AP National News

LONDON (AP) — Amazon says it will stop accepting Visa credit cards issued in the United Kingdom because of a dispute over fees. The e-commerce giant said in a message Wednesday to customers that they won’t be able to use them starting Jan. 19. It blamed “the high fees Visa charges for processing credit card

GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s executive body says same-sex couples will be able to get married in the rich Alpine nation starting on July 1 next year. In setting the date on Wednesday, the Federal Council made good on the resounding support Swiss voters expressed for same-sex marriage in a September referendum. The council also said

LONDON (AP) — U.K. inflation surged to the highest level in nearly a decade in October as energy costs soared and prices rebounded after sharp declines during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s according to government statistics released Wednesday. The Office for National Statistics said consumer price inflation accelerated to 4.2% in the

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — More than 5,000 police officers are being deployed in Athens ahead of a rally to mark the anniversary of a bloody anti-dictatorship uprising. The annual march to the U.S. embassy has frequently been marred by violence in previous years and is going ahead despite restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The

By SAM McNEIL Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Veterans and officials from China and the United States have celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Flying Tigers, American pilots who flew for China in World War II, as a historic example of better relations and cooperation. The online event was held the day leaders of the

By KAREL JANICEK Associated Press PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic and Slovakia have reported record daily numbers of new coronavirus cases. The Czech daily tally soared to 22,479 new cases, eclipsing the previous record set Jan. 7 by almost 5,000 and nearly 8,000 more than a week ago. Slovakia’s 8,342 new virus cases broke

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Dozens of relatives of two civilians killed in a controversial gunfight in Indian-controlled Kashmir are pleading with authorities to return the bodies so they could bury them. Police say four people, including two civilians and two suspected rebels, died Monday night in the raid by government forces on alleged militants in

BEIJING (AP) — China and the U.S. have agreed to ease restrictions on each other’s journalists amid a slight easing of tensions between the two sides. The announcement in the official China Daily newspaper on Wednesday says the agreement was reached ahead of Tuesday’s virtual summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s disease control agency has reported 52,826 new coronavirus cases as infection rates continue to climb. The Robert Koch Institute said Wednesday that 294 more people had died in Germany of COVID-19 since the previous day, bringing the country’s pandemic death toll to 98,274. German Health Minister Jens Spahn has called on

MILAN (AP) — Doctors Without Borders says 10 people were found dead at the bottom of an overcrowded wooden boat packed with 99 surviving migrants who were rescued off Libya. The aid group said the victims suffocated while the packed boat listed at sea for over 13 hours. A rescue ship operated by Doctors Without

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Global shares are mostly lower despite a rally on Wall Street after virtual talks between President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping. Shares fell in most major markets although Shanghai’s benchmark rose. The talks between Biden and Xi appeared to signal a step in the right

By SHEIKH SAALIQ and SHONAL GANGULY Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Authorities in New Delhi have closed schools indefinitely and shut some coal-based power plants to combat worsening pollution while the top court considers a lockdown. It would be a first of its kind in the country to stem pollution and not to control

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — U.S. Trade Representative Katharine Tai and Japan’s trade minister have agreed to work to resolve a dispute over American tariffs on steel and aluminum as part of a framework for deeper cooperation. Tai and Trade and Industry Minister Koichi Hagiuda met Wednesday for talks that followed a

By SYLVIE CORBET The Associated Press PARIS (AP) — A far-right TV pundit who is expected to run for the French presidency is going on trial for allegedly inciting racial hatred with his comments on unaccompanied migrant children. Eric Zemmour is being tried Wednesday on charges of “public insult” and “incitement to hatred or violence”

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press FADA N’GOURMA, Burkina Faso (AP) — Violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group is ravaging Burkina Faso, killing thousands, displacing more than 1 million people and leaving hundreds missing. The International Committee of the Red Cross says that reports of missing relatives quadrupled from 104 to 407 between

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer NAIROBI (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has opened his first official visit to Africa with an appeal for the preservation of democracy in politically and ethnically fractured societies. Amid worsening crises in Ethiopia and Sudan, Blinken began a three-nation African tour in Kenya on Wednesday. In

MOSCOW (AP) — Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry says seven Azerbaijani service members were killed and 10 more were wounded in clashes with Armenia on the border between the two ex-Soviet nations. Armenian officials reported one casualty and said 13 of their troops were captured during Tuesday’s fighting while 24 more have gone missing. The clashes appear

By SHEIKH SAALIQ and SHONAL GANGULY Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Authorities in New Delhi have indefinitely closed schools and shut down some coal-based power plants to combat worsening air pollution. The measures come as India’s top court is deliberating whether New Delhi should go into a lockdown as a blanket of toxic smog

BEIJING (AP) — Tennis star Naomi Osaka says she’s been shocked to hear of a fellow tennis player who has gone quiet since making a sexual assault allegation against a former top government official in China. The four-time major winner has joined those asking: where is Peng Shuai? Other leading players including men’s No. 1