WORLD

Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran signed a deal with France’s Total on Tuesday to develop a major offshore gas field, its first big contract with a Western energy firm since sanctions were loosened in January. Total will lead a consortium also including China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Iran’s …

Raleigh, United States |   Donald Trump launched a final marathon Monday as the wildest US presidential campaign in memory drew to a close, desperate to persuade Americans they would be better served by a political outsider than establishment favorite Hillary Clinton. After a grueling Sunday crisscrossing seven states, the …

Ann Arbor, United States | AFP |  President Barack Obama on Monday urged Americans to make history by electing Democrat Hillary Clinton to succeed him in the White House, and reject the “mean-spirited” politics of Donald Trump. “I ask you to do for Hillary what you did for me,” Obama …

Miami, United States | AFP | Voter turnout among African American and Hispanic voters in the United States has surged in early voting, and this swell of minority participation could spell trouble for Donald Trump’s White House hopes. On Sunday — the last day of early voting before Election Day …

Managua, Nicaragua | AFP | Nicaragua’s leftist President Daniel Ortega has won a third straight term, with his colorful wife Rosario Murillo as vice president, near-final results showed Monday, after an election condemned by the opposition and the United States. With 99.8 percent of ballots counted, the 70-year-old former Marxist …

New Delhi, India | AFP | Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain would become the ultimate free trade champion as she laid the groundwork Monday for a potential post-Brexit deal with India, the world’s fastest growing major economy. In her first bilateral trip outside Europe since taking office in July, …

Shanghai, China | AFP | China Monday replaced finance minister Lou Jiwei, state media reported, with some analysts predicting more fiscal stimulus in the world’s second-largest economy. Lou was relieved of his duties and replaced by 59-year-old Xiao Jie, the deputy secretary-general of the State Council, or cabinet, Xinhua news …

Tegucigalpa, Honduras | AFP |  Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez said Sunday he will seek re-election in 2017, reigniting debate on a single-term limit that has deeply divided the country and led to a previous president’s ouster. “I am going to be the next president of Honduras,” Hernandez said triumphantly …

Washington, United States | AFP | The FBI on Sunday lifted the threat that Hillary Clinton might face charges over her private email server — another campaign bombshell just 36 hours before her White House showdown with Donald Trump. The Democrat’s camp welcomed the news that FBI Director James Comey …

Washington, United States | AFP |  The FBI’s review of new emails did not uncover any wrongdoing by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and the bureau has not changed its July recommendation not to charge her, Director James Comey told lawmakers Sunday. Since late October, when Comey dropped a bombshell …