An Iranian commander has been shot dead south of the Syrian capital, a war monitor reported Saturday. Farhad Dabirian was killed on Friday in the Sayyida Zeinab neighbourhood outside Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, identifying him as a commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iran’s Fars news agency said that […]

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would replace his current chief of staff Mick Mulvaney with Mark Meadows, a Republican congressman who is one of the president’s staunchest defenders. “I have long known and worked with Mark, and the relationship is a very good one. “I want to thank Acting Chief Mick Mulvaney for having […]

The number of coronavirus cases worldwide surged past 100,000 on Friday, as stock markets collapsed and the World Health Organization told all countries to make containment “their highest priority”. A rash of European countries as well as Cameroon, Togo and Peru confirmed their first cases of the virus while the Netherlands announced its first death. […]

OPEC and key ally Russia failed to agree Friday on a cut to oil production that would have contained the plunge in the price of crude caused by the new coronavirus outbreak’s massive disruption to world business. The price of oil fell sharply in international markets as a result, with the international benchmark plunging 9.4%, down by […]

Iranian authorities warned Friday they may use “force” to limit travel between cities and announced the new coronavirus has killed 124 people amid 4,747 confirmed cases in the Islamic Republic. Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour offered the figures at a televised news conference. He did not elaborate on the threat to use force, though he […]