Lionel Richie will be honored all night long for his musical achievements.

The Library of Congress said Thursday that Richie will receive the national library's Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. He will be bestowed the prize at an all-star tribute in Washington, D.C., on March 9.

Most access to a major city adjacent to Beijing was suspended Thursday as China tried to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious omicron variant, which poses a test to its "zero-tolerance" COVID-19 policy and its ability to successfully host the Winter Olympics.

Tianjin, a port and manufacturing center with 14 million people, is one of a half-dozen cities where the government is imposing lockdowns and other restrictions as part of a policy that aims to track down every virus case. But the outbreak in a city so close to the Olympic host is particularly worrying.

British officials said Thursday the self-isolation period for people in England who test positive for COVID-19 will be reduced from next week to five full days, instead of seven.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid also said that early signs indicate that the rate of hospitalization from the coronavirus in the country is starting to slow.

Novak Djokovic remained in limbo even after he was included in the draw for the Australian Open on Thursday, with the tennis star still awaiting a government decision on whether to deport him for not being vaccinated for COVID-19.

Despite the cloud hanging over Djokovic's ability to compete, Australian Open organizers included the top seed in the draw. He is slated to play fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic, who is ranked world No. 78., in the opening round next week.

The European Union on Thursday rejected the merger between South Korean shipbuilders Hyundai and Daewoo, saying a union between two of the world's biggest players in the industry would have given the combined company a global stranglehold on the production of liquified natural gas carriers.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager says the merger "would have led to less choice, higher prices and ultimately less innovation for European customers." European companies account for almost half the orders in the $45 billion market.

Mourners took Thursday a last look at the body of Omar Asaad, 80, in the family house, during his funeral in the West Bank village of Jaljulia, north of Ramallah.

Asaad, an 80-year-old Palestinian with U.S. citizenship, died of a heart attack after being detained by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank.

Sudanese security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the capital of Khartoum as thousands took to the streets Thursday against a coup that has plunged the country into grinding deadlock, activists said.

The demonstrations in Khartoum and elsewhere in Sudan are the latest in relentless protests since the military on Oct. 25 ousted the civilian-led government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

Europe's natural gas crisis isn't letting up. Reserves are low. Prices are high. Utility customers are facing expensive bills. Major Russian supplier Gazprom isn't selling gas like it used to.

It all raises the question: How exactly is Europe, which imports most of its energy, going to make it through the winter without a gas disaster, especially if the season turns out to be colder or longer than usual?

The website of Iran's supreme leader has showcased an animated video that appears to show a robot calling in a drone strike to assassinate former President Donald Trump.

The animated video was part of a contest to mark the Jan. 3, 2020 killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was slain in an American drone strike in Baghdad.

U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called for Britain and the European Union to rebuild their relationship, as she and bloc's top Brexit official met Thursday for talks on a thorny dispute over Northern Ireland trade.

Truss and European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic were meeting at Chevening House, the foreign secretary's official country retreat in southeast England.