Maracaibo / AFP Carmela de la Hoz sent a customer away with his hair half cut when the power went off in her salon. The customer will be back — but so will the blackouts. The rolling electricity cuts the Venezuelan government ordered across the country starting this week have hit the city of Maracaibo hard. Security forces are patrolling the ...

  Aleppo / AFP Regime aircraft pounded rebel areas of Syria’s second city Aleppo, which was left out of a deal to “freeze” fighting from Saturday despite international outrage over renewed violence. Shelling and air raids in Aleppo over the past week have killed more than 230 civilians and pushed a landmark February 27 ceasefire to the verge of collapse. Crude ...

  Tehran / AFP Reformist and moderate politicians allied with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani won most seats in second round parliamentary elections, local media reported on Saturday. Unofficial and incomplete results said that of the 68 seats being contested at least 33 had gone to the pro-Rouhani List of Hope, with conservatives gaining 21 more MPs. The second ballot to complete ...