AP World News

By GIADA ZAMPANO and SALVATORE CAVALLI Associated Press CATANIA, Italy (AP) — Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and other 11 activists set sail on Sunday afternoon for Gaza on a ship aimed at “breaking Israel’s siege” of the devastated territory, organizers said. The sailing boat Madleen, operated by activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departed from the

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian drone attack has destroyed more than 40 Russian planes deep in Russia’s territory, Ukraine’s Security Service said on Sunday, while Moscow pounded Ukraine with missiles and drones just hours before a new round of direct peace talks in Istanbul. A military official, who spoke

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The U.K. is about to see the biggest increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War as it seeks to send “a message to Moscow,” the British defense secretary said Sunday. John Healey said the Labour government’s current plans for defense spending will be

PARIS (AP) — Two fans died and a police officer is in a coma after mass nationwide celebrations for Paris Saint-Germain’s historic Champions League victory, European soccer’s biggest prize, French authorities said Sunday. A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the city of Dax during a PSG street party after Saturday night’s final in

By The Associated Press Explosions caused two bridges to collapse and derailed two trains in western Russia overnight, officials said Sunday, without saying what had caused the blasts. In one of the incidents, seven people were killed and dozens were injured. The first bridge, in the Bryansk region on the border with Ukraine, collapsed on

By MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Iranian Foreign Minister spoke by phone with the director of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency early Sunday morning after a report from the agency said Iran is further increasing its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels. Writing on Telegram, Abbas Araghchi

By DAVID RISING Associated Press SINGAPORE (AP) — China and North Korea’s support for Russia in its war against Ukraine has exposed how lines between regions have blurred, and the need for a global approach toward defense, top security officials said Sunday. North Korea has sent troops to fight on the front lines in Ukraine,

By MOHAMMAD JAHJOUH and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least 31 people were killed and over 170 were wounded Sunday as large crowds were on their way to receive food in the Gaza Strip, health officials and witnesses said. Witnesses said Israeli forces fired toward the crowds just before dawn

By MARIAM FAM Associated Press Once a year, large numbers of Muslim pilgrims converging on Saudi Arabia unite in religious rituals and acts of worship as they perform the Hajj, one of the pillars of Islam. They fulfill a religious obligation, immersing themselves in what can be a spiritual experience of a lifetime for them

By VANESSA GERA and DAVID KEYTON Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Exit polls in Poland’s presidential runoff Sunday showed the two candidates in a statistical tie with the race still too close to call in the deeply divided nation. The results could set the course for the nation’s political future and its relations with

By The Associated Press By making harsh, uncompromising demands in peace talks with Ukraine while continuing to pummel it with waves of missiles and drones, Russian President Vladimir Putin is sending a clear message: He will only accept a settlement on his terms and will keep fighting until they’re met. At the same time, he

By MEGAN JANETSKY Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico is holding its first ever judicial elections on Sunday, stirring controversy and sowing confusion among voters still struggling to understand a process set to transform the country’s court system. Mexico’s ruling party, Morena, overhauled the court system late last year, fueling protests and criticism that

By SIBI ARASU Associated Press BENGALURU, India (AP) — One of the most carbon-polluting countries, India is also making huge efforts to harness the power of the sun, wind and other clean energy sources. Most of the electricity in India, the world’s most populous nation, still comes from coal, one of the dirtiest forms of

FLIN FLON, Manitoba (AP) — Roughly 17,000 residents in the Canadian province of Manitoba have been evacuated because of nearly two dozen active wildfires, officials said Saturday. More than 5,000 of those are from Flin Flon, where there is no rain in the immediate forecast. There have been no structure fires in the city located

ROME (AP) — French scientist Etienne-Emile Baulieu, best known as the inventor of the abortion pill, died on Friday aged 98 at his home in Paris, his institute said in a statement. Both a doctor and a researcher, Baulieu was known around the world for the scientific, medical and social significance of his work on

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Opal Suchata Chuangsri of Thailand was crowned Miss World on Saturday in India, where the international pageant was held this year. Chuangsri topped a field of 108 contestants in the contest held in India’s southern Hyderabad city. Hasset Dereje Admassu of Ethiopia was the first runner-up in the competition. Chuangsri received

PARIS (AP) — Authorities in Paris have launched an investigation after several Jewish sites across the capital were defaced with green paint. The vandalism, discovered early Saturday morning, targeted the Shoah Memorial, two synagogues and a Jewish restaurant in the city’s historic Marais district, as well as a third synagogue in the 20th arrondissement (district).

By GHAITH ALSAYED Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria and Saudi Arabia said Saturday they aim to boost economic cooperation to for their mutual benefit and create jobs for Syrians after Western sanctions imposed on the war-torn country were eased earlier this month. The announcement was made during a visit to Damascus by Saudi

By TAIWO ADEBAYO and CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The death toll from devastating flooding in a market town in Nigeria’s north-central state of Niger rose to at least 151 on Saturday, the local emergency service said, amid efforts to find more victims. Torrents of predawn rainfall early Thursday unleashed the devastating

By SAM MEDNICK and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Hamas is seeking amendments to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal for Gaza, a senior official with the group told The Associated Press on Saturday, but U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff called the Hamas response “totally unacceptable.” The latest friction in negotiations comes as

By STEPHANIE LIECHTENSTEIN Associated Press VIENNA (AP) — Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, a confidential report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Saturday. In a separate report, the agency called on Tehran to urgently change course and comply with its years-long probe. The report comes at a

By MARÍA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ Associated Press TICUMÁN, México (AP) — There was something about her body, but Mexican actress Eréndira Castorela couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Some casting directors told her she was “too tall” to play a Mexican woman. Others insinuated her features weren’t sufficiently “Indigenous.” “It wasn’t until later that I

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine on Saturday killed at least two people, including a 9-year-old girl, officials said, as uncertainty remains about whether Kyiv diplomats will attend a new round of peace talks proposed by Moscow for early next week in Istanbul. Russian troops launched some 109 drones and

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election on Sunday between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner will succeed President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome will determine whether Poland embraces

By THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Brigitte Bardot lounged barefoot on a Saint-Tropez beach, drawing languorous puffs from her cigarette. Another actor, Jean-Paul Belmondo, swaggered down the Champs-Élysées with smoke curling from his defiant lips, capturing a generation’s restless rebellion. In France, cigarettes were never just cigarettes — they were cinematic statements, flirtations

By DAVID McHUGH, DARIA LITVINOVA and KATIE MARIE DAVIES Associated Press Hundreds of foreign companies left Russia after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, including major U.S. firms like Coca-Cola, Nike, Starbucks, ExxonMobil and Ford Motor Co. But after more than three years of war, President Donald Trump has held out the prospect of restoring U.S.-Russia

By TARA COPP and DAVID RISING Associated Press SINGAPORE (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reassured allies in the Indo-Pacific on Saturday that they will not be left alone to face increasing military and economic pressure from China, while insisting that they also contribute more to their own defense. He said Washington will bolster

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — The Canadian prairie city of Flin Flon was virtually deserted and more evacuees were expected, Manitoba’s premier said Friday, as wildfires raged in the province. Premier Wab Kinew told a news conference that the mayor, councilors, health-care staff and other officials have had to depart Flin Flon, a city of 5,000

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — More than 60 United Nations offices, agencies and operations have been ordered to submit proposals by mid-June to cut 20% of their staff, as part of a major reform effort to consolidate operations in the face of a critical funding crunch. The cuts affect about

By ANNIE MA, JOCELYN GECKER and BIANCA VÁZQUEZ TONESS AP Education Writers WASHINGTON (AP) — Since coming from China as a teenager for boarding school, Bob Zeng has imagined building a career in the United States. But as he prepared to graduate Thursday from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, it felt like the last chapter