AP National News

By BARRY HATTON Associated Press LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Jorge Sampaio, a former two-term president of Portugal and one of the most prominent political figures of his generation, has died. He was 81. The current Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, announced Sampaio’s death on Friday. He did not give a cause of death, though

By BARRY HATTON Associated Press LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Europe has witnessed many more jihadist attacks on its soil than the United States since 9/11, and analysts say a variety of reasons account for that. They point to Europe’s homegrown extremists, weaknesses in counterterrorism strategies and geography. They note that many Muslims in Europe are

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission has cleared an injection of Italian funds into new airline ITA and says the company won’t be responsible for illegal state aid granted to predecessor Alitalia. The EU’s competition watchdog said Friday that the 1.35 billion euros in capital Italy intends to grant the

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A leading scientist behind the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine says booster shots may be unnecessary for many people. Oxford University Professor Sarah Gilbert told The Telegraph newspaper on Friday that immunity from the vaccine was holding up well — even against the delta variant. While the elderly and

LIMASSOL, Cyprus (AP) — Operators from the U.S. navy’s elite special forces unit SEAL joined Cypriot underwater demolition soldiers in a joint drill to hone skills in countering terrorist hijackings at sea. Friday’s exercise involved teams of U.S. and Cypriot special forces operators re-taking a ship controlled by terrorists. Cypriot Defense Minister Charalambos Petrides said

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press At the first meeting of a new White House council on U.S. economic conditions, participants are highlighting at least 18 actions taken to help consumers and potentially lower prices. The council is aimed at refocusing the economy around the interests of consumers, workers and entrepreneurs. Details about Friday’s meeting were

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s high vaccination rate has enabled the Scandinavian country to become one of the first European Union nations to lift all domestic COVID-19 restrictions. The return to normality has been gradual, but as of Friday, the digital pass is no longer required when entering night

MADRID (AP) — A major wildfire in southeast Spain is prevailing over efforts by 38 water-dropping aircraft and tearing through an area of hilly woodland for a second day. One fire official described it on Friday as “a hungry monster.” Authorities ordered most crews working on the uneven terrain to withdrew, as strong winds and

LONDON (AP) — Soulful British singer-songwriter Arlo Parks has won the prestigious Mercury Prize for her debut album “Collapsed in Sunbeams.” The 21-year-old Londoner beat acts including singer Celeste, rapper Ghetts and bands Wolf Alice and Mogwai to the 25,000-pound ($30,000) prize, which recognizes the outstanding British or Irish album of the year. The judging

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s state-controlled gas giant Gazprom says it has completed the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, a contentious project that Ukraine and the United States have strongly opposed. Owned by Gazprom, Nord Stream 2 is built under the Baltic Sea and bypasses Poland and Ukraine, raising objections from

BERLIN (AP) — Austrian police say a man hid his mother’s body in his basement for over a year in order to continue receiving her pension and nursing allowance. Police in Tyrol province said Thursday that officers paid a visit to the man in the Innsbruck area last weekend because suspicions had arisen that his

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s economic growth slowed more than expected in July as concern about the spread of the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 overshadowed the government’s decision to end most social distancing rules. The economy expanded 0.1% in the month, down from 1% in June. Economists had expected gross domestic product to increase

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press HALLE, Germany (AP) — Climate change is among the top concerns for Germans going into this year’s national election that will determine who replaces Angela Merkel as chancellor. But while voters admit they are worried about the state of the planet, many fear the cost of backing the environmentalist Green

By The Associated Press Washington’s special envoy and the architect of an often criticized deal with the Taliban says more than 250 foreign nationals have left Afghanistan in the past three days. The deal signed last year provided for the safe withdrawal of U.S and NATO troops but say his critics was heavily weighted in

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press VAROSHA, Cyprus (AP) — There’s a groundswell of anger among thousands of Greek Cypriot refugees who fear their property in the Turkish-occupied ghost town of Varosha could be forever lost. Once the pride of Cyprus’ tourism industry, the Famagusta suburb has been empty and under military control since 1974, when

By KAREL JANICEK Associated Press KOSICE, Slovakia (AP) — Pope Francis is paying a visit next week to a neighborhood in Slovakia most Slovaks would not even think about going, where until recently even the police would avoid after dark. Francis will make his visit to the impoverished Roma community in Slovakia one of the

By FRED GOODALL AP Sports Writer TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tom Brady threw for 379 yards and four touchdowns, helping the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers kick off the NFL season with a mistake-filled 31-29 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night. With seats in a NFL stadium filled to full capacity

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer NEW YORK (AP) — British teenager Emma Raducanu has become the first qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final in the professional era by beating 17th-seeded Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-4 at the U.S. Open. Raducanu will play another unseeded teen in Saturday’s final: Canada’s 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez. The 18-year-old

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks ended an up-and-down day lower on Wall Street, giving the S&P 500 its fifth consecutive loss and its first weekly decline after two weeks of gains. The benchmark index gave back 0.8% Friday, extending its loss for the week to 1.7%. Technology stocks did

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s highest court has agreed to hear a challenge to a police officer using his law enforcement job as a defense against a charge of murdering an Indigenous man. Constable Zachary Rolfe could become the first police officer to be convicted in Australia of unlawfully killing