Tens of thousands of Moldovans rallied in the capital Chisinau on Sunday to support their pro-western government's drive towards Europe amid what officials have said are Russian efforts to destabilize their country.
Moldova has been badly hit by the impact of Moscow's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, which Chisinau has repeatedly condemned, and applied to join the European Union.
President Maia Sandu has accused Russia of seeking to sabotage its European integration by fuelling anti-government protests and propaganda. Moscow denies meddling in Moldova's affairs.
"Moldova does not want to be blackmailed by the Kremlin," Sandu said at the rally, which was organized by her government and packed a central square.
Police said more than 75,000 demonstrators were present.
"We don't want to be on the outskirts of Europe anymore," she said, pledging that Moldova would become an EU member by 2030.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, on a visit to Chisinau, also addressed the rally, saying Europe would welcome Moldova "with open arms and open hearts."
"This is about the both of us: You will bring a piece of Moldova to Europe, and you will make Europe stronger," she said.
Demonstrators called on Moldova's political leaders to amend the constitution to specifically mention the country's European orientation.
"I believe in a European Moldova and want for my country a future with advanced economic and socio-political development," said 18-year-old attendee Alexandrina Miron.
"Right now we are a little behind, but we will slowly catch up and stand on par with Europe."
The leader of the pro-Russian opposition Shor party, exiled businessman Ilan Shor, told his supporters at rival protests in several cities via video link that he would seek a referendum on Moldova's foreign policy.
Shor, sanctioned by the U.S. as an agent of Russian influence in Moldova, was handed a 15-year jail sentence in absentia last month for his role in the 2014 theft of US$1 billion from Moldovan banks.
(Reporting by Alexander Tanas and Dorin Scobioala; Writing by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Giles Elgood)
The RCMP is alleging Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada engaged in clandestine activities linked to serious criminal activity in this country, including homicides and extortions.
B.C. NDP leader David Eby took a break from campaigning Monday to address stunning new allegations from the RCMP that Indian diplomats and consular officials are linked to violent criminal activity on Canadian soil.
'Escalating incidents' between two Hamilton high schools are believed to be connected to a car crash last week that left a 15-year-old boy dead, police say.
A major American retailer has stopped selling its new winter-themed candle over backlash from shoppers who said its design resembled Ku Klux Klan hoods.
The 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe, Spanish scientists said on Saturday, after using DNA analysis to tackle a centuries-old mystery.
The father of a 10-year-old girl found dead in her home in England fled to Pakistan and called U.K. police from there to say he had killed her, a jury heard Monday.
Four guests at an Airbnb east of Toronto made off with a quarter of million dollars worth of jewelry following their stay, police say.
As provincial elections play out in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick this month, there are pledges to provide more fertility treatment coverage.
Embattled B.C. Conservative candidate Brent Chapman is under fire once again, this time for past Facebook comments casting doubt on the official accounts of mass shooting events in Canada and the U.S.
B.C. NDP leader David Eby took a break from campaigning Monday to address stunning new allegations from the RCMP that Indian diplomats and consular officials are linked to violent criminal activity on Canadian soil.
Embattled B.C. Conservative candidate Brent Chapman is under fire once again, this time for past Facebook comments casting doubt on the official accounts of mass shooting events in Canada and the U.S.
'Escalating incidents' between two Hamilton high schools are believed to be connected to a car crash last week that left a 15-year-old boy dead, police say.
Four guests at an Airbnb east of Toronto made off with a quarter of million dollars worth of jewelry following their stay, police say.
British Columbia's New Democratic Party says it is responsible for a parody social media post that has B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad promising to bring back McDonald's McRib sandwiches.
The Alberta government is proposing additional restrictions on wind and solar farms that conservationists think are more about limiting renewable energy than protecting the environment.
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris announced a plan on Monday to give Black men more economic opportunities and other chances to thrive as she works to energize a key voting bloc that has Democrats concerned about a lack of enthusiasm.
An Israeli airstrike hit an apartment building in northern Lebanon on Monday, killing at least 21 people, according to the Lebanese Red Cross.
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Florida counties hard hit by Hurricane Milton are returning to a semblance of normalcy, with power restored to most areas on Monday, gas stations reopening and students preparing to return to school.
A bus carrying university students crashed and overturned on a highway in northeastern Egypt Monday, killing 12 people and injuring 33 others, the health ministry said in a statement.
Russia said Monday it captured the village of Levadne in southern Ukraine as it probes for weaknesses along the war 's roughly 1,000-kilometre (600-mile) front line, including in eastern areas that are the main focus of Moscow's military effort before winter arrives.
The RCMP is alleging Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada engaged in clandestine activities linked to serious criminal activity in this country, including homicides and extortions.
Three in four Canadians support defence spending on new submarines, according to a new survey from Nanos Research and Â鶹´«Ã½.
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As provincial elections play out in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick this month, there are pledges to provide more fertility treatment coverage.
Your nose may be more powerful than you think.
An outbreak of a rare parasitic disease has been linked to undercooked bear meat eaten by dozens of people at a gathering in North Carolina, a new U.S. CDC report has revealed.
A so-called 'Moon Tree,' grown with seeds that were flown around the moon, was planted at a California school.
A NASA spacecraft rocketed away Monday on a quest to explore Jupiter’s tantalizing moon Europa and reveal whether its vast hidden ocean might hold the keys to life.
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Sean “Diddy†Combs was hit Monday with a new wave of lawsuits accusing him of raping women, sexually assaulting men and molesting a 16-year-old boy. It is the first time he’s been sued by a person alleging they were abused as a minor.
Canadian stand-up comedian and former talk show host Mike Bullard has died.
Jamie Foxx hadn’t been on stage for 18 years, but he returned recently for a very special reason.
The tech consultant charged in Cash App founder Bob Lee's stabbing death had no motive to kill him and in fact was forced to defend himself against Lee, who had become aggressive while on a multiday drug bender, lawyers for Nima Momeni said in opening statements Monday.
The Nobel memorial prize in economics was awarded Monday to three economists who have studied why some countries are rich and others poor and have documented that freer, open societies are more likely to prosper.
A major American retailer has stopped selling its new winter-themed candle over backlash from shoppers who said its design resembled Ku Klux Klan hoods.
Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) Chef Paul Natrall, the man behind Indigenous food truck Mr. Bannock, is bringing cooking classes on First Nations fare to schools and offices throughout Metro Vancouver.
The Celtic Colours Festival is taking place at venues around Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia from Oct. 11 to 19.
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Major League Baseball's postseason is averaging 3.33 million viewers going into the league championship series, an 18% increase over last year's average of 2.82 million.
Utah Hockey Club right-wing Dylan Guenther, Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
It was a record breaking year at the Valley Harvest Marathon in Wolfville, N.S., on Saturday and Sunday.
The Ontario Provincial Police says the number of fatal collisions caused by distracted driving on the roads it patrols has increased by 40 per cent compared to this time last year.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled on Thursday his vision of a 'a fun, exciting future,' an 'age of abundance' full of his company’s self-driving cars without steering wheels, parking lots turned into parks and robots that will walk among the population – that he once again promised would be available within a few years.
Dozens of cars were pulled out of the Detroit River in west Windsor on Tuesday, causing many questions for Windsorites.
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Canadian hip hop artist Dillan King says running 100 marathons in 100 days was not only the hardest thing he has ever done, but the 'proudest accomplishment' of his entire life.
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Students are returning to a Jewish girls' school in Toronto two days after it was struck with gunfire for the second time this year.
Calgary libraries will reopen on Wednesday following a cyber security breach.
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The Ottawa Police Service says a man found suffering from burns in the downtown core Monday morning died in hospital.
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Firefighters with the Montreal Fire Service extinguished a two-alarm fire at a vacant building in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough on Sunday night.
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Long-time residents of Regina and those who are new to the city and the country gathered together for a Thanksgiving celebration.
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Police are looking for a missing 14-year-old boy from Kitchener.
Saskatchewan residents have just a few more days to catch a rare glimpse of a comet visible to the naked eye, streaking across the western skies at dusk.
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A Greater Sudbury woman is upset about the charges laid against the man accused of attacking her son and a group of his colleagues downtown on Saturday.
A 36-year-old man is charged with drug-impaired and dangerous driving after a head-on crash in northwest Ontario last Thursday.
A major American retailer has stopped selling its new winter-themed candle over backlash from shoppers who said its design resembled Ku Klux Klan hoods.
One person has died and three others were transported to hospital following a three-vehicle collision in St. Clair Township
Smash Pickleball is the region’s only indoor facility dedicated specifically to the sport.
A Harriston man has been charged after police said the operator of an ATV crashed into a vehicle parked on Queen Street South in Harrison.
The Busby Centre in Barrie held a first-ever Thanksgiving meal Monday afternoon, serving meals to more than 150 people.
Provincial police remind motorists about the importance of buckling up after an officer discovered a passenger sitting on a kitchen chair inside the vehicle during a traffic stop in the Town of the Blue Mountains.
A recent study ranks Barrie last among large Canadian cities regarding homeowners who have paid off their mortgage.
Chatham-Kent police say a 37-year-old Merlin man has died after a two-vehicle collision.
Windsor has the fifth highest rate of mortgage-free homeowners in Canada, according to a study by Casivoo.
The Town of Tecumseh is getting $1,789,764 from the Ontario government to help renew and rehabilitate critical infrastructure.
Embattled B.C. Conservative candidate Brent Chapman is under fire once again, this time for past Facebook comments casting doubt on the official accounts of mass shooting events in Canada and the U.S.
B.C. NDP leader David Eby took a break from campaigning Monday to address stunning new allegations from the RCMP that Indian diplomats and consular officials are linked to violent criminal activity on Canadian soil.
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Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.
A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.
Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.
The Vancouver Giants scored late to force overtime before winning 4-3 over the Lethbridge Hurricanes Friday night.
If you’re looking for something to do this long weekend, the Lethbridge Corn Maze is open and hosting its annual fundraiser on Monday.
Local photographers were amazed by the aurora borealis display in the night sky over Lethbridge on Thursday night.
A 36-year-old man is charged with drug-impaired and dangerous driving after a head-on crash in northwest Ontario last Thursday.
Provincial police in Hearst, Ont., stopped an unlicensed northwestern Ontario driver for a morning traffic infraction.
A 32-year-old woman has been charged in connection with the death of an 18-year-old man this past January, according to Ontario Provincial Police.
A five-hour drive from St. John's, N.L., and well off the beaten path, Point Leamington seems an unlikely spot for a one-of-a-kind tourist attraction.
A Conservative MP from Newfoundland and Labrador says some small towns in his rural riding are overrun with crime, but police say they haven't received reports to that effect.
As millions in federal funding flow into a Labrador group whose claims of Inuit identity have been rejected by Indigenous organizations across Canada, a national Inuit leader worries the Liberal government is putting the rights of Indigenous Peoples at risk.
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