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Elsa strengthened to a hurricane and is expected to make landfall over the northern Florida Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. CNN's Tom Sater reports.

Zalmay Niazy was threatened with death after serving as an interpreter for the US military in Afghanistan. He came to Iowa Falls six years ago and on May 17 he got a letter that his request for asylum in the US was denied.

ESPN removed Rachel Nichols from her role as the sideline reporter for the NBA Finals after the New York Times published an audio recording of Nichols making disparaging comments about colleague Maria Taylor.

With infection rates falling and vaccination numbers rising, Turkey has lifted nearly all COVID restrictions and is seeking a return to normalcy after several months of lockdown measures. Dorian Jones reports for VOA from Istanbul.

State Department Spokesperson Ned Price says the US is calling for an "end to the ongoing violence" in Afghanistan. (July 6)

Russian authorities say the country is facing a surge in new coronavirus infections. And, as Charles Maynes reports from Moscow, that has prompted a renewed effort to convince a skeptical public that the time to get vaccinated is now.

Long before China began using N95 masks and COVID-19 vaccines as part of its diplomatic efforts, it used pandas. The furry bears have been used by China to generate goodwill with other countries for more than 1,000 years.

The brutal killing of a 24-year-old man in northwestern Spain has sparked nationwide demonstrations from LGBT+ groups. Samuel Luiz was found unconscious at the weekend outside a nightclub in A Coruña, after being beaten. Emergency services failed to revive him and he died on Saturday morning.