NEW YORK (AP) — The Biden administration enacted a new labor rule Tuesday that aims to prevent the misclassification of workers as “independent contractors,” a step that could bolster both legal protections and compensation for millions in the U.S. workforce.

Major app-based platforms including Uber, Lyft and DoorDash expressed confidence that the new rule would not force them to reclassify their gig drivers. But business groups warned the rule creates uncertainty for employers and much depends on how the Labor Department decides to enforce it.

The

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Danish appeals court on Tuesday upheld guilty verdicts for three members of an Iranian separatist group convicted of promoting terror in Iran and gathering information for an unnamed Saudi intelligence service.

in February 2020 in the town of Ringsted, 60 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of the Danish capital of Copenhagen, and convicted of promoting terror over a deadly

The Eastern Court in Copenhagen said Tuesday the men belonged to the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz and had been gathering

GHANDOURIYEH, Lebanon (AP) — Hezbollah said it launched a drone strike at the Israeli army’s northern headquarters Tuesday in retaliation for recent strikes in Lebanon that killed top and officials.

Israel’s military acknowledged that one of its army bases in northern Israel was targeted but said there were no injuries or damage. It did not specify where the base was located.

Also Tuesday, an Israeli drone strike in Lebanon killed three Hezbollah members, officials said.

The increasing cross-border attacks have led to fears of a

NOIA, Spain (AP) — Countless tiny plastic pellets are washing up on the shores of northern Spain and local authorities declared an environmental emergency on Tuesday after a shipping container fell off a transport vessel last month.

The regional governments of Galicia, which has borne the brunt of the pollution, and neighboring Asturias asked Spain’s national government to help. On Monday, Spanish state prosecutors opened an investigation.

Prosecutors fear that the pellets could have toxic properties and said there are indications that they had also been found on French

MADRID (AP) — Face masks will be mandatory in hospitals and healthcare centers in Spain starting Wednesday due to a surge in respiratory illnesses, the Health Ministry said.

The new leftist minority coalition government is imposing the measure despite opposition from most of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions.

“We are talking about putting on a mask when you enter a health center and taking it off when you leave,” Health Minister Mónica García told Cadena Ser radio late Monday.

“I don’t think

MOSCOW (AP) — A U.S. citizen has been arrested on drug charges in Russia, officials said Tuesday, a move that comes amid soaring Russia-U.S. tensions over Ukraine.

The arrest of Robert Woodland Romanov was reported by the press service of the Moscow courts. It said the Ostankino District Court ruled on Saturday to keep him in custody for two months on charges of preparing to get involved in illegal drug trafficking pending an official investigation. It didn’t offer any details of the accusations

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Debt-ridden ’s navy is preparing to join a U.S.-led operation to protect merchant vessels sailing in the Red Sea against attacks by Houthi rebels, a Sri Lankan navy spokesman said on Tuesday.

The attacks by Houthi rebels have targeted commercial shipping vessels transiting through the critical Bab el-Mandeb Strait that links markets in Asia and Europe following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and Israel’s subsequent war against the militant group in Gaza.

The U.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The former president of a top-division soccer team in Turkey told a court on Tuesday that he regretted attacking a referee at the end of a league game but denied threatening to kill him.

Faruk Koca, who resigned as president of MKE Ankaragucu after punching referee Halil Umut Meler, has been charged with causing wilful injury to a public official, threatening an official and violating a law relating to the prevention of violence in sports.

He faces up to 13 years in prison if found

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s national elections commission on Tuesday registered the Communist Party’s candidate to compete with in the March election that Putin is all but certain to win.

Nikolai Kharitonov joins two other candidates who were approved for the ballot last week. Kharitonov, a member of the lower house of parliament, has opposed some of Putin’s domestic policies but not Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.

Although the Communist candidate typically gets the second-highest vote tally, Kharitonov does not present a significant