Israel's military will set up a special branch in its general staff dedicated to threats from Iran, it said Tuesday.

The military said it will appoint a major general to head the command, which is part of a broader restructuring in the general staff.

Lebanon's financial situation points to a likely restructuring of the country's massive debt and financial sector to preserve declining foreign currency reserves, Fitch Ratings said Tuesday.

The credit rating agency's report comes as Lebanese officials are debating whether to pay back $1.2 billion worth of Eurobonds that mature on March 9 amid a severe economic and financial crisis, the worst since the country's 1975-90 civil war. Lebanon has never defaulted before, and the decision is causing much anxiety in the crisis-hit country. Many have argued the priority should be to use shrinking foreign currency to pay for imports of basic needs such as wheat, medicine and fuel.

When Iraq's top Shiite cleric underwent surgery for a fractured bone last month, it sent shivers around the country and beyond. "May God heal Iraq," read a photo of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani that circulated online.

Frantic supporters shared prayers. Anti-government protesters hung photos of the black-turbaned cleric with a long white beard and bushy eyebrows, declaring, "The hearts of the revolutionaries are with you." Al-Sistani's well-wishers included officials from both Iran and the United States, the bitter rivals for influence in Iraq.

Under the pretext of health conditions, Lebanon is being “pressured” to release Amer Fakhoury charged with murder and torture of Lebanese citizens during Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon, al-Akhbar daily reported on Tuesday.

Nissan shareholders vented their outrage at the Japanese automaker's top management Tuesday for crashing stock prices, zero dividends and quarterly losses after the scandal-ridden departure of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn.

They got up, one by one, at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting, demanding that Nissan Motor Co. quickly fix diving car sales, work harder to repair its battered brand and have executives give up their pay.

China reported 2,641 new virus cases Saturday as it escalates measures to contain the outbreak and reassure an anxious public.

The figure is a major drop from the higher numbers in recent days since a broader diagnostic method was implemented. The number of new deaths rose slightly to 143, bringing the total fatalities in mainland China to 1,523. The number of confirmed cases in the country now stands at 66,492, according to China's National Health Commission.

A military offensive on an opposition-controlled region of northwestern Syria has created one of the worst catastrophes for civilians in the country's long-running war, sending hundreds of thousands of people fleeing, many of them sleeping in open fields and under trees in freezing temperatures.

The military campaign in Idlib province and the nearby Aleppo countryside has also killed hundreds of civilians, and a bitter winter has compounded the pain.

Nissan filed a civil suit Wednesday seeking 10 billion yen ($91 million) in damages from the Japanese automaker's former Chairman Carlos Ghosn.

Five men have been arrested and charged with trying to trade in Iranian oil in violation of U.S. trade sanctions.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia, Zhenyu Wang, Robert Thwaites and Nicholas James Fuchs, all of Dallas; Daniel Ray Lane of McKinney, Texas; and Nicholas Hovan of New York City are charged with conspiracy and violating U.S. economic sanctions on Iran.

Lebanon’s new government won parliament’s vote of confidence on Tuesday, as 63 MPs voted in favor, 20 voted against and one MP abstained.

The MPs of Hizbullah, the Free Patriotic Movement, the AMAL Movement and their allies granted confidence to Hassan Diab’s government as those of al-Mustaqbal Movement, the Progressive Socialist Party and the Lebanese Forces withheld it.