The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp entered the eastern Mediterranean Sea this week as the U.S. positions warships to try to keep fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon from escalating into a wider war in the Middle East.

While the Wasp has the capability to assist in the evacuation of civilians if full-scale war breaks out between Israel and the Iranian-backed group along the Lebanon border, that’s not the primary reason it was rotated in, a U.S. official said. “It’s about deterrence,” the official said.

Turkey on Friday welcomed a decision by an international watchdog to remove it from a so-called " gray list " of countries that have not fully implemented measures to fight money laundering and terrorism financing.

The announcement by the Financial Action Task Force in Singapore could bolster foreign investments in Turkey, which is trying to rebound from a deep economic downturn.

Bolivian government officials said Friday they arrested four more people in connection with Wednesday's failed coup attempt against President Luis Arce, bringing the total detained to 21.

Government Minister Eduardo del Castillo said that among those arrested were military officers, including the driver of an armored vehicle that rammed into the government palace.

The presidential debate was a re-run that featured two candidates with a combined age of 159, but it went especially poorly for one of them, President Joe Biden.

Already fighting voter concerns about his age, Biden, 81, was halting and seemed to lose his train of thought Thursday night, sparking quick concerns among Democrats about the man they hope will keep former President Donald Trump from returning to office. For his part, Trump made repeated false claims and provocative statements. But Trump seemed smoother and more vigorous than Biden, who is only three years older than the Republican ex-president.

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men blocked a major highway in central Israel for two hours on Thursday to protest a recent Supreme Court decision ordering young religious men to enlist for military service.

Military service is compulsory for most Jewish men and women in Israel. But politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties have won draft exemptions for their followers that allow them instead to study in religious seminaries.

A portion of a canopy at a departure terminal at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport collapsed Friday as monsoon rains lashed the Indian capital, killing one person and injuring six others, officials said.

All flight departures from Terminal 1 were temporarily suspended as rescuers cleared the debris to rescue anyone trapped there, the airport authority said.

Severe weather over days has caused havoc and destruction across the U.S. That includes torrential rains and flooding in the Upper Midwest and powerful storms in the Northeast that left a least two people dead from falling trees.

The deadly storms that raked parts of the Northeast late Wednesday into early Thursday spun off tornadoes and initially left some 250,000 customers in the region without power.

Referees taking stricter action on tactical fouls drove a spike in yellow cards shown at the European Championship, UEFA's head of match officials said Friday.

A crackdown on backchat to the referee — including a booking for Cristiano Ronaldo — also pushed up the number of yellow cards to 166 shown during the 36 group-stage games, compared to 98 at the same stage of the previous edition.

Defending champion Italy aims to continue its dominance over Switzerland to reach the quarterfinals of the European Championship on Saturday. Switzerland hasn't beaten Italy for 31 years and has only eight wins from their previous 61 meetings. But the Swiss are unbeaten so far this year and their only loss in 2023 came in the last game of qualifying. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. local (1600 GMT) on Saturday. Here's what to know about the match:

Match facts

The group stage of Euro 2024 offered exciting soccer and colorful celebrations among fans criss-crossing Germany to support their national teams. AP photographers captured the drama on and off the field of play.

Some fans thought Kylian Mbappé looked like a superhero when he played with a mask after breaking his nose in France's first game. But his superpowers only went so far: even though he scored in the final group-stage match, the French team could only achieve a draw against already eliminated Poland and finished second in their group.