Arctic

Norwegian cruise ship MS Roald Amundsen moored in Tromso, Norway, Monday Aug. 3, 2020. After 40 people, including four passengers and 26 crew members on the Norwegian cruise ship have been tested positive for the coronavirus, the operator says it was stopping for all cruises with its three vessels. The 40 people were admitted to the University Hospital of North Norway in Tromsoe, north of the Arctic Circle, where the empty ship has docked. (Terje Pedersen/NTB Scanpix via AP)

Norway cruise ship passengers with coronavirus reach 43

Aug. 4, 2020 4:27 AM EDT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The number of passengers on a Norwegian cruise ship who have tested positive for the coronavirus has reached 43, authorities said Tuesday. The outbreak on the MS Roald Amundsen raised new questions about safety on cruise ships during the pandemic even as the industry is pressing...

A worker wearing a mask to protect against the coronavirus walks past space themed displays promoting an online service in Beijing, China on Monday, Aug. 3, 2020. An outbreak in China's far northwestern region of Xinjiang is continuing to subside. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

The Latest: Mainland China, Hong Kong report fewer new cases

Aug. 3, 2020 11:00 PM EDT

BEIJING — Both mainland China and Hong Kong reported fewer new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday as strict measures to contain new infections appear to be taking effect. Mainland China announced 36 new cases across the country, down from 43 the previous day. Of those, 28 were in the northwestern region of...

Outbreak hits Norway cruise ship, could spread along coast

Aug. 3, 2020 1:03 PM EDT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Norwegian cruise ship line halted all trips and apologized Monday for procedural errors after a coronavirus outbreak on one ship infected at least 5 passengers and 36 crew. Health authorities fear the ship also could have spread the virus to dozens of towns and villages along...

FILE - In this July 22, 2020 file photo Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, speaks with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in the garden of Marienborg Castle north of Copenhagen. The Trump administration has appointed a new special envoy for the Arctic. The appointment of career diplomat Jim DeHart to the job of U.S. coordinator for the Arctic fills a post that was vacant for more than three years as the administration seeks a greater role in the region and tries to blunt growing Russian and Chinese influence there. The State Department announced the move Wednesday, a week after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed enhanced U.S. engagement in the Arctic on a visit to Denmark. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Pool Photo via AP)

US names new Arctic envoy in push to expand reach in region

Jul. 29, 2020 5:13 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Wednesday named a special envoy for the Arctic, filling a post that had been vacant for more than three years as the administration seeks a greater role in the region and tries to blunt growing Russian and Chinese influence there. The State Department's...

This photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows an Arctic grayling captured in a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fish trap at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge near Lima, Montana. U.S. wildlife officials have rejected federal protections for the rare, freshwater fish species at the center of a long-running legal dispute. The decision, on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, comes almost two years after a federal appeals court faulted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for dismissing the threat that climate change and other pressures pose to Arctic grayling. (Jim Mogen/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)

US wildlife agency rejects protections for rare fish species

Jul. 22, 2020 7:14 PM EDT

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. wildlife officials on Wednesday rejected special protections for a rare, freshwater fish related to salmon that's been at the center of a long-running legal dispute, citing conservation efforts that officials say have increased Arctic grayling numbers in a Montana river. The...

Sweden's Sami people to set up commission on discrimination

Jun. 12, 2020 7:30 AM EDT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Sami ethnic group in Sweden’s Arctic region is getting 1.2 million kronor ($130,000) from the Scandinavian country to set up a truth commission that will shed light on injustices against indigenous people carried out by the Swedish state. Matti Blind Berg, who heads the working...