In September, a senior Iranian commander made an unannounced visit to one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest sites in the southern Iraqi city of Kerbala. Hassan Pelarak, a top officer in the Revolutionary Guards' elite Quds Force, had recently been sanctioned by the U.S. for weapons smuggling. He...

 Oil prices were steady on Wednesday as the market awaits a pact from producers on output and Britain became the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine for use, boosting hopes for a future recovery in oil demand. Prices were hit by a surprise build in oil inventories in the United...

George Russell will replace Lewis Hamilton for Sakhir GP in Bahrain after the seven-time champion contracted COVID-19, Formula 1 announced on Wednesday. "Firstly, I want to say a huge thank you to everybody at Williams for giving me this opportunity," Russell said on formula1.com. “I...

Germany saw a new daily high for coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, although the number of new cases has stabilized. The Robert Koch Institute said 487 patients died from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 17,123 deaths over the course of the pandemic. The...

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday rejected a bill approved by parliament that would have suspended U.N. inspections and boosted uranium enrichment, saying it was "harmful" to diplomatic efforts aimed at restoring the 2015 nuclear deal and easing U.S. sanctions. The tug-of-war...

The European Union’s Brexit negotiator told the 27 national envoys to Brussels on Wednesday that differences in UK trade talks persisted, according to a senior EU diplomat who was present at the closed-door briefing. “Differences still persist on the three main issues,” the diplomat said,...

The start of the Australian Open will be delayed until February 8 because of coronavirus prevention measures, a newspaper reported, as negotiations on players' arrival and quarantine in Melbourne continued on Wednesday. International players would be allowed by the Victoria state government...

President Emmanuel Macron will seek to revive a French initiative on Lebanon when he hosts an international aid conference on Wednesday, but with the country’s fractious political class bickering, hopes of a breakthrough appear slim. Four months after a massive explosion that killed more...

Japan will give free coronavirus vaccines to all of its residents under a bill passed Wednesday, as the nation battles record numbers of daily cases. The bill, which says the government will cover all vaccine costs for Japan's 126 million residents, was approved by the upper house of...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr has given extra protection to the prosecutor he appointed to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, granting him authority to complete the work without being easily fired. Barr told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he had...

NEW YORK (AP) — Health care workers and nursing home residents should be at the front of the line when the first coronavirus vaccine shots become available, an influential government advisory panel said Tuesday. The panel voted 13-1 to recommend those groups get priority in the first days...

Occupied Palestine is facing “grim realities” as it confronts the decreasing possibility of a negotiated settlement to end the conflict with Israel, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday. “I address you today with a deep sense of worry about the grim realities in the Occupied...

The United Arab Emirates came out of OPEC heavyweight Saudi Arabia's shadow this week by demanding better adherence with oil supply cuts, effectively delaying the latest strategy decision by OPEC and its allies by a few days, sources told Reuters. The unusual move highlights the UAE's...

At least two people including a baby were killed and up to 15 injured on Tuesday when a speeding car ploughed into a pedestrian area in the western German city of Trier, authorities said. Witnesses said people screamed in panic and some were thrown into the air by the car as it crashed...

China successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon's surface on Tuesday in a historic mission to retrieve lunar surface samples, Chinese state media reported. China launched its Chang'e-5 probe on Nov. 24. The uncrewed mission, named after the mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, aims to...

The leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, on Tuesday tested positive for the novel coronavirus, which is spreading rapidly across the Palestinian enclave, the Islamist group said. "Yahya Sinwar, the head of the political bureau of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, was infected with the coronavirus...

A 40-strong Bahraini delegation arrived in Israel Tuesday for two days of talks on boosting economic cooperation and tourism after the two countries normalised relations in September. The Gulf state of Bahrain followed the United Arab Emirates in signing up to a US-brokered deal to...

 The United Nations refugee agency appealed on Tuesday to Ethiopian authorities for access to 96,000 Eritrean refugees in the northern Tigray region, where it said food is believed to have run out during the month-long conflict. Babar Baloch, spokesman of the U.N. High Commissioner for...

A senior British minister said on Tuesday there was still a chance of a turbulent Brexit without a trade deal as talks with the European Union had snagged on fishing, governance rules and dispute resolution. Just 30 days before Britain leaves the EU’s orbit following a standstill transition...

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden will formally introduce his top economic policy advisers on Tuesday as his administration prepares to take power amid a slowing economic recovery hampered by the resurgent coronavirus pandemic. Biden will appear at an event in his hometown of Wilmington,...