Oil prices spike over 4.5% after Iran attacks

TOKYO (AFP) - Oil prices spiked Wednesday morning, rising over 4.5 percent at one point after Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles against two airbases in Iraq used by US and coalition forces. The benchmark WTI jumped as much as 4.53 percent to $65.54 a barrel before settling down slightly after Iran unleashed its first response to the US assassination of military commander Qasem Soleimani. (AFP)

World NewsJan. 8, 2020

US insists troops staying in Iraq, won't bomb Iran cultural sites

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President Donald Trump sought Tuesday to end confusion over the future of American troops in Iraq, saying they should stay, despite fury there over the US killing of a top Iranian general in Baghdad."At some point we want to get out, but this isn't the right point," Trump told reporters at the White House.Regardless of US efforts to clarify the troops' future following an Iraqi parliament call for their exit, regional tension and uncertainty increased.In the Iranian

World NewsJan. 8, 2020

Iran strikes back at US with missile attack at air base

TEHRAN (AP) -- Iran struck back at the United States for the killing of a top Iranian general early Wednesday, firing a series of surface-to-surface missiles at an Iraqi air base housing US troops and warning the United States and its allies in the region not to retaliate.US officials confirmed airstrikes at the air base. There was no immediate word on injuries.Iranian state TV said the attack was in revenge for the killing of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, whose funeral Tuesday in h

World NewsJan. 8, 2020

[Graphic News] Global air crash deaths fall more than half in 2019

　The number of deaths in major air crashes around the globe fell by more than half from the previous year in 2019, according to a report by an aviation consulting firm.　The To70 consultancy said that 257 people died in eight fatal accidents in 2019. That compares to 534 deaths in 13 fatal accidents in 2018. 　The 2019 death toll rose in late December after a Bek Air Fokker 100 crashed Dec. 27 on takeoff in Kazakhstan, killing 12 people. The worst crash of 2019 involved an Ethiopian Airlines Boein

World NewsJan. 7, 2020

Nissan says ex-chairman Ghosn guilty of 'serious misconduct'

TOKYO (AP) -- Nissan said Tuesday it will still pursue legal action against its former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, despite his escape from Japan to Lebanon. The Japanese automaker said in a statement that Ghosn engaged in serious misconduct while leading the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance. "The company will continue to take appropriate legal action to hold Ghosn accountable for the harm that his misconduct has caused to Nissan," it said without giving details. Ghosn faces charges of fi

World NewsJan. 7, 2020

Pentagon rejects Trump threat to hit Iranian cultural sites

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon on Monday distanced itself from President Donald Trump's assertions that he would bomb Iranian cultural sites despite international prohibitions on such attacks. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the US will "follow the laws of armed conflict." When asked if that ruled out targeting cultural sites, Esper said pointedly, "That's the laws of armed conflict."The split between the president and his Pentagon chief came amid heightened tensions with

World NewsJan. 7, 2020

Supreme leader emotional as Iran mourns top general

TEHRAN (AFP) -- Iran's supreme leader fought back tears as a sea of black-clad mourners paid homage Monday to the top commander assassinated in a US drone strike last week that has inflamed tensions across the Middle East.In a surprise move in Baghdad where the strike was carried out, the US military informed its Iraqi counterparts that it was preparing for "movement out of Iraq".Ayatollah Ali Khamenei choked up as he prayed over the remains of Qasem Soleimani, the slain head of the Re

World NewsJan. 7, 2020

World markets on edge as US-Iran tensions spark escalation fears

NEW YORK  (AFP) -- World markets were mixed after a tense trading day on Monday, with US equities ending higher and bucking a downward trend in Europe and Asia after the US killing of a top Iranian general Friday.Since he ordered a drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, US President Donald Trump has warned of a "major retaliation" if Tehran takes revenge, triggering a sell-off in stocks and a spike in crude prices."The new year has started with a bang in so far as volatili

World NewsJan. 7, 2020

Merkel, Macron, Johnson urge Iran not to flout nuclear deal

BERLIN (AFP) -- The leaders of Germany, France and Britain on Sunday urged Iran to drop measures that go against the 2015 nuclear deal, after Tehran announced it would no longer abide by a limit on enrichment."We call on Iran to withdraw all measures that are not in line with the nuclear agreement," German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British PM Boris Johnson said in a joint statement.The 2015 agreement negotiated between Iran and the UN Security Counc

World NewsJan. 6, 2020

Iran will forego 'limit' on centrifuges as tensions with US soar

TEHRAN (AFP) -- Iran on Sunday announced its fifth reduction in its nuclear commitments, saying it will forego the "limit on the number of centrifuges", as tensions with the United States soar after the killing of a top Iranian commander in a US strike.Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement with the United Nations Security Council's five permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany has been hanging by a thread since the US withdrew unilaterally from

World NewsJan. 6, 2020

Carlos Ghosn's escape: What we know

From jumping bail and fleeing to Lebanon to be met with an arrest notice from Interpol, Carlos Ghosn's escape from Japan has been worthy of a Hollywood plot.Here's what we know about the former Renault-Nissan boss's flight:The exact circumstances of his departure from Japan, where he was under house arrest pending trial, are still shrouded in mystery.On Thursday, Kyodo News quoted an associate of Ghosn, Imad Ajami, as claiming the tycoon was helped by two private security operatives who pretende

World BusinessJan. 5, 2020

[Graphic News] Trump, Obama tied as most admired man in 2019

　President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama tied as the most admired man of 2019, according to a Gallup survey in the US.　This is the first year Trump has risen to the top spot in the annual survey and the 12th year for Obama. Each was named by 18 percent of respondents to the open-ended survey conducted Dec. 2-15, 2019.　Obama tied former President Dwight Eisenhower for the most times named as most admired man since the survey began in 1948.　Former first lady Michelle Obama was nam

World NewsJan. 5, 2020

Japan blasts 'unjustifiable' Ghosn's escape

TOKYO (AFP) -- Carlos Ghosn's escape from Japan is "unjustifiable" and he is thought to have left the country using "illegal methods", the Japanese justice minister said Sunday, in the first official public comments on the case.The 65-year-old former Nissan boss skipped bail and fled Japan where he was awaiting trial over multiple counts of financial misconduct that he denies.It was the latest twist in a saga that has gripped the business world and his escape from Japan has l

World NewsJan. 5, 2020

Trump says US targeting 52 sites in Iran, as tension mounts

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President Donald Trump warned Saturday that the US is targeting 52 sites in Iran and will hit them "very fast and very hard" if the Islamic republic attacks American personnel or assets.In a saber-rattling tweet that defended Friday's US drone strike assassination of a powerful Iranian general in Iraq, Trump said 52 represents the number of Americans held hostage at the US embassy in Tehran for more than a year starting in late 1979.Trump said some of these sites ar

World NewsJan. 5, 2020

State Department tells US citizens to leave Iraq ‘immediately’

 BAGHDAD(AFP) -- The State Department today told US citizens to leave Iraq “immediately,” after an American strike killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad.“Due to heightened tensions in Iraq and the region, we urge US citizens to depart Iraq immediately,” the State Department tweeted. “Due to Iranian-backed militia attacks at the US Embassy compound, all consular operations are suspended. US citizens should not approach the Embassy.”T

World NewsJan. 3, 2020

Oil prices surge after US strike kills Iranian general

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Oil prices soared more than four percent Friday following news that the US had killed a top Iranian general, fanning fresh fears of a conflict in the crude-rich region.The head of Iran's Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, was hit in an attack on Baghdad's international airport early Friday, according to Hased, a powerful Iraqi paramilitary force linked to Tehran.Later, Donald Trump tweeted a picture of the American flag, and the Pentagon said he had ordered Soleimani's killing. Bren

World NewsJan. 3, 2020

Iran supreme leader vows 'severe revenge' for Soleimani killing

TEHRAN (AFP) -- Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed "severe revenge" after the United States killed the commander of the Islamic republic's Quds Force, General Qasem Soleimani, in Baghdad on Friday."Martyrdom was the reward for his ceaseless efforts in all these years," Khamenei said on his Farsi-language Twitter account in reference to Soleimani, also declaring three days of mourning. "With him gone, God willing, his work and his path will not be stopped,

World NewsJan. 3, 2020

'I did it alone', Ghosn says of Japan escape

BEIRUT (AFP) -- Carlos Ghosn claimed Thursday he organised his dramatic escape from bail in Japan alone as the disgraced auto tycoon enjoyed his first days of freedom in Beirut despite an Interpol arrest notice.The exact circumstances of the former Renault-Nissan boss's escape from a case he said was "rigged" were unclear but media reports described a plot that had all the trappings of a spy novel.Turkey said seven people had been detained for questioning, including four pilots, over h

World NewsJan. 3, 2020

Top Iran commander Qasem Soleimani killed in US strike on Baghdad

BAGHDAD (AFP) -- Top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed Friday in a US strike on Baghdad's international airport, Iran and the US confirmed, in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the two countries.The Pentagon said US President Donald Trump ordered Soleimani's "killing," after a pro-Iran mob this week laid siege to the US embassy.Following Soleimani's death, Trump tweeted an image of the US flag without any further explanation.The pre-dawn developments mark the most ma

World NewsJan. 3, 2020

US stocks finish 1st session of 2020 at records

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Wall Street stocks ended at fresh records on Thursday, a buoyant start to the 2020 trading campaign that extended the late-2019 rally.The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.2 percent to 28,868.80.The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.8 percent to 3,257.85, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.3 percent to 9,092.19, its biggest single-session gain in nearly three months.All three indices finished at all-time highs, the latest in a run of records as US-China tr

World NewsJan. 3, 2020