The worst drought in decades is gripping much of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, drying out rivers and lakes, shriveling crops and leading to dayslong tap water cutoffs in major cities.

The situation is particularly dire in Syria, where experts say rainfall has been declining for decades and where the fledgling government is trying to stitch the country back together following a 14-year civil war that left millions impoverished and reliant on foreign aid.

Russia fired more than 500 drones and two dozen missiles at Ukraine overnight, authorities said Wednesday, as Ukraine's president and European leaders persevered with talks aimed at strengthening Ukrainian defenses and adding momentum to so far unsuccessful U.S.-led peace efforts.

The main Russian nighttime targets were civilian infrastructure, especially energy facilities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as another winter approaches three years after Russia's all-out invasion of its neighbor. The attacks targeted mainly western and central Ukraine and wounded at least five people, the Ukrainian air force said.

The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday warned that any Israeli move to annex the occupied West Bank would be a "red line," without specifying its possible impact on the landmark normalization accord between the two countries,

The warning came as Israel pressed ahead with the initial stages of its latest major offensive in famine-stricken Gaza City. Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Wednesday killed at least 31 people, according to local hospitals.

A quick-moving wildfire burned homes in a California Gold Rush town settled around 1850 by Chinese miners who were driven out of a nearby camp and the blaze grew without containment on Wednesday.

The fire rapidly expanded to 10 square miles (26 square kilometers) in size, forcing the evacuation Tuesday of the Chinese Camp Town and surrounding highways, according to CalFire, the state's chief fire agency. There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths.

Carlos Alcaraz finger-wagged the crowd, beat Jiri Lehecka to the net and cruised into the semifinals at the U.S. Open.

Construction work has intensified on a major new structure at a facility key to Israel's long-suspected atomic weapons program, according to satellite images analyzed by experts. They say it could be a new reactor or a facility to assemble nuclear arms — but secrecy shrouding the program makes it difficult to know for sure.

The work at the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center near the city of Dimona will renew questions about Israel's widely believed status as the Mideast's only nuclear-armed state.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping said humanity must choose between peace and war and dialogue and confrontation in a speech Wednesday before a major military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Xi started a brief address by remembering the Chinese veterans of the war and called for the eradication of the roots of war to prevent history from repeating itself. But his main message was forward looking: Today, China is strong, fears no one and is ready to take a leading role in the world.

Spanish club Villarreal is facing backlash from some of its fans after a last-minute deal to sign an Israeli player who has publicly supported his nation in its war with Hamas.

Some fans criticized Villarreal through social media posts after the club signed forward Manor Solomon near the end of the transfer deadline late Monday.

India warned Pakistan about possible cross-border flooding for the second time in as many weeks as monsoon deluges cause death and widespread destruction in both countries.

The disaster management authority in eastern Pakistan announced the warning Tuesday.

U.S. stocks are tumbling on Tuesday, and some of Wall Street's biggest stars are leading the way lower.

The S&P 500 sank 1.2% and was on track for its worst loss in a month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 498 points, or 1.1%, as of 9:37 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was down a market-leading 1.4%. All three are still close to their recently set records.