Nation/World

The new variant, named "omicron" by the World Health Organization, has stoked fears in South Africa, where it appears to have originated. In response, the U.S. joined the European Union and several other countries in instituting travel restrictions on visitors from southern Africa.

Stocks closed sharply lower on Wall Street, after a coronavirus variant from South Africa appeared to be spreading across the globe

The discovery of a new coronavirus variant sent a chill through much of the world Friday as nations raced to halt air travel, markets fell sharply and scientists held emergency meetings to weigh the exact risks, which were largely unknown.

Federal health regulators say an experimental COVID-19 pill from Merck is effective against the virus, but they will seek input from outside experts on risks of birth defects and other potential problems in pregnant women.

South African scientists have identified a new version of the coronavirus this week that they say is behind a recent spike in COVID-19 infections in Gauteng, the country's most populous province. 

A devastating fire swept through a Siberian coal mine Thursday, killing 52 miners and rescuers about 820 feet underground, Russian news reports said.

French President Emmanuel Macron appealed Thursday to neighboring European countries to do more to stop illegal migration into France after at least 27 people died trying to cross the English Channel.

The decision comes almost two years after the 25-year-old Black man was killed while running outside the Georgia port city of Brunswick. The  three men all face a mandatory sentence of life in prison. The judge will decide whether their sentences are served with or without the possibility of parole.

Two journalists from Norwegian state television were arrested and held for over 30 hours by security forces in Qatar before being freed

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plummeted last week to the lowest level in more than half a century, another sign that the U.S. job market is rebounding rapidly from last year's coronavirus recession.