World News

NEW YORK — An online murder mystery. Law-themed opera arias. A snowman-building competition. With dancing, drinking and fancy dinners a no-go because of virus concerns, companies are getting creative about their holiday office parties this year.

KABUL — In his three combat tours in Afghanistan, Gen. Mark Milley saw the Taliban as a formidable foe, one unlikely to “fade away in the dust,” as he put it in 2013.

LONDON — The British government on Thursday extended its salary support program by another month through to the end of April as it tries to keep a lid on unemployment as coronavirus restrictions slam businesses.

BRUSSELS — The European Union's top court ruled on Thursday that Volkswagen breached the law by installing on its cars a so-called defeat device to cheat on emission tests and cannot argue it was merely protecting car engines.

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose again last week to 885,000, the highest weekly total since September, as a resurgence of coronavirus cases threatens the economy's recovery from its springtime collapse.

NEW YORK — Just a month after publication, Barack Obama’s “A Promised Land” is well on its way to becoming the bestselling presidential memoir in modern times. Crown announced Wednesday that sales have topped 3.3 million copies in the U.S.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Quarrel, rape, adultery. Tricky, greedy, sycophantic. Chinese singer Tan Weiwei chants each word methodically in a two-line string of vulgarities and insults.

NEWARK, N.J. — A reputed mobster admitted assaulting the then-boyfriend and now husband of a former “Real Housewives of New Jersey” cast member in exchange for a deeply discounted lavish wedding reception.

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The World Health Organization said Thursday that countries in the Asia-Pacific region are not guaranteed to have early access to COVID-19 shots and urged them to adopt a long-term approach to the pandemic.

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — The first COVID-19 vaccinations are underway at U.S.