AROUND THE WORLD FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

World News

China and US envoys will hold first top-level dialogue on artificial intelligence

GENEVA (AP) — High-level envoys from the United States and China are set to meet in Geneva on Tuesday for talks about artificial intelligence, including the risks of the fast-evolving technology and ways to set shared standards to manage it. The meeting, billed as an opening exchange of views, is the first under an inter-governmental […]
16 days ago

A town in western Canada prepares for a possible ‘last stand’ as wildfires rage in British Columbia

FORT NELSON, British Columbia (AP) — An intense wildfire could reach a town in western Canada this week, fire experts and officials warned, based on forecasts of winds that have fueled the out-of-control blaze, which has forced the evacuation of thousands of people. The British Columbia Wildfire Service said the wildfire was burning 2½ kilometers […]
16 days ago

Stock market today: Asian shares mixed in muted trading after Wall Street barely budges

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed in muted trading Tuesday after U.S. stock indexes were little changed ahead of the release of inflation data. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost early gains and was trading less than 0.1% higher at 38,194.38. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2% to 7,731.40. South Korea’s Kospi was little changed, inching […]
17 days ago

Switzerland’s Nemo wins 68th Eurovision Song Contest after event roiled by protests over war in Gaza

MALMO, Sweden (AP) — Swiss singer Nemo won the 68th Eurovision Song Contest early Sunday with “The Code,” an operatic pop-rap ode to the singer’s journey toward embracing a nongender identity. Switzerland’s contestant beat Croatian rocker Baby Lasagna to the title by winning the most points from a combination of national juries and viewers around […]
19 days ago

Iraqi government asks the United Nations to wind down its political mission in the country

BAGHDAD (AP) — The Iraqi government has requested that the United Nations end a mission set up to promote governance and human rights reforms in the country by the end of 2025, the latest in a series of international bodies operating in the nation that Iraq has sought to wind down. The letter sent Wednesday […]
19 days ago

Stock market today: Global shares trade higher after Wall Street rally takes S&P 500 near record

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares traded higher Friday after a rally on Wall Street that pulled the S&P 500 back within 1% of its record. In London, the FTSE 100 rose 0.8% to 8,448.34 as the government reported that the British economy bounced back strongly in the first three months of the year, bringing to […]
20 days ago

Guyana says it gave permission for the US military to fly 2 powerful jets over the capital

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Guyana’s government on Thursday said it gave permission for the U.S. military to fly two powerful F/A-18F Super Hornet jets over its capital to demonstrate the close military and other forms of cooperation between this oil-exporting South American nation and the United States. The country had about three hours notice of […]
20 days ago

Torchbearers in Marseille kick off the Olympic flame’s journey across France

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Joyful crowds gathered along the streets of France’s southern port of Marseille on Thursday to see torchbearers carrying the Olympic flame through the city’s most emblematic sites, a day after it arrived on a majestic three-mast ship for a welcoming ceremony. It was the first leg of an 11-week journey across […]
21 days ago

Stock market today: Global shares mostly higher after calm day on Wall St

TOKYO (AP) — World shares were mostly higher on Wednesday after U.S. stocks held relatively steady on Wall Street. Oil prices fell and the yen weakened further against the U.S. dollar. Germany’s DAX rose 0.2% to 18,626.00 and the CAC 40 in Paris jumped 0.6% to 8,122.40. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4% to 8,347.77. The […]
22 days ago

Israel says it reopened a key Gaza crossing after a rocket attack but the UN says no aid has entered

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said Wednesday that it has reopened its Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza after days of closure, but the U.N. said no humanitarian aid has yet entered and there is no one to receive it on the Palestinian side after workers fled during Israel’s military incursion in the area. The […]
22 days ago

Olympic torch begins journey across France after festive welcome in Marseille before Summer Games

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Tens of thousands of people welcomed the Olympic torch Wednesday in the southern French city of Marseille, marking another milestone in the lead-up to the Summer Games in Paris. French Olympic swimmer Florent Manaudou became the first torch carrier in France after the Olympic flame arrived in Marseille’s Old Port on […]
22 days ago

Fans are following Taylor Swift to Europe after finding Eras Tour tickets less costly there

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of ride-or-die Taylor Swift fans who missed out on her U.S. concert tour last year or didn’t want to buy exorbitantly priced tickets to see her again found an out-of-the-way solution: Fly to Europe. The pop star is scheduled to kick off the 18-city Europe leg of her record-setting Eras Tour […]
22 days ago

Israeli tanks have rolled into Rafah. What does this mean for the Palestinians sheltering there?

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli tanks that entered the periphery of Rafah early Tuesday stoked global fears that an offensive on Gaza’s southernmost city could endanger the more than a million Palestinian civilians sheltering there. The ground assault dimmed hopes of an immediate cease-fire deal that the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have spent months pushing […]
22 days ago

Israel seizes Gaza’s vital Rafah crossing, but the US says it isn’t the full invasion many fear

CAIRO (AP) — Israeli troops seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday in what the White House described as a limited operation, as fears mount of a full-scale invasion of the southern city and talks with Hamas over a cease-fire and hostage release remain on a knife’s edge. The U.N. warned of […]
23 days ago

India votes in third phase of national elections as Modi escalates his rhetoric against Muslims

NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of Indian voters across 93 constituencies were casting ballots on Tuesday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi mounted an increasingly shrill election campaign, ramping up polarizing rhetoric in incendiary speeches that have targeted the Muslim minority. In recent campaign rallies, Modi has called Muslims “infiltrators” and said they “have too many […]
23 days ago
Image: Israeli soldiers drive an tanks on the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Tuesd...

Hamas accepts Gaza cease-fire; Israel says it will continue talks but presses with Rafah attacks

The Hamas militant group says it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal to halt the seven-month war with Israel.
23 days ago

US and Philippine forces stage combat drills near strategic channel off southern Taiwan

ITBAYAT, Philippines (AP) — U.S. Marines and their Filipino counterparts darted out of Black Hawk helicopters during combat drills Monday in the Philippines’ northernmost island town along the strategic Bashi Channel off southern Taiwan — a flashpoint in the military rivalry between Washington and Beijing. The show of allied battle readiness in Itbayat in Batanes […]
23 days ago

Macron puts trade and Ukraine as top priorities as China’s Xi opens European visit in France

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron held talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday that focused on trade disputes — including lifting immediate tariff threats on Cognac exports — and Ukraine-related diplomatic efforts. Xi was in France for a two-day state visit to open his European tour. Speaking alongside Xi after their meeting […]
24 days ago

Panama’s new president-elect, José Raúl Mulino, was a late entry in the race

PANAMA CITY (AP) — José Raúl Mulino said he was practically retired from politics just over six months ago. Now, he’ll be Panama’s president for the next five years. Standing before a pack of supporters Sunday night, Mulino said: “I never imagined this.” In a historic and tumultuous election, preliminary results put Mulino on top […]
24 days ago

Panamanians vote in an election dominated by a former president who was barred from running

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panamanians began voting Sunday in an election that has been consumed by unfolding drama surrounding the country’s former president, even though he is not on the ballot. As the sweltering sun beat down over the normally sleepy Central American nation, voters lined up outside polling stations. Eager for change after months […]
25 days ago

Japan and India reject Biden’s comments describing them as xenophobic countries

TOKYO (AP) — Japan and India on Saturday decried remarks by U.S. President Joe Biden describing them as “xenophobic” countries that do not welcome immigrants, which the president said during a campaign fundraising event earlier in the week. Japan said Biden’s judgment was not based on an accurate understanding of its policy, while India rebutted […]
25 days ago

The UK’s Conservatives suffer historic losses in local elections as Labour edges closer to power

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s governing Conservative Party suffered heavy losses in local election results Friday, further cementing expectations that the Labour Party will return to power after 14 years in a U.K. general election that will take place in the coming months. Labour won control of councils in England that the party hasn’t held for […]
27 days ago

Hamas is sending a delegation to Egypt for further cease-fire talks in the latest sign of progress

BEIRUT (AP) — Hamas said Thursday that it was sending a delegation to Egypt for further cease-fire talks, in a new sign of progress in attempts by international mediators to hammer out an agreement between Israel and the militant group to end the war in Gaza. After months of stop-and-start negotiations, the cease-fire efforts appear […]
27 days ago

What is at stake in UK local voting ahead of a looming general election

LONDON (AP) — Millions of voters in England and Wales cast ballots Thursday in an array of local elections amounting to the last big test before a U.K. general election that all indicators suggest will see the Conservative Party ousted from power after 14 years. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will hope he can point to […]
28 days ago