Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday as a drawdown in U.S. distillate stockpiles for the first time since March and a sharp drop in U.S. crude production faced concerns over fuel demand due to fresh outbreaks of COVID-19. Brent crude LCOc1 was down 14 cents, or 0.3%, at $40.82 a barrel by...

One person died and three children suffered injuries on Wednesday due to mines planted by Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar's militia in eastern Libya. Brig. Gen. Abdul-Hadi Dara, spokesman for the Sirte and al-Jafra operation, said that a shepherd died from a landmine explosion in the Um...

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden will highlight his plan to safely reopen a US economy ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday on his third visit this month to the must-win election battleground state of Pennsylvania. The former vice president met business owners struggling...

At least two-thirds of people in countries home to a fifth of the world's population support stricter laws and enforcement to tackle air pollution, the Clean Air Fund said Wednesday. Researchers from the consortium of philanthropic groups analysed YouGov polling data from India, Britain,...

This season's Champions League, suspended in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will be completed with an eight-team mini-tournament which will be held in Lisbon in August, European football's governing body UEFA said Wednesday. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be staged over one...

The car carrying British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was crashed into from behind in central London on Wednesday after taking evasive action when a pro-Kurdish demonstrator ran on to the road. The protester was stopped and detained, according to an AFP journalist on the scene, after he ran...

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday paid a surprise visit to Tripoli, the seat of Libya's UN-recognised government, backed by Ankara in a conflict between rival Libyan powers. It is the most significant delegation to visit the country since eastern Libya-based strongman...

Russia would welcome if the US used its influence in Libya to support efforts on achieving cease-fire, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday. Asked how Moscow considers Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's statement that the US needs to play a more active role in...

 A letter written by Vincent van Gogh and fellow artist Paul Gauguin describing visits to brothels and discussing the future of art has been sold at auction for 210,600 euros ($237,700). The letter was bought in Paris on Tuesday by the Vincent van Gogh Foundation which will display it...

Tunisia's economy could shrink by up to 7% this year because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the investment minister said Wednesday. The government ended all restrictions on movement and businesses this month and will open its sea, land and air borders on June 27. However, the...

George Floyd's brother was expected to speak before the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday as it holds an urgent debate on "systemic racism" in the United States and beyond. African countries are pushing for the Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to...

Years ago Ahlam had escaped poverty in Lebanon for a better life in Europe, but then a family tragedy forced her back home to a country now in the throes of a raging economic crisis. In the northern port city of Tripoli, a web of electric wires hangs low over a narrow street as men sit...

A Libyan official said Wednesday international efforts were underway to form a fact-finding commission to probe violations committed by warlord Khalifa Haftar's militia. "Libyan authorities continue to document these violations in order to bring perpetrators to justice," Naser Gheita, an...

It was the first day that the whole of the Tunis medina was open for business after nearly three months of lockdown, but market vendor Abdelaziz Talbi wasn't working. He had nothing to sell. Three weeks earlier, just as Tunisia began easing its lockdown to allow some markets to open, the...

Months into Iran's fight against the coronavirus, doctors and nurses at Tehran’s Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital still don a mask, a disposable hazmat suit and a double layer of latex gloves every day to attempt to contain a pandemic that shows no signs of slowing. The hiss of high-flow oxygen...

Russian President Vladimir Putin is protected from the coronavirus by special disinfection tunnels that anyone visiting his residence outside Moscow or meeting him in the Kremlin must pass through, his spokesman said Wednesday. One such special tunnel, manufactured by a Russian company...

Turkey has launched Operation Claw-Tiger against terrorists in northern Iraq, the National Defense Ministry announced early Wednesday.  The ministry said on Twitter that Turkish commando forces are already in Iraq’s Haftanin region, adding the operation is taking place in order to...

Like she had done for years, Nisrine Saleh arrived at the bank to withdraw her monthly pension, paid by Iraq's government. But this time, the $920 disbursement was more than $100 short. Cash was missing from nearly one million retired Iraqis' allowances in June, Prime Minister Mustafa...

London's West End has traditionally drawn people from all over the world to see its shows but theatres have been forced to reinvent themselves because of the coronavirus outbreak. Fifteen million tickets are sold each year for performances including top attractions such as "The Phantom of...

With 740 new coronavirus deaths in 24 hours, the United States has seen more people die from the pandemic than died in World War I, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The new figure, counted at 8:30 pm (0030 GMT) Tuesday, brought the country's total COVID-19 deaths up to...