramp up vaccinations, hoping to spare hospitals from becoming overwhelmed by the pandemic's latest deadly wave of infections. The crush of coronavirus patients has been relentless for ...

LONDON (AP) — Britain's slow but steady march out of a three-month lockdown remains on track even as coronavirus cases surge elsewhere in Europe, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Monday, as he confirmed that businesses from barbers to bookstores will be allowed to reopen next ...

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh is enforcing a lockdown for a week from Monday, shutting shopping malls and transportation, to help curb the spread of coronavirus as the rate of infections and deaths have increased in recent weeks. Health authorities said they were facing overwhelming ...

NEW DELHI (AP) — India reported its biggest single-day spike in confirmed coronavirus cases since the pandemic began Monday, and officials in the hard-hit state home to Mumbai are resuming the closure of some businesses and places of worship in a bid to slow the spread. The Health Ministry ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis in his traditional Easter Sunday address denounced as "scandalous" how armed conflicts continue to rage even as the coronavirus pandemic has triggered severe social and economic suffering and swollen the ranks of the poor. Francis tempered his "Urbi et Orbi" ...

LONDON (AP) — Britain is planning to test a series of measures including "coronavirus status certifications" over the coming weeks to see if they can allow people to safely return to mass gatherings at sports arenas, nightclubs and concerts. People attending a range of events this month and ...

JERUSALEM (AP) — Jordanian authorities said Sunday they foiled a "malicious plot" by a former crown prince to destabilize the kingdom with foreign support, contradicting the senior royal's claims that he was being punished for speaking out against corruption and incompetence. Faced with ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Christianity's most joyous feast day was celebrated worldwide with the faithful spaced apart in pews and singing choruses of "Hallelujah" through face coverings on a second Easter Sunday marked by pandemic precautions. From vast Roman Catholic cathedrals to Protestant ...

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was back in court for his corruption trial on Monday as the country's political parties were set to weigh in on whether he should form the next government after a closely divided election or step down to focus on his legal ...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — After months of torture and interrogations in a Hamas prison, Palestinian activist Rami Aman says he was offered an unconventional proposition: Divorce your wife and you are free to go. Aman had recently signed a marriage contract with the daughter of a Hamas ...

MADRID (AP) — Spain's Madrid region halted COVID-19 vaccinations Thursday at health centers for four days so medical staff can rest over the Easter holiday, despite pleas from the national government not to halt the fight against surging infections. The shutdown came as the country scrambles ...

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Africa is unlikely to meet its targets for vaccinating the continent against COVID-19 if supply delays from a key Indian manufacturer continue, the director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Thursday. Dr. John Nkengasong told a press ...

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Saudi Arabia's energy minister took a cautious view of any increase in oil production as members of the OPEC cartel met Thursday with allied non-member countries to decide production levels. Speaking ahead of the meeting, Abulaziz bin Salman said the approach taken ...

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel asked citizens Thursday to consider the strain that nurses and doctors are under as they care for a rising number of COVID-19 patients and help them by respecting social distancing and other rules over Easter. Germany's disease control agency ...

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian police brought in a well-known Serbian doctor and other vocal anti-vaccination activists for questioning Thursday, saying they are jeopardizing the Balkan country's successful coronavirus inoculation drive. Serbian state TV said psychiatrist Jovana Stojkovic, ...

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AP) — A fire on Friday destroyed more than 20 shops in a makeshift market near a Rohingya refugee camp in southern Bangladesh, killing at least three people, police and witnesses said. Local police chief Ahmed Sanjur Morshed said they recovered the bodies from the ...

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — After months of nationwide anti-government protests over corruption, stalled reforms and a stagnating economy in the European Union's poorest member state, Bulgarians are gearing up for a parliamentary election overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic. The election is ...

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece is reporting a series of brushes with Turkey's coast guard in the narrow stretch of water between the eastern Greek island of Lesbos and the Turkish coast, at a time of generally testy relations between the two neighbors and NATO allies. The Greek coast guard ...

ROME (AP) — An Italian Navy captain accused of passing classified documents to Russia says he didn't have access to any information that would have compromised the security or strategic operations of Italy or NATO, his lawyer said Friday. Attorney Roberto De Vita met with Capt. Walter Biot ...