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 …

  Aleppo / AFP More than 50,000 Syrians have joined a growing exodus of terrified civilians from east Aleppo, a monitor said on Wednesday, as the UN Security Council was set for emergency talks on fighting in the city. As government forces pressed an assault in the divided city, regime artillery fire killed at least 21 civilians in east Aleppo …