World News

MOSCOW (AP) — Heavy smoke from raging wildfires covered the Russian city of Yakutsk and 50 other Siberian towns and settlements Sunday, temporarily halting operations at the city's airport.

MOSCOW (AP) — A rights group in Russia announced Sunday that it was shutting down, citing fear of prosecution of its members and supporters after Russian authorities blocked its website for allegedly publishing content from an “undesirable” organization.

What once drew some 2.5 million Muslims from all walks of life from across the globe, the hajj pilgrimage is now almost unrecognizable in scale.

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel surveyed what she called a “surreal, ghostly” scene in a devastated village on Sunday, pledging quick financial aid and a redoubled political focus on curbing climate change as the death toll from floods in Western Europe climbed above 180.

LONDON (AP) — Sparkling wine, confetti, a midnight countdown: It’s not New Year’s Eve, but it might as well be for England’s clubbers. After 17 months of empty dance floors, the country’s nightclubs are reopening with a bang.

TOKYO (AP) — Two South African soccer players have become the first athletes inside the Olympic Village to test positive for COVID-19, with the Tokyo Games opening on Friday.

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Thai police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons Sunday to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters who held a rally in Bangkok despite coronavirus restrictions banning gatherings of more than five people.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa's leader went to Johannesburg's Soweto township Sunday to view badly damaged shopping centers where people were trampled to death in rioting sparked by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma.

BARGNY, Senegal (AP) — Adama Ndiaye got up before dawn to travel about 25 miles (40 kilometers), hoping that she would be able to get a sheep for the celebration next week of the Muslim holiday of sacrifice, Eid al-Adha.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will spend 10 days self-isolating after contact with a confirmed coronavirus case, his office said Sunday — reversing an earlier announcement that he would not have to quarantine.

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — A strike by airport baggage handlers and ground crews in Portugal was expected to cause a second day of disruption Sunday, with most flights into and out of Lisbon canceled.

PEPINSTER, Belgium (AP) — Paul and Madeline Brasseur were at home with their two sons in the Belgian town of Pepinster when the water “came all of a sudden” late in the evening.

BERLIN (AP) — The front-runner to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany's September election has apologized for a scene in which he was seen laughing in the background as the country's president delivered a statement on the devastating floods in western Germany.

KESRA, Tunisia (AP) — Soldiers hold rifles to guard the health center in the traditional Tunisian village of Kesra, while inside, military medics use other weapons to combat COVID-19: vaccines.

TOKYO (AP) — Struggling businesses forced to temporarily shut down around Olympics venues. Olympic visitors ordered to install invasive apps and allow GPS tracking. Minders staking out hotels to keep participants from coming into contact with ordinary Japanese or visiting restaurants to sample the sushi.

Climate scientists say the link between extreme weather and global warming is unmistakable and the urgency to do something about climate change undeniable.

BERLIN (AP) — Rescue workers labored to deal with damage laid bare by receding water Saturday as the death toll from disastrous flooding in Western Europe rose above 160 and thoughts turned to the lengthy job of rebuilding communities devastated in minutes.