CHISINAU (AFP) -- Tens of thousands of Moldovans rallied on Sunday to demand European Union membership for their country, whose bid to join the bloc has been accelerated by the war in neighboring Ukraine. The former Soviet republic of 2.6 million people applied last year to join the EU and in June 2022 became a candidate country, alongside Ukraine. More than 75,000 people participated in the demonstration in the center of the capital, Chisinau, according to initial police estimates. They waved E

The 1945 bombing of Hiroshima is a big reason leaders from the world’s most powerful democracies descended on the city for this weekend’s Group of Seven summit

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russian forces weren't occupying Bakhmut, casting doubt on Moscow's claims that the eastern Ukrainian city had fallen. Responding to a reporter’s question about the status of the city at the Group of Seven meeting in Japan, Zelenskyy said: “Bakhmut is not occupied by the Russian Federation as of today.” The fog of war made it impossible to confirm the situation on the ground in the inv

HIROSHIMA, Japan -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is poised for a first post-invasion trip to the Asia-Pacific, meeting allies at a G7 summit in Hiroshima as the bloc hit Russia's "war machine" with further sanctions. The previously unannounced visit was revealed by officials Friday -- a rare long-haul foray for the war-time president and an opportunity to huddle with leaders of seven wealthy democracies that bankroll his country's stoic defence. The visit comes at

Global sugar prices have risen every month this year, the highest level in 11 1/2 years since October 2011. The global Sugar Price Index soared 27.9 percent from January, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. The index rose every month from 116.8 in January to 125.2 in February, 127 in March, and 149.4 last month due to concerns about reduced global sugar production in India, China and other countries. For instance, increased rainfall in Brazil has trimmed the

Almost half of US adults say they’re worried about the safety of their deposits in banks and other financial institutions — levels of concern that are as high or higher than they were during the 2008 financial crisis. A Gallup poll shows 48 percent of Americans are very or moderately worried about their money following the worst spate of bank failures in 15 years. Only 20 percent say they’re not worried at all. Levels of concern break somewhat among party lines, with 55 percent

PARIS -- Iran on Friday released two French citizens jailed in separate cases and they are both now returning to France, the French foreign minister said. Bernard Phelan, who also holds Irish nationality, and Benjamin Briere were freed from their prison in the northeastern city of Mashhad and are "on their way to France," Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said. The pair were among some two dozen foreigners jailed in Iran who campaigners see as hostages held in a deliberate strategy by

Authorities in Bangladesh and Myanmar are preparing to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people as they brace for a severe cyclone churning in the Bay of Bengal

Palestinian militants have fired rockets toward Jerusalem, further escalating the most violent confrontation in months between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip

ROME -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected in Rome on Saturday for talks with his Italian counterpart, an official told AFP Friday, with a meeting with Pope Francis also possible. "We confirm that this meeting will take place tomorrow," a spokesperson for Italian President Sergio Mattarella said when asked about reports of a meeting with Zelenskyy. It would be the first visit by Zelenskyy to EU and NATO member Italy since Russia's invasion in February 2022. A Va

A gunman shot and killed eight people and injured several others at a busy mall north of Dallas on Saturday. A Korean American couple and their 3-year-old son were among those killed in Texas mall massacre. Another 6-year-old boy was wounded and hospitalized. The massacre is among the latest in at least 202 mass shootings recorded in the United States this year, according to the nonprofit group Gun Violence Archive. The group defines a mass shooting as any incident in which four or more people a

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Artificial intelligence could replace 80 percent of human jobs in the coming years -- but that's a good thing, says US-Brazilian researcher Ben Goertzel, a leading AI guru. Mathematician, cognitive scientist and famed robot-creator Goertzel, 56, is founder and chief executive of SingularityNET, a research group he launched to create "Artificial General Intelligence," or AGI -- artificial intelligence with human cognitive abilities. With his long hair and leopard-