Forest fires in eastern Ukraine that have killed five people and left dozens homeless are being brought under control by firefighters, officials said on Wednesday. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said the situation was improving and he had seen no new fires during a fly-over with...

War-torn Yemen is once again on the brink of famine as donor funds that averted catastrophe just 18 months ago have dried up, the country's UN humanitarian coordinator told AFP. With much of the country dependent on aid, a coronavirus pandemic raging unchecked, and countless children...

Pope Francis Wednesday compared migrant detention centers in Libya to concentration camps, saying the world was being given only a diluted version of how hellish life really was for the people living there. The pope, who has in the past called for the camps to be closed, made his...

In recent remarks, the UN's former Libya envoy denied any involvement of his mission in supporting an attack by renegade general Khalifa Haftar on the war-torn North African country's capital, accusing instead members of the UN Security Council of backing the campaign on Tripoli. UN...

Jobless and broke, Sudanese electrician Hatem is stranded in limbo in Riyadh like countless other illegal workers, but he hopes the fast-spreading coronavirus will offer a chance for escape. While coronavirus drives a huge exodus of expatriates, campaigners say potentially hundreds of...

The killing of jihadism expert Hisham al-Hashemi has stirred fears Iraq is entering a dark and violent phase, as boiling tensions between pro-Iran factions and the government reach new heights. Hashemi, 47, was gunned down outside his home in east Baghdad late Monday by masked assailants on...

US Deputy Secretary of State and North Korea envoy Stephen Biegun on Wednesday poured cold water on reports Washington had sought a meeting with Pyongyang officials, with nuclear discussions at a standstill. Biegun is on a four-day trip to Seoul and Tokyo to discuss North Korea's...

Turkish parliament on Tuesday reelected Mustafa Sentop as its speaker. A ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party lawmaker hailing from the northwestern Tekirdag province, Sentop gained 328 votes in the third round of voting in the Turkish Grand National Assembly with 600 seats. In the...

Donald Trump's niece describes the US president as a lying narcissist who was shaped by his domineering father, according to excerpts of her eagerly anticipated memoir carried in US media Tuesday. Mary Trump's "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man"...

Venezuela's Supreme Court, stacked with loyalists of the regime of President Nicolas Maduro, on Tuesday ordered Juan Guaido to relinquish his position as leader of one of the main opposition parties, giving the position to one of his rivals instead. Guaido, who is recognized by the United...

Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday as the U.S. government forecast higher fuel demand and lower production, overshadowing concerns that a surge in new coronavirus cases will hamper a demand recovery. “The market is popping because of the higher forecast demand, and jobs data,” said Phil...

One Lebanese woman asked for sugar, milk and soap in exchange for a child’s dress. Another wanted canned goods in return for gym equipment. A 65-year-old seamstress now exchanges her sewing services for food, because her clients can no longer afford to pay her. Bartering on Facebook has...

Some 400,000 new cases of Covid-19 were reported over the weekend and the new coronavirus pandemic shows no sign of slowing down, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. "The outbreak is accelerating and we've clearly not reached the peak of the pandemic," WHO director-general Tedros...

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has said coach Quique Setien will remain in charge of the team next season despite the team's fading La Liga title bid, adding that he does not regret sacking Ernesto Valverde in January. Valverde led Barca to successive title wins and his team were...

The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, has announced live on television he has tested positive for coronavirus. “It came back positive,” a mask-wearing Bolsonaro told a hand-picked group of reporters on Tuesday lunchtime outside his official residence. “There’s no reason for fear....

The show will go on for the Venice Film Festival in September, but with a few modifications due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers said Tuesday that they are pushing forward with plans for its 77th installment, which will include a slightly reduced number of films in the main competition...

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso is set to return to Formula One with Renault in 2021, the BBC reported Tuesday. Alonso, who left Formula One at the end of 2018 after a final season with McLaren, won his championship titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006. The Spaniard, 38, has...

Young Palestinian soccer players, all amputees and many on crutches, were back on the field in Gaza Tuesday for the first time since coronavirus restrictions were eased in the territory. Their coach said some of the 26 athletes lost limbs to Israeli gunfire in Gaza, where Hamas and Israel...

Brazil may be struggling in its battle against the coronavirus, but it is on the cutting edge of vaccine development with large-scale trials and the production of millions of doses on the horizon. Unlike Europe and China, COVID-19 continues to spread rapidly across the Latin American nation...

Germany and Belgium have asked the UN Security Council to vote to extend authorization for cross-border humanitarian aid in Syria despite a likely Russian veto, diplomatic sources said Tuesday. The German-Belgian draft resolution would extend for a year an authorization for aid to move into...