BEIRUT (AFP) -- Fugitive auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn on Wednesday accused Nissan and Japanese prosecutors of plotting against him as he staged an impassioned defence at his first public appearance since fleeing the country. In a combative news conference in Beirut, the former Renault-Nissan boss -- one of the world's most high-profile corporate executives -- slammed the financial misconduct charges...

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that the United States has reestablished some deterrence toward Iran in the wake of the January 3 drone strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. "I think at this point with the strikes we took against KH in late December and then our actions with regard to Soleimani, I believe that we've restored a level of ...

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President Donald Trump pulled back from the brink of war with Iran on Wednesday, saying that Tehran appeared to be "standing down" after firing missiles -- without causing casualties -- at US troops based in Iraq. In a televised address to the nation from the White House, Trump emphasized there were "no Americans harmed" in the ballistic missile salvo aimed at two bases. Whi...

DUBAI (Reuters) -- Iranian state television said on Wednesday that at least 80 "American terrorists" were killed in attacks involving 15 missiles Tehran launched on US targets in Iraq, adding that none of the missiles were intercepted. State TV, citing a senior Revolutionary Guards source, also said Iran had 100 other targets in the region in its sights if Washington took any retaliatory measure...

TEHRAN (AP) -- A Ukrainian airplane carrying at least 170 people crashed Wednesday near an airport in the capital, Tehran, state TV reported. There was no immediate word on casualties. The plane had taken off from Imam Khomeini International Airport, the report said. The crash is suspected to have been caused by mechanical issues, it added, without elaborating. An investigation team was at the ...

TOKYO (AFP) - Oil prices spiked Wednesday morning, rising over 4.5 percent at one point after Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles against two airbases in Iraq used by US and coalition forces. The benchmark WTI jumped as much as 4.53 percent to $65.54 a barrel before settling down slightly after Iran unleashed its first response to the US assassination of military commander Qasem Soleimani...

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President Donald Trump sought Tuesday to end confusion over the future of American troops in Iraq, saying they should stay, despite fury there over the US killing of a top Iranian general in Baghdad. "At some point we want to get out, but this isn't the right point," Trump told reporters at the White House. Regardless of US efforts to clarify the troops' future following an ...

TEHRAN (AP) -- Iran struck back at the United States for the killing of a top Iranian general early Wednesday, firing a series of surface-to-surface missiles at an Iraqi air base housing US troops and warning the United States and its allies in the region not to retaliate. US officials confirmed airstrikes at the air base. There was no immediate word on injuries. Iranian state TV said the attac...

The number of deaths in major air crashes around the globe fell by more than half from the previous year in 2019, according to a report by an aviation consulting firm. The To70 consultancy said that 257 people died in eight fatal accidents in 2019. That compares to 534 deaths in 13 fatal accidents in 2018. The 2019 death toll rose in late December after a Bek Air Fokker 100 crashed Dec. 27 o...

TOKYO (AP) -- Nissan said Tuesday it will still pursue legal action against its former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, despite his escape from Japan to Lebanon. The Japanese automaker said in a statement that Ghosn engaged in serious misconduct while leading the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance. "The company will continue to take appropriate legal action to hold Ghosn accountable for the harm that hi...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon on Monday distanced itself from President Donald Trump's assertions that he would bomb Iranian cultural sites despite international prohibitions on such attacks. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the US will "follow the laws of armed conflict." When asked if that ruled out targeting cultural sites, Esper said pointedly, "That's the laws of armed conflict." The sp...

TEHRAN (AFP) -- Iran's supreme leader fought back tears as a sea of black-clad mourners paid homage Monday to the top commander assassinated in a US drone strike last week that has inflamed tensions across the Middle East. In a surprise move in Baghdad where the strike was carried out, the US military informed its Iraqi counterparts that it was preparing for "movement out of Iraq". Ayatollah Al...

NEW YORK (AFP) -- World markets were mixed after a tense trading day on Monday, with US equities ending higher and bucking a downward trend in Europe and Asia after the US killing of a top Iranian general Friday. Since he ordered a drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, US President Donald Trump has warned of a "major retaliation" if Tehran takes revenge, triggering a sell-off in stocks and a...

BERLIN (AFP) -- The leaders of Germany, France and Britain on Sunday urged Iran to drop measures that go against the 2015 nuclear deal, after Tehran announced it would no longer abide by a limit on enrichment. "We call on Iran to withdraw all measures that are not in line with the nuclear agreement," German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British PM Boris Johnson s...

TEHRAN (AFP) -- Iran on Sunday announced its fifth reduction in its nuclear commitments, saying it will forego the "limit on the number of centrifuges", as tensions with the United States soar after the killing of a top Iranian commander in a US strike. Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement with the United Nations Security Council's five permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United...