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By The Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan — The Middle Eastern State of Qatar, which has played an outsized role in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s sweep to power on Aug. 15, has sent a delegation to Kabul. It is the highest diplomatic level delegation to visit the Afghan capital since the Taliban announced their interim Cabinet.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani official says three climbers became stranded on Pakistan’s Rakaposhi mountain during their descent and efforts are being made to rescue them by helicopter. Czech climbers Jakub Vicek and Peter Macek and Pakistani Wajidullah Nagri were stranded in Camp 3 on Rakaposhi at a height of 6,900 meters (22,640 feet). A

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A Florida judge has canceled the trial for rock icon Rod Stewart and his adult son and scheduled a hearing next month to discuss a plea deal to resolve misdemeanor charges. The singer of 70s hits such as “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” and “Maggie May” and his son

By RONALD BLUM Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Metropolitan Opera returned to its home after an 18-month absence caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Before a masked crowd of 3,600, music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin led a performance of the Verdi Requiem in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. The Met had

VIENNA (AP) — Ethiopia’s Derara Hurisa has been disqualified for wearing the wrong shoes after winning the Vienna Marathon. The 24-year-old Hurisa crossed the line first by three seconds but was later told he had been disqualified. That was because the soles of his shoes were 1 centimeter (0.4 inches) thicker than the maximum 4

By ALBERT AJI Associated Press DARAA, Syria (AP) — The badly damaged old section of the southern Syrian city of Daraa, which until recently was held by opposition gunmen, appears to have slowly returned to some sense of normalcy. The capture of Daraa al-Balad marked another victory for President Bashar Assad, whose forces now control

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS Associated Press COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (AP) — Northern Idaho has a long and deep streak of antigovernment activism that is confounding attempts to battle a COVID-19 outbreak. The surge has overwhelmed hospitals in the deeply conservative region. A deadly 1992 standoff with federal agents near the Canadian border helped spark an

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s foreign minister says his country is working with the U.N.’s refugee agency to repatriate Syrians to their home country. The comments are at odds, however, with the U.N. agency’s overall policy towards returning migrants to Syria, which it still considers too dangerous. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Sunday that “we

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Nicholas is expected to strengthen as it heads for the Gulf Coast. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami say coastal areas of Texas, Mexico and Louisiana could see heavy rain and floods. Tropical storm warnings have been issued for coastal Texas. Nicholas is expected to produce storm total

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California is again choosing whether to recall a governor. But the electorate deciding Gov. Gavin Newsom’s fate looks very different from that one that ousted fellow Democrat Gray Davis in 2003. The state today has 7 million more voters but fewer registered Republicans. And the electorate

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press Officials in some urban areas are raising concerns about a federal rule limiting how federal coronavirus relief money can be spent on high-speed internet. The American Rescue Plan signed by President Joe Biden lists broadband infrastructure as one of the uses for $350 billion of flexible aid to states,