HONG KONG (AP) – Hong Kong authorities have raided two bookstores and arrested five people on suspicion of selling allegedly seditious publications, local media reported Wednesday, in the latest step targeting independent booksellers.

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s pick to head the nation’s intelligence agencies is emphasizing his experience in government and national security issues as he testifies before the Senate on Wednesday, distinguishing himself from the interim director who has drawn criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.

LONDON (AP) – Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that he was leaving the United Kingdom in “better shape than I found it” as he fielded questions, criticism and even a bit of praise from lawmakers in the House of Commons for the last time on Wednesday.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – Kenya’s High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking to legalize the use of cannabis by Rastafarians for religious purposes. Justice Bahati Mwamuye said Kenya’s laws prohibiting the cultivation and use of marijuana do not violate Rastafarians’ right to freedom of religion.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) – Amazon said Wednesday that the technology company will launch its new satellite internet service Amazon Leo in South Africa in 2027, seemingly pushing ahead of Elon Musk’s rival Starlink to win business in Africa’s most advanced economy.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – When a Brazilian police officer killed Ana Paula Oliveira’s 19-year-old son in a Rio de Janeiro favela in 2014, the mother of two didn’t think she would survive the grief.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Kathryn Ruemmler, the former top lawyer at Goldman Sachs who was White House counsel to President Barack Obama, said Wednesday in testimony to Congress that it “was a mistake to deal with” Jeffrey Epstein but insisted she never witnessed criminal activities.

President Donald Trump has endorsed MyPillow founder Mike Lindell for Minnesota governor, praising him as “one of America’s greatest and most hard working Patriots” and giving formal backing to a fellow election denier a day before the Republican president delivers a national address he says will focus on election security.

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is headlining a defense summit at the U.S. Army War College on Wednesday, planning to tout major investments in battlefield technology when the war in Iran has reduced the U.S. supply of Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot and THAAD interceptors.

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) – Lithuania’s president said Wednesday that intelligence assessments suggest that Russia is planning potential attacks on critical infrastructure in the Baltic states or Poland.