World News

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is slashing $1 billion in assistance to Afghanistan and threatening further reductions in all forms of co-operation after the country's rival leaders failed to agree on forming a new government.

SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric will plead guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter for a swath of death and destruction left behind after its fraying electrical grid ignited a 2018 wildfire that destroyed three Northern California

ROME — Italy has recorded a smaller day-to-day increase in new coronavirus cases for the second straight day, officials said Monday while cautioning it was too soon to know if the worst is behind the country with the world's second-biggest caseload.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Regents at the University of Michigan are expected to consider a recommendation from its president that the school fire an opera singer and tenured professor facing sexual assault charges.

NEW YORK — The New York Philharmonic cancelled the rest of its season and a 10-concert European tour due to the new coronavirus, estimating it will have $10 million in operating losses to its $87 million annual budget because of the pandemic.

NEW YORK — Ruchika Tomar's “A Prayer for Travelers” has won the PEN/Hemingway Award for best debut novel, an honour previously given to Marilynne Robinson, Tommy Orange and Yiyun Li among others.

NEW YORK — Woody Allen's memoir, dropped by its original publisher after widespread criticism, has found a new home, The Associated Press has learned. The 400-page book, still called “Apropos of Nothing,” was released Monday by Arcade Publishing.

LONDON — Former Scottish leader Alex Salmond was acquitted Monday of a series of sexual offences , including one of attempted rape.

BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said Monday that the German leader has tested negative for the new coronavirus.

NEW YORK — Lauren Beukes, a script and fiction writer, is drawn to narratives that allow her to probe themes of gender and power.