AP National News

By ZEN SOO Associated Press SINGAPORE (AP) — Singapore will launch its first quarantine-free travel program for vaccinated people arriving from Germany and Brunei, and ease restrictions for visitors from Hong Kong and Macao as it seeks to reopen its borders after fully vaccinating over 75% of its population. Previously, only Singapore residents and those

By JOSH BOAK, HANNAH FINGERHUT and BEN FOX Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A significant majority of Americans doubt that the war in Afghanistan was worthwhile, even as they are more divided over President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and national security. That’s according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for

By RANDA KRISS of NerdWallet Scammers and predatory lenders continue to try to take advantage of small businesses searching for COVID-19 recovery funding — especially with the end of the Paycheck Protection Program. To protect themselves from potential bad actors, business owners should watch out for financing sold exclusively on speed, as well as any

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The Africa director for the World Health Organization says rich countries’ decisions to roll out COVID-19 booster shots while so many people across Africa remain unvaccinated “threaten the promise of a brighter tomorrow” for the continent. She adds that “as some richer countries hoard vaccines, they

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Police say a 15-year-old boy has been detained on suspicion of attempted murder after a school employee was seriously wounded in a knife attack in southern Sweden. The incident happened in Eslov, northeast of Malmo, Sweden’s third largest city. The motive for Thursday’s attack is unclear, a police spokeswoman said. A

By SUZAN FRASER and AYA BATRAWY Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President President Tayyip Erdogan has hosted a top security official from the United Arab Emirates and said the Gulf state was looking at investing in Turkey. The trip by UAE national security advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Wednesday appears

By RISKA MUNAWARAH Associated Press BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian police say they have arrested an elephant poacher in Aceh province along with four people who bought ivory from an animal he killed. They say the elephant was found without its head on July 11 at a palm plantation. Police arrested a suspect who

BERLIN (AP) — A 51-year-old man has gone on trial in Germany over a deadly vehicle rampage in the western city of Trier last year. The defendant is indicted on five counts of murder and 18 counts of attempted murder for intentionally driving at pedestrians in a busy shopping area at the heart of the

By DANIEL COLE and ANGELA CHARLTON Associated Press LE LUC, France (AP) — A wildfire that has forced thousands to flee and ravaged woodlands near the French Riviera is raging for a fourth day despite calmer winds and cooler weather. Local authorities initially said Thursday that the fire was “less violent and its progression has

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s health minister says he has lifted restrictions on blood donations by gay men, saying the longstanding query posed to prospective donors were discriminatory and denigrating. Nitzan Horowitz, who himself is openly gay, wrote in a Facebook post Thursday that the Health Ministry had “removed the denigrating and irrelevant questions” in questionnaires for

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s foreign policy chief has called the fall of Afghanistan’s capital and the resurgence of the Taliban “a catastrophe” and “nightmare” that laid bare a failure of intelligence and trans-Atlantic cooperation. EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell also criticized U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday

By SOPHENG CHEANG and DAVID RISING Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The last living member of Pol Pot’s inner circle denied complicity in the genocide committed under the brutal Khmer Rouge government, telling an international tribunal he was being judged as a proxy for the entire radical communist regime. Speaking slowly and deliberately

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer The nation’s two newest passenger airlines are showing signs of growth — raising money and announcing new destinations. But at the same time, they’re worried about the surge in COVID-19 cases, and hoping that the virus is only a short-term obstacle for their success. On Thursday, Avelo Airlines announced

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Kenyan security guard who wrote compelling dispatches under a pseudonym about the challenges of living as a low-wage worker in Qatar and advocated for their rights has been freed from his monthslong detention. Activists say Malcolm Bidali faced a $6,800 fine and had his mobile phone and social

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police say they have seized 195 million Hong Kong dollars ($25 million) worth of illegal drugs as part of a monthslong investigation, the largest seizure of the year. Police said the drugs, including 148 kilograms (326 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine and 86 kilograms (189 pounds) of heroin, were uncovered

By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian police say they have arrested at least 53 suspected militants in recent weeks believed to have links to banned extremist groups, in a nationwide crackdown on a new cell of Jemaah Islamiyah, blamed for a string of past bombings. Police say the arrests were made

By ASIM TANVEER Associated Press MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police say a powerful roadside bomb has exploded among a procession of Shiite Muslims in central Pakistan, killing at least three and wounding over 50 people. Videos circulating on social media showed police and ambulances rushing toward the site of the explosion. Several wounded people

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian police say gunmen have abducted nine students on their way home from an Islamic school in the country’s northwest, two days after a mass school abduction took place in a neighboring state. Police spokesman Isah Gambo told The Associated Press that the students were kidnapped

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s government says it has granted a quarantine exemption to an individual to perform “designated professional work” following reports that Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman did not have to spend time in quarantine when she arrived in the city to film a TV series. It did not identify Kidman by name.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s highest court has rejected the appeals of three people who were convicted in one of the country’s most high-profile murder trials involving a far-right group. The decision announced Thursday by the Federal Court of Justice confirms the life sentence given three years ago to Beate Zschaepe, the only known survivor of