Ireland government

FILE - In this file photo dated Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, Ireland's Prime Minister Micheal Martin speaks as he arrives at the European Council building in Brussels. The Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin seems poised to make a formal apology on behalf of the Irish state, for the deaths of thousands of infants and other abuses in church-run homes for unmarried women and their babies, following inquiry findings due to be published on Tuesday Jan. 12, 2021. (John Thys/ Pool FILE via AP)

Irish PM says 'perverse' morality drove unwed mothers' homes

Jan. 12, 2021 3:07 PM EST

LONDON (AP) — Ireland’s prime minister said Tuesday that the country must “face up to the full truth of our past,” as a long-awaited report recounted decades of harm done by church-run homes for unmarried women and their babies, where thousands of infants died. Prime Minister Micheal...

South Korea's Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu speaks during a briefing at the government complex in Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 31, 2020. South Korea has enforced its toughest physical distancing rules at correctional facilities across the country after a major cluster of coronavirus infections flared at a Seoul prison. (Lee Jung-hun/Yonhap via AP)

The Latest: South Korea enforces tough measures in prisons

Dec. 30, 2020 11:10 PM EST

SEOUL, South Korea __ South Korea has enforced its toughest physical distancing rules at correctional facilities across the country after a major cluster of coronavirus infections flared at a Seoul prison. The Justice Ministry says that 792 people — 771 inmates and 21 staff — at Seoul’s...

Pedestrians wearing masks to protect against coronavirus pass a sign for doctors rooms in Johannesburg Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared the wearing of masks compulsory and has reimposed a ban on the sales of alcohol and ordered the closure of all bars as part of new restrictions to help the country battle a resurgence of the coronavirus, including a new variant. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

The Latest: Louisiana congressman-elect dies from COVID-19

Dec. 29, 2020 10:29 PM EST

BATON ROUGE, La. — Luke Letlow, who was to have been Louisiana’s newest Republican member of the U.S. House, has died from complications related to COVID-19 only days before being sworn into office. He was 41. Letlow spokesman Andrew Bautsch confirmed the congressman-elect’s death Tuesday at...

Volunteers wearing face masks wave after they load boxes onto a delivery truck during an event to send Christmas gifts for the underprivileged in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020. The Korea Youth Foundation sent Christmas gifts using a courier to help prevent against the coronavirus as the social distancing measures. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

The Latest: Coronavirus cases keep rising in South Korea

Dec. 22, 2020 11:34 PM EST

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has added 1,092 new coronavirus cases in a resurgence that is erasing hard-won epidemiological gains and eroding public confidence in the government’s ability to handle the outbreak. The national caseload has jumped by a quarter in the last two weeks alone, the...

A woman pulls a suitcase past the Christmas tree on the concourse of Waterloo Station in central London, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. Millions of people in England have learned they must cancel their Christmas get-togethers and holiday shopping trips. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Saturday that holiday gatherings can’t go ahead and non-essential shops must close in London and much of southern England. (Victoria Jones/PA via AP)

More EU nations ban travel from UK, fearing virus variant

Dec. 20, 2020 10:32 PM EST

BERLIN (AP) — A growing list of European Union nations and Canada barred travel from the U.K. on Sunday and others were considering similar action, in a bid to block a new strain of coronavirus sweeping across southern England from spreading to the continent. France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,...

A line of socially distanced shoppers wait to get into Bath & Body Works during Black Friday outdoor shopping at Deer Park Town Center Friday, Nov. 27, 2020, in Deer Park, Ill. (Brian Hill/Daily Herald via AP)

The Latest: Illinois surpasses 12,000 deaths from COVID-19

Nov. 27, 2020 8:41 PM EST

MIAMI (AP) — SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois has risen above 12,000 deaths from COVID-19, while also surpassing the 700,000 mark for confirmed coronavirus infections. The latest 1,000 deaths were recorded in just nine days — matching the state’s deadliest period previously in the...