The Vatican's newspaper is calling on the international community to welcome Afghan civilians fleeing the Taliban, expressing incredulousness "that before deciding to abandon the country no one thought through such a foreseeable scenario or did anything to avoid it."

In a front-page article in the Friday edition of L'Osservatore Romano, deputy editor Gaetano Vallini said the West was obliged to urgently remedy the situation with concrete action and welcome refugees to avoid a "catastrophic humanitarian emergency."

Taliban fighters tortured and killed members of an ethnic minority in Afghanistan after recently overrunning their village, Amnesty International said, fueling fears that they will again impose a brutal rule, even as they urged imams to push a message of unity at the first gathering for Friday prayers since the capital was seized.

Terrified that the new de facto rulers would commit such abuses, thousands have raced to Kabul's airport desperate to flee following the Taliban's stunning blitz through the country. Others have taken to the streets to protest the takeover — acts of defiance that Taliban fighters have violently suppressed.

Legal battles over masks in schools are being fought across the country, including in Arkansas, California, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, Oklahoma, Nevada and Texas.

Rather than clarifying policy, these legal challenges have led to more confusion.

Arsenal completed the signing of midfielder Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid on Friday.

The 22-year-old Norway international was on loan in the second half of last season and returns on a long-term contract after Arsenal paid a fee reported to be 35 million euros ($41 million).

Israel has made third booster shots against COVID-19 available to people age 40 and older in an effort to fight a surge of the delta variant.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who is 49, got his jab on Friday. He pledged to share "all the data, all the information, all the insights" of the effort. Israel has been a leader in the fight against the deadly coronavirus and last month became the first country to offer booster shots. The U.S. has approved, but not yet made available, boosters for older Americans as well.

Asian stock markets fell Friday as worries surrounding the spread of the delta variant again took center stage.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 1% to 27,013.25 and Seoul's Kospi fell 1.5% to 3,050.48. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 1.6% to 24,918.36 in afternoon trading.

China is tightening control over data gathered by companies about the public under a law approved Friday by its ceremonial legislature, expanding the ruling Communist Party's crackdown on internet industries.

The data protection law follows anti-monopoly and other enforcement actions against companies including e-commerce giant Alibaba and games and social media operator Tencent that caused their share prices to plunge.

Harvey Sutton, or "Little Man," as he is known on the Appalachian Trail, won't have long to bask in the glory of hiking its full length. After all, he starts kindergarten Friday.

At 5 years old, Harvey is one of the youngest — and the latest of several youngsters in recent years — to complete the trail, after tagging along with his parents over more than 2,100 miles in 209 days.

Life is returning to normal for some Afghans in the capital, although Kabul's normally crowded streets appear empty of their usual traffic congestion.

The Taliban have not imposed any restrictions on people so far, as they prepare for Friday prayers. Having a long beard and wearing traditional hats and clothes were required while the group was ruling the country in the late 90s.

Greece's prime minister and Turkey's president are to speak on Friday evening to discuss "the latest developments in Afghanistan," the Greek prime minister's office announced, as both countries raise concerns about a potential major influx of people fleeing Afghanistan after the Taliban's takeover.

Greece has repeatedly said it will not allow a repetition of 2015, when hundreds of thousands of people crossed to Greek islands from the nearby Turkish coast before heading through Greece and the Balkans north toward more prosperous countries in the European Union.