Shortly after an airstrike widely attributed to Israel destroyed an Iranian consulate building in Syria, the United States had an urgent message for Iran: We had nothing to do with it.

But that may not be enough for the U.S. to avoid retaliation targeting its forces in the region. A top U.S. commander warned on Wednesday of danger to American troops.

When Morocco 's King Mohamed VI visited Havana in 2017, Cuban-American gallery owner Alberto Magnan impressed him with a "full immersion" in the Caribbean island's art and culture, drawing a line between the cultural and historical themes tackled by Cuban artists and those from across Africa.

Seven years after that encounter, one of the first exhibitions of Cuban art at an African museum is showing at Morocco's Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

The periodical cicadas that are about to infest two parts of the United States aren't just plentiful, they're downright weird.

These insects are the strongest urinators in the animal kingdom with flows that put humans and elephants to shame. They have pumps in their heads that pull moisture from the roots of trees, allowing them to feed for more than a decade underground. They are rescuers of caterpillars.

Tottenham missed the chance to overtake Aston Villa in the race for Champions League qualification after settling for a 1-1 draw at West Ham on Tuesday in the Premier League.

Brennan Johnson had given fifth-place Spurs an ideal start at London Stadium, but that was canceled out by Kurt Zouma's leveler in the 19th.

Global shares mostly declined Wednesday after Wall Street broke its record-breaking bull run with its worst day in weeks.

France's CAC 40 edged up 0.1% in early trading to 8,139.15, while Germany's DAX rose 0.3% to 18,331.04. Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 0.6% to 7,887.60. U.S. shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures down 0.1% to 39,475.00. S&P 500 futures fell 0.2% to 5,251.50.

The inflation that has squeezed European shoppers fell more than expected in March to 2.4%, as cost spikes in the grocery aisle eased and overall price rises headed down in the two biggest economies, Germany and France.

The annual figure for the 20 countries that use the euro currency came in below the 2.5% predicted by financial markets and brings the European Central Bank ever closer to its inflation goal of 2%.

A fire that spread through an Istanbul nightclub during renovations, killing 29 people, was likely caused by welding sparks igniting combustible material, a newspaper reported Wednesday, citing fire department officials.

The fire engulfed the popular Masquerade nightclub on Tuesday, trapping workers and club employees inside. It left 29 people dead and another person with serious injuries.

Ukraine on Wednesday lowered the military conscription age from 27 to 25 in an effort to replenish its depleted ranks after more than two years of war following Russia's full-scale invasion.

The new mobilization law came into force a day after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed it. Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed it last year.

California has entered spring with an above-average mountain snowpack and major reservoirs in good shape for a second consecutive year, staving off immediate water supply concerns but not allaying drought worries in a warming world.

The California Department of Water Resources measured the water content of the Sierra Nevada snowpack Tuesday at 110% of the April 1 average, a benchmark date because that is when it has historically been at its peak and helps inform runoff forecasts.

Violent rain and hailstorms have killed seven people in eastern China's Jiangxi province this week, including three people who fell from their apartments in a high-rise building.

Dozens of homes were severely damaged by the storms, which started Sunday, and more than 800 people have been resettled, state broadcaster CCTV said Wednesday, citing a Jiangxi government emergency agency.