New daily coronavirus cases in the United States soared past 50,000 for the first time Wednesday, as the World Health Organization delivered a grave warning that the global pandemic is accelerating. Restaurants, bars and beaches in the world's worst-hit nation closed from California to...

Amazon forest fires in Brazil increased by 19.5 percent in June compared to the same month last year, making it the worst June in 13 years, authorities revealed on Wednesday. June marks the start of the dry period and there were 2,248 recorded fires, leaving analysts expecting a worse year...

Syrian army defector Salam had signed a surrender deal with the regime supposed to protect him, but after reporting for military service, he disappeared and months later was declared dead. "He went off and never came back," his elder brother told AFP. Salam is one of a growing number of...

Gunmen on Wednesday attacked a drug rehabilitation center in central Mexico, killing at least 24 people and leaving seven wounded, local authorities said. According to preliminary information, the attackers "entered the scene, forced (the victims) onto the ground and shot them," said Pedro...

 In its more than 1,400-year existence, the majestic domed structure of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul has served as the Byzantine Empire’s main cathedral, a mosque under the Ottoman Empire and a museum under modern Turkey, attracting millions of tourists each year. The 6th-century building...

Russians looked set Wednesday to overwhelmingly approve constitutional changes that will allow President Vladimir Putin to extend his two-decade rule until 2036. Early results from six days of national voting that ends Wednesday showed more than 70 percent of voters backing the reforms,...

Iraq's official death toll from the novel coronavirus has surpassed 2,000, the health ministry said Wednesday, as the war-ravaged country's crippled healthcare system struggles to cope. Health authorities announced there were now 51,524 cases of the COVID-19 disease in the country and that...

Thousands of Palestinians protested in Gaza on Wednesday against Israel's plans to annex parts of the West Bank, where Palestinian authorities announced a new five-day lockdown amid a worrying resurgence of the coronavirus. Israel's centre-right coalition government had set July 1 as the...

The United Nations' former Libya envoy Ghassan Salame attacked the world body's Security Council on Wednesday, saying he had been "stabbed in the back" and accusing member states of "hypocrisy". Salame announced his resignation in March, citing health reasons, nearly three years after...

Tortured by the Syrian Bashar al-Assad regime in prison for seven years, Muhlis al-Drubi cannot forget the horrors he experienced, including having boiling water poured over him and reverse hanging. Accused of attending anti-regime protests, al-Drubi, 42, was detained in 2012. "Assad's...

 The Syrian security has released three detainees of 11 who were arrested in anti-government protests in the Druze city of Sweida, local activists said  Wednesday . Hundreds of people took to the streets of Sweida three weeks ago, protesting worsening economic conditions and...

France is suspending its involvement in a NATO naval operation of Libya’s coast after a standoff with a Turkish ship and amid growing tensions within the military alliance over Libya. France’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that France sent a letter Tuesday to NATO saying it is suspending...

Gaza's Hamas rulers fired a volley of rockets into the sea Wednesday in a warning to Israel not to annex part of the West Bank, sources in the Islamist organisation told AFP. The showcase launch of about 20 test rockets from the coastal Palestinian territory came as thousands of people in...

Egypt reopened its famed Giza pyramids to the public on Wednesday after a three-month closure, seeking to restart a vital tourism industry battered by the novel coronavirus. Dozens of excited tourists snapped selfies as they wandered around Egypt's most iconic ancient site. The pyramids...

New York City will not proceed with indoor dining from next week as planned because of a nationwide surge in coronavirus infections, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday. The Big Apple is due to enter phase three of a four-phase reopening plan on Monday but officials have postponed plans to...

 Italian police said on Wednesday they had seized about 14 tonnes of amphetamine pills worth around 1 billion euros ($1 billion) arriving from Syria, in what they described as the world's single largest operation of its kind. Investigators said they impounded three container ships that...

Britain announced Wednesday that it was extending residency rights to up to 3 million Hong Kongers eligible for the British National Overseas passport, stressing that it would uphold its historic duty to a former British colony after Beijing imposed a sweeping new national security law in Hong...

Turkey’s president vowed Wednesday to tighten government control over social media following alleged insults directed at his daughter and son-in-law when they announced the birth of their fourth child on Twitter. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told members of his party in a...

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said there is "no military solution" for Syria Wednesday during a video conference with his Russian and Turkish counterparts about the war-torn country. "The Islamic republic believes the only solution to the Syrian crisis is political and not a military...

The green flag finally drops to start the Formula One season at Spielberg in Austria on Sunday with champion Lewis Hamilton chasing a record-equalling seventh title. As the drivers prepare to roar past silent stands, AFP identifies five key questions. Can Hamilton maintain focus?...