TEHRAN / AP Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard on Tuesday unveiled a new high-speed vessel the force says is capable of carrying a helicopter and up to 100 people, Iranian state TV reported. The report follows a series of close encounters between American warships and Guard vessels in the Persian Gulf. The TV showed a catamaran-type ship described as 55 …

  Aleppo / AFP A ceasefire billed as the “last chance” for peace in Syria appeared to be holding on its first full day Tuesday, with residents nationwide reporting a rare respite from years of violence. The truce brokered by Russia and the United States saw guns fall silent at sundown on Monday, in the latest bid to end a …

  Bangalore / AFP Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for calm on Tuesday in the Indian tech hub of Bangalore which was placed under curfew after deadly violence erupted over a water dispute with a neighbouring state. Thousands of police officers were deployed on the largely deserted streets of the southern city to enforce the curfew, after rampaging, stone-pelting mobs …