Headlines

Oil prices surge amid US-Venezuela standoff

International oil benchmarks posted modest gains on Tuesday as the market entered a holiday-shortened week. Investors remained focused on the escalating geopolitical friction between Washington and Caracas, which has introduced a risk premium into an otherwise oversupplied

Brazil: No Xmas pardon for Jan. 8 rioters

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has signed his traditional Christmas pardon decree, granting clemency to thousands of inmates. However, for the second consecutive year, the president has explicitly excluded those convicted of attempting to overthrow the democratic

Black box recovered from Libyan general's crashed plane

Turkish authorities found the cockpit voice recorder and black box from a private jet that crashed Wednesday killing the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides. The Falcon 50 aircraft requested an emergency landing because of electrical failure minutes after it took

Festive lights, security tight for Christmas in Damascus

Christmas lights illuminate Damascus's Old City while government forces patrol its shadows as security fears haunt Syria's Christian community. They recall the shooting and suicide attack in June at the Saint Elias church in the Syrian capital that killed 25 people and wounded