AP National News

By ROBERT BURNS and DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Sunday the U.S.-led evacuation of Americans, at-risk Afghans and others from the Kabul airport accelerated this weekend, although it remains vulnerable to threats posed by the Islamic State extremist group. One week after the Taliban completed its takeover of Afghanistan

By PREDRAG MILIC Associated Press CETINJE, Montenegro (AP) — Several thousand people demonstrated Sunday in Montenegro over the planned inauguration of the new head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the small Balkan state. Ethic tensions have soared over the scheduled ceremony for Metropolitan Bishop Joanikije II. The protesters in Montenegro’s former capital, Cetinje, where

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar has announced Oct. 2 as its date for the country’s first election to vote for members of its top advisory panel, known as the Shura Council. The date was announced Sunday by royal decree. The Shura Council election aims to give the country’s citizens more say on how

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s national Holocaust memorial has a new director. Israel’s government on Sunday approved the appointment of Dani Dayan as the new leader of Yad Vashem. The 65-year-old Dayan until recently was Israel’s consul general in New York. Before that, he led the Yesha council, an umbrella organization representing Israeli settlers in the

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian police say they have arrested 24 people protesting the government’s response to the death of a prominent political activist in police custody. The demonstrators had planned to call for accountability in the death of Nizar Banat. Banat was an outspoken critic of the Palestinian Authority who died in custody

By DARIA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed hope Sunday that the Kremlin’s United Russia party will continue its dominance in parliament after the country’s parliamentary election in September. The Sept. 19 vote is widely seen as an important part of Putin’s efforts to cement his rule before the next

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — When four people facing eviction arrived at a Virginia Beach courthouse in early August, they never had to stand before a judge, a process that for many can be stressful and humiliating. Instead, an attorney representing landlords told them their housing woes were being resolved:

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — A cybersecurity firm plucked from relative obscurity to conduct an unprecedented review of ballots in Arizona’s largest country is readying to present its findings to Republican lawmakers. Experts say there should be little anticipation about the revelations from the Maricopa County audit — and whatever those

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — With midterm election season rapidly approaching, Republicans and Democrats have something in common when it comes to recruiting candidates they hope will deliver majorities in Congress: a preference for military veterans. Both parties anticipate a significant number of races where veterans will be opposing each other,

PARIS (AP) — The remains of American-born singer and dancer Josephine Baker will be reinterred at the Pantheon monument in Paris, making the entertainer who is a World War II hero in France the first Black woman to get the country’s highest honor. Le Parisien newspaper reported Sunday that French President Emmanuel Macron decided to

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Top Republican lawmakers are promising to work with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear to fight COVID-19 after a court ruling cleared the way for new limits on the Democratic governor’s emergency powers. Beshear’s allies said they’ll be watching to see if the governor’s critics follow through. Kentucky

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s new prime minister has struck a conciliatory tone in his first national address. A day after being sworn in, Ismail Sabri Yaakob said he will embrace the opposition in an effort to tackle the runaway pandemic and revive a slumping economy. Ismail said Sunday the political battles that led

By YURAS KARMANAU and GEIR MOULSON Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel sought to move forward stalled peace efforts for eastern Ukraine on Sunday and stressed Germany’s commitment not to let Russia use a new gas pipeline as a “weapon” as she made what is likely her last visit to Ukraine as

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Tony Blair, the British prime minister who deployed troops to Afghanistan 20 years ago after the 9/11 attacks, says the U.S. decision to withdraw from the country has “every Jihadist group round the world cheering.” In a lengthy essay posted on his website late Saturday, the former

By ILAN BEN ZION Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli government commission investigating a deadly accident at a holy site in April has held its first day of hearings, almost four months after the stampede at Mount Meron left 45 people dead. A panel headed by former Supreme Court justice Miriam Naor began proceedings

By JOHN CARUCCI Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — This time, Barry Manilow didn’t make it through the rain. Unlike the Grammy-winning recording artist’s 1980 hit, “I Made It Through Rain,” the superstar-laden “Homecoming Concert” in New York City’s Central Park was canceled because of dangerous weather as Hurricane Henri approached the Northeast on Saturday.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian media are reporting that Iran’s president has met with Japan’s foreign minister in Tehran and the two discussed the de-escalation of tensions in the region. A report Sunday said Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi discussed bilateral, regional and international issues with Ebrahim Raisi. The two-day visit is the first by

BERLIN (AP) — Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie, an iconic modern art museum designed by Bauhaus pioneer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, reopened to the public Sunday after a six-year refurbishment of the glass-fronted building. Germany’s culture minister, Monika Gruetters, said during a celebration ceremony held Saturday that the occasion marked the museum’s “brilliant comeback as a

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Erfan Kudusov fled Crimea with his wife and four children after Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula in 2014, along with many other Crimean Tatars who resented Moscow’s rule. For Kudusov and others in Crimea, the Russian takeover evoked tragic family memories of the 1944

By VADIM GHIRDA and VANESSA GERA Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — The 20th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Romania provided cause for celebration during the gay pride parade and festival held in Bucharest this month. People danced, waved rainbow flags and watched performances at an event that would have been unimaginable a