Pretoria / AFP The Syrian regime’s key ally Russia launched heavy air strikes overnight on the outskirts of divided Aleppo city, slowing a “last-chance” assault by rebels seeking to break a government siege. The assault began on Sunday and is intended to ease the encirclement of the opposition-held east of Aleppo city, where an estimated 250,000 residents have been …

  Morelia/ AFP A Mexican mayor and four police officers were arrested in connection with the murder of 10 people whose bodies were burned, officials said, in the latest scandal involving the country’s security forces. The victims were found in a charred pickup truck in the western state of Michoacan on Saturday. The authorities initially believed the vehicle had exploded …

  A U.S. federal judge has given a preliminary green light to Volkswagen’s $14.7 billion settlement for cheating on emission tests. This means U.S. owners of VWs fitted with “defeat devices” will get about twice the market value of their cars in a buyback, and the 482,000 vehicles themselves will probably be scrapped. Meanwhile, in Europe, the owners of 8.4 …