Days before Germany’s federal elections, Facebook took what it called an unprecedented step: the removal of a series of accounts that worked together to spread COVID-19 misinformation and encourage violent responses to COVID restrictions. Read more

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly fell Tuesday as concerns about China chipped away at investor optimism following a mixed finish on Wall Street. Read more

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — In a packed intensive care unit for coronavirus patients in Romania’s capital, Bucharest, 55-year-old Adrian Pica sits on his bed receiving supplementary oxygen to help him breathe. “I didn’t want to get vaccinated because I was afraid,” he said. Read more

BEIJING (AP) — The World Bank on Tuesday cut its economic growth forecast for developing countries in East Asia due to the impact of the coronavirus’s delta variant and called on governments to help the poor and small businesses avoid long-term damage. Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — In their first public testimony since the U.S. completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan, top Pentagon leaders will face sharp questions in Congress about the chaotic pullout and the Taliban's rapid takeover of the country. Read more

TOKYO (AP) — The stakes are high as Japanese governing party members vote Wednesday for four candidates seeking to replace Yoshihide Suga as prime minister. The next leader must address a pandemic-battered economy, a newly empowered military operating in a dangerous neighborhood, crucial tie… Read more

TOKYO (AP) — Japan is set to lift all coronavirus emergency measures when they expire later this week as the infections slow and the nation tries to reactivate its economy. Read more

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hosted a lunch Monday for the leaders of divided Cyprus, hoping to bring them back to negotiations to reunite the Mediterranean island nations — talks that have been stalled since 2017. Read more

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Monday accused the United States of hostility and demanded the Biden administration to permanently end joint military exercises with South Korea even as it continued its recent streak of weapons tests apparently aimed at pressuring Washington and Seou… Read more

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea says North Korea has fired an unidentified projectile into the sea. Read more

LONDON (AP) — British police charged a 36-year-old man on Monday with the murder of Sabina Nessa, a primary school teacher killed as she walked to meet a friend in London. Read more

MOSCOW (AP) — Azerbaijan and Armenia are marking the anniversary of the start of their six-week war in which more than 6,600 people died and which ended with Azerbaijan regaining control of large swaths of territory. Read more

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban on Monday banned barbershops in a southern Afghanistan province from shaving or trimming beards, claiming their edict is in line with Shariah, or Islamic, law. Read more

MILAN (AP) — Fashion houses trying to figure out how to reach new eyeballs after the long ordeal of the pandemic have centered around a singular idea: collaborations. Read more

SAN MARINO (AP) — Pope Francis repeated Monday that abortion is “murder," a day after the tiny republic of San Marino became the latest Catholic state to legalize the procedure, much to the cheers of women's rights groups. Read more

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba has begun commercial exports of its homegrown COVID-19 vaccines, sending shipments of the three-dose Abdala vaccine to Vietnam and Venezuela. Read more

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The NATO-led KFOR mission in Kosovo on Monday increased its patrols on the border with Serbia in a bid to deescalate tensions between the two Balkan foes over a dispute about license plates. Read more

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The dispute between Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers and its former government over who should speak at the United Nations' annual meeting of world leaders finally has an answer: no one. Read more

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron was hit at the shoulder Monday by an egg thrown at him by a man during a visit to an international food trade fair in the French city of Lyon. Read more

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s new prime minister appealed to the international community Monday to stand together against Iran, accusing Tehran of marching toward the development of a nuclear weapon and threatening to act alone if the world does not take action. Read more

BRUSSELS (AP) — The Council of Europe on Monday awarded its major human rights prize to jailed Belarus opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova, who was arrested last year after she tore up her passport at the border to prevent her forced expulsion from the country. Read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Come visit the Maldives, its president entreated the world at this year's United Nations General Assembly, moments before switching to an impassioned plea for help combating climate change. The adjacent appeals illustrated a central dilemma for many small island developing st… Read more

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will on Tuesday finally meet with members of the COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaigning group, who for more than a year have sharply criticized his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Read more

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Two Canadians detained in late 2019 who were allowed to return to Canada in a prisoner swap were released on bail for health reasons, China's Foreign Ministry said Monday. Read more

LONDON (AP) — Lines of cars formed at some British gas stations for a fourth day on Monday, as the government mulled sending in the army to help ease supply disruption triggered by a shortage of truck drivers. Read more

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's voters have delivered their verdict. Now it's up to party leaders to thrash out who will succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel after 16 years in office and with what political priorities. Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan is traveling to Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the U.S. tries to press the kingdom to move toward a cease-fire in its yearslong war with Houthi rebels in Yemen. Read more

LA PALMA, Canary Islands (AP) — A Spanish island volcano that has buried more than 500 buildings and displaced over 6,000 people since it erupted last week stopped releasing large clouds of ashes and molten rock on Monday, although scientists said it was too early to declare the eruption pha… Read more

BEIJING (AP) — Global shoppers face possible shortages of smartphones and other goods ahead of Christmas after power cuts to meet government energy use targets forced Chinese factories to shut down and left some households in the dark. Read more

NEW DELHI (AP) — Thousands of Indian farmers blocked traffic on major roads and railway tracks outside of the nation's capital on Monday, marking one year of demonstrations against government-backed laws that they say will shatter their livelihoods. Read more

BERLIN (AP) — Germany is embarking on a potentially lengthy search for its next government after the center-left Social Democrats narrowly beat outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right bloc in an election that failed to set a clear direction for Europe's biggest economy under a new leader. Read more

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Monday, as fears of further waves of coronavirus outbreaks clouded the economic outlook for the region, tempering gains. Read more

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand's prime minister says the government will start a pilot program of home-isolation for overseas travelers, ahead of what she expects to be increasing vaccination levels. Read more

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Monday, but fears of further waves of coronavirus outbreaks were clouding the economic outlook for the region, tempering the rally. Read more

TOKYO (AP) — The inclusion of two women among the four candidates vying to become the next prime minister seems like a big step forward for Japan's notoriously sexist politics. But their fate is in the hands of a conservative, mostly male governing party — and the leading female candidate ha… Read more

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of British gas stations ran dry Sunday, an industry group said, as motorists scrambled to fill up amid a supply disruption due to a shortage of truck drivers. Read more