There are apocalyptic scenes in the streets of Syria’s Aleppo. As the bombs rain down on the besieged city, it causes horrible sufferings everywhere. More than 250 civilians have been killed in the government’s assault on east Aleppo since November 15, including nearly 30 children. And up to 20,000 people have fled the regime offensive in the past 72 …

  AFP Oil prices rallied more than six percent on Wednesday, pushing European and US stocks higher as traders seized on hopes that OPEC could later decide to cut crude output. Saudi Arabia’s influential oil minister Khaled al-Falih sounded an upbeat note that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries — which pumps about a third of global oil — …

  NEW YORK / AP The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index reached record highs on Wednesday morning as a rally in energy companies led US stocks higher. Energy companies gained as countries in OPEC, which collectively produce more than one-third of the world’s oil, moved closer to completing an agreement that would trim oil …