AP National News

BEIJING (AP) — China is dismissing the decision by Canada and the United Kingdom to join Washington’s diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games as a “farce.” A Foreign Ministry spokesperson says China is not concerned that the absence of the officials would spark a chain reaction. He says numerous heads of state,

By KIYOKO METZLER Associated Press VIENNA (AP) — Negotiations between Iran and world powers aimed at salvaging a tattered 2015 nuclear deal have resumed in Vienna after a few days’ pause. A meeting of all the deal’s remaining signatories — Iran, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China — was being chaired on Thursday by European

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Thousands of Indian farmers have suspended a year-long protest after the government withdrew contentious farm laws and set up a committee to consider their other demands, including guaranteed prices for key crops and the withdrawal of criminal cases against the protesters. Farmers started removing their tents

MILAN (AP) — Italy’s anti-trust authority has fined Amazon 1.13 billion euros, accusing the company of exploiting its dominant position against independent sellers on its website in violation of European Union competition rules. Thursday’s fine is one of the largest leveraged in Europe against the online retail giant, which expanded in particular in Italy during

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Iraq’s National Security Advisor has tweeted that the last round of technical talks with the U.S.-led coalition has ended, signaling a new phase in US involvement in the fight against the Islamic State. Qassim al-Araji has said the last round of talks will formally end the

LONDON (AP) —  The office of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says his wife Carrie has given birth to a baby girl. It says the healthy baby, the couple’s second child together, was born in a London hospital early Thursday. The baby is a sister for Wilfred, who was born in April 2020. Boris Johnson,

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s Justice Ministry says it is closing an investigation into two police officers who shot dead a Palestinian assailant as he lay on the ground. For its decision Thursday, the ministry accepted the officers’ assertion that they acted in self-defense. A Palestinian attacker last week

By AAMER MADHANI and LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to urge participants at the first White House Summit for Democracy to reverse an ongoing “recession” of democracy. The two-day virtual summit has already drawn backlash from some of the United States’ adversaries and nations that weren’t invited. Ambassadors to

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — China’s central bank governor says financial markets can cope with the impact of a real estate developer that is struggling to avoid defaulting on $310 billion in debt. Yi Gang’s comments to a Hong Kong seminar added to indications Beijing has no plans to bail out

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — A new European Union plan to improve conditions for the growing number of gig economy workers could mean millions more of them are classified as employees entitled to benefits. It’s the latest setback for digital platforms that rely on independent contractors to deliver food and offer

By SYLVIE CORBET The Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Macron is planning to present the priorities for France’s upcoming presidency of the European Union. France’s turn in the European Council’s rotating six-month presidency starts Jan. 1. and overlaps with the country’s presidential election. Macron has a news conference about the EU presidency scheduled

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s government has ordered nightclubs, bars and restaurants to close at midnight in an attempt to counter an uptick in COVID-19 cases. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said students up to the 10th grade must study remotely for the last few days before Christmas break and banned concerts where the audiences have

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has reached a political agreement to extend cuts to costly mobile-phone roaming costs in the bloc for another decade. It affects travel for tens of millions of EU citizens. The deal will allow EU consumers to continue to make mobile calls, send text messages and use the internet in

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Global stocks are mostly higher as investors wait for U.S. inflation data that might influence the Federal Reserve’s decision on when to roll back economic stimulus. London and Frankfurt opened higher while Tokyo declined. Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul also advanced. Wall Street futures were lower

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Four people with Denmark’s two intelligence agencies have been arrested on suspicion of “disclosing highly classified information from the intelligence services.” The Danish domestic security agency, known by its Danish acronym PET, said Wednesday the four are current and former employees of the country’s intelligence services.” Denmark’s other intelligence agency is

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Danish government has decided that school students up to the 10th grade must study remotely for the last few days before Christmas and ordered nightclubs, bars and restaurants to close at midnight in an attempt to counter an uptick in COVID-19 cases. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also recommended Wednesday that

By OLEKSANDR STASHEVSKYI and YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press MORSHYN, Ukraine (AP) — A small spa town in western Ukraine is standing out in a country where only 29% of the population has received coronavirus vaccine shots. In Morshyn, a scenic town nestled at the Carpathian foothills, 74% of 3,439 residents have been fully vaccinated. While

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A conservation group is planning to purchase a 5-mile stretch of the Lost Coast in remote Northern California that has been logged for more than a century. Save the Redwoods League planned to announce Thursday that it’s trying to raise millions of dollars by the end

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s government believes it has come up with a unique plan to end tobacco smoking — a lifetime ban for those aged 14 or younger. Under a new law the government plans to pass next year, the minimum age to buy cigarettes would keep