• The U.S. lifted restrictions Monday on travel from a long list of countries including Mexico, Canada and most of Europe, allowing tourists to make long-delayed trips and family members to reconnect with loved ones after more than a year and a half apart because of the pandemic.
• Fresh from his victory in winning the passage of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, President Joe Biden must now see that the funds are spent so that Americans can feel a real impact.
• In Nicaragua, provisional vote totals are expected in elections where President Daniel Ortega is seeking a fourth consecutive term in polls the United States has called a “pantomime” following the jailing of his top rivals.
• And in the Middle East, nearly two decades after Israel sparked controversy by building a barrier on the border with Palestine, it has become a seemingly permanent feature of the landscape — even as Israel encourages its citizens to settle on both sides.
• The magic 1.5: What’s behind climate talks’ key elusive goal.
• German COVID infection rate at new high as vaccinations slow.
• Tight harmonies credited for making Carpenters’ songs worldwide hits.

ANDREW MELDRUM

Africa News Editor

JOHANNESBURG

The Associated Press

The Rundowo

US lifts pandemic travel ban, opens doors to visitors

The U.S. lifted restrictions Monday on travel from a long list of countries including Mexico, Canada and most of Europe, allowing tourists to make long-delayed trips and family members to reconnect with loved ones after more than a year and a half…Read More

Biden faces fresh challenges after infrastructure victory

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) — He has been here before. President Joe Biden doesn’t need to look any further back than his time as vice president to grasp the challenges that lie ahead in promoting his new $1 trillion infrastructure deal to the Ameri…Read More

Nearly 20 years on, Israeli barrier shapes Palestinian lives

QAFFIN, West Bank (AP) — Three days a week, Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank village of Qaffin line up at a yellow gate and show military permits to soldiers in order to tend their crops on the other side of Israel’s separation barrie…Read More

Nicaragua’s Ortega seeks re-election after jailing rivals

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega sought a fourth consecutive term in elections the United States has called a “pantomime” following the jailing of his top rivals and the country’s opposition has urged voters to boycott….Read More

Barriers, crowd control in focus in Houston concert deaths

HOUSTON (AP) — Investigators are expected to examine the design of safety barriers and the use of crowd control in determining what led to a crush of spectators at a Houston music festival that left eight people dead and hundreds more injured. …Read More

OTHER TOP STORIES

German COVID infection rate at new high as vaccinations slow

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s coronavirus infection rate climbed to its highest recorded level yet on Monday as what officials have called a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” gat…Read More

The magic 1.5: What’s behind climate talks’ key elusive goal

Glasgow, Scotland (AP) — One phrase, really just a number, dominates climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland: The magic and elusive 1.5. That stands for the international go…Read More

Book gets close to the music that made Carpenters superstars

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Every sha-la-la-la, every wo-o-wo-o still shines,” the Carpenters’ sang in “Yesterday Once More,” their hit 1973 tribute to the songs of the past. It…Read More

Fox on field briefly halts USC-Arizona State game

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — A fox joined the Trojans and Sun Devils on the field. The Pac-12 game Saturday night between Southern California and Arizona State was briefly delaye…Read More