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By ZEINA KARAM Associated Press Ahmad Sarmast left his home in Melborne, Australia, on a mission to revive music in the country of his birth, Afghanistan. The school he founded was a unique experiment in inclusivity for the war-ravaged nation. It enrolled orphans and street kids, and sought to bring a measure of joy back

By AHMAD SEIR, RAHIM FAIEZ and JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A firefight outside Kabul’s international airport has killed an Afghan soldier. The shooting Monday highlights the perils of evacuation efforts even as the Taliban warned any attempt by U.S. troops to delay their withdrawal to give people more time to flee

BERLIN (AP) — Many train drivers with Germany’s national railway have walked off the job as their union embarks on its second two-day strike this month in a bitter dispute with the company. The GDL union called on passenger train drivers to strike from 2 a.m. Monday to 2 a.m. Wednesday. Freight train drivers already

By DAVID PORTER and TED SHAFFREY Associated Press MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — Residents across the waterlogged Northeast are clearing mud and tearing out soggy carpets after deluges dropped by Tropical Storm Henri. The smell of sewage filled the air in a New Jersey retirement community as people returned to their soaked homes and possessions

By MARINA VILLENEUVE Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Kathy Hochul has become New York’s first female governor. The Democrat from western New York assumed the office at the stroke of midnight Tuesday. She’s taking control of a state government desperate to get back to business after months of distractions over sexual harassment allegations against

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A close ally of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has been defeated in a high-profile mayoral election in Yokohama, Suga’s home turf, in a sharp setback for the already unpopular leader ahead of general elections later this year. Opposition-backed scientist Takeharu Yamanaka comfortably beat the Suga-backed candidate

BEIJING (AP) — China’s government says torrential rains caused landslides, knocked out power and damaged houses in central China. But no deaths were reported in a region where flooding killed more than 300 people last month. The official China News Service says heavy rain on Saturday prompted authorities to close tunnels and some bridges in

By SHEIKH SAALIQ Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — When the Taliban shot policewoman Khatira Hashmi and gouged out her eyes, she knew Afghanistan was no longer safe. Along with her husband, she fled to India last year. Akbar Farhad, an artist, has been living in New Delhi since 2018. He left Kabul after facing

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press Police departments in 2021 are desperate for positive press. They’re facing headline after headline about police brutality, bias and racism. They’re grasping at any way to show their communities that they care. Sometimes, that takes the form of posting graphic “rescue” photos or videos of a suicide intervention on social

By LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democratic leaders are trying to muscle President Joe Biden’s multitrillion-dollar budget blueprint over a key hurdle. But voting came to a standstill Monday night as negotiations continue with a band of moderate lawmakers threatening to withhold their support for the $3.5 trillion plan.

By ROBERT BURNS and ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S military troops flying round the clock have managed their biggest day of airlifts out of Afghanistan by far. But deadly violence that has blocked many desperate Afghans and foreigners from entering Kabul’s airport persisted Monday. And the Taliban signaled they may insist on

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden’s special envoy for North Korea has said he’s ready to meet his North Korean counterparts “anywhere and at any time” as he held discussions with South Korean officials over stalled nuclear talks with the North. Sung Kim’s visit to Seoul comes

By EVENS SANON and MARKO ALVAREZ Associated Press LES CAYES, Haiti (AP) — One of Haiti’s most powerful crime bosses says his gangs have reached a truce and he is offering to assist in relief efforts in the southwestern region devastated by an earthquake. If that proves to be true, it might allow an acceleration