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Middle East conflict

Today

Syrian citizens wave the revolutionary flag in Damascus.

Rebels vow reforms in race to stabilise Syria

The government is trying to get the state functioning again, while Russia frets over its bases, and Israel and Turkey look to increase their leverage.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
People shoot in the air as they celebrate the fall of the Syrian government in Damascus.

New day dawns for Syria after Assad flees to Moscow

The swift and surprise toppling of President Bashar al-Assad is sending shockwaves through the Middle East and the world – especially in Moscow and Tehran.

  • Updated
  • Hans van Leeuwen

Yesterday

NA

Middle East braces for fresh chaos after Assad’s fall

Euphoria has swept the streets of Damascus after Bashar al-Assad’s brutal reign suddenly ended. But what comes next?

  • James Curran

This Month

Bashar Assad appears to be largely on his own as he faces the end of his 24-year rule.

Alone against a renewed insurgency, Assad faces the end without allies

It seemed Syria’s president was almost out of the woods. But then a sudden rebel offensive caught everyone off guard.

  • Zeina Karam and Sarah El Deeb
A banner of Syrian President Bashar Assad hangs on the facade of a building in the quiet streets of  Damascus.

Assad flees as Syrian capital falls to rebels

The president flew out of Damascus for an unknown destination as rebels say they have entered the capital with no sign of army deployments.

  • Updated
  • Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Timour Azhari
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Labor lacking business nous

Readers’ letters on Treasurer Jim Chalmers, the state of the economy, Labor’s stance on Israel, the Melbourne arson attack and payroll tax.

Tesla would fare better than other US electric car makers if the EV tax credit is ditched.

Australia breaks EV sales record

More than 100,000 electric vehicles have been sold in Australia this year; Israel reprimands Australian ambassador over visa refusal. How the day unfolded.

  • Updated
  • Lucy Slade and Timothy Moore
Donald Trump.

Trump to attend Notre Dame reopening

Donald Trump announces first foreign trip since winning the election; Elon Musk loses bid to restore record $86b pay package. How the day unfolded.

  • Updated
  • Lucy Slade
The next Donald Trump administration has an enormous opportunity to help engineer a lasting peace in the Middle East. It could also usher in the end of the Jewish democracy

How Trump can earn a place in history that he did not expect

There is enormous opportunity and appetite for a game-changing deal in the Middle East – and we know the president-elect loves a deal.

  • Thomas L. Friedman
Rebel fighters set fire to a billboard of Syrian President Bashar Assad in Aleppo.

Syria’s Assad can’t rely on ally Putin this time

The president is in serious trouble again. But this time, Moscow is bogged down in Ukraine, while Iran is grappling with a relentless Israeli campaign.

  • Hassan Hassan
Syrian opposition supporters stand atop a captured Syrian army tank in the town of Maarat al-Numan, south-west of Aleppo, on Saturday.

Syrian rebels seize Aleppo city in lightning raid

The rapid advance on the nation’s second city came just four days into a surprise opposition offensive that is the most intense escalation of the civil war in years.

  • Muhammad Haj Kadour and Raja Abdulrahim

November

The full list of bills to be passed tonight

The Senate has begun voting on a series of bills being rushed through in the final hours of parliamentary sittings for 2024. Follow live updates.

  • Updated
  • Timothy Moore and Lucy Slade
Benjamin Netanyahu announces a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

Netanyahu eyes ‘total victory’ after ceasefire deal

After successfully crippling Hezbollah, Israel’s prime minister finally agreed a ceasefire in Lebanon and will now turn his full attention back to Gaza.

  • Neri Zilber and James Shotter
From left to right: L-R Owen Hatherley, Sally Rooney, Percival Everett, Arundhati Roy, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Adam Gopnik, Elfriede Jelinek,and Herta Müller.

I’m from Iran and this is why boycotting Israel won’t work

Writers the world over have backed a call for a cultural boycott of Israel, similar to that imposed on South Africa during the apartheid era. What good will that serve?

  • Arash Azizi

AEMO secures enough supplies to prevent NSW blackout

The Australian Energy Market Operator has secured “secured extra supplies”; Fatima Payman says Pauline Hanson is a “disgrace to the human race”. How the day unfolded.

  • Updated
  • Lucy Slade and Timothy Moore
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Hezbollah fighters carry the coffin of a senior commander who was killed by an Israeli strike in south Lebanon.

Decimated Hezbollah already regrouping after ceasefire

Benjamin Netanyahu’s confidence risks hubris, while the militant group will already be plotting its rehabilitation.

  • Andrew England
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu in 2017.

Netanyahu arrest warrant is a dangerous problem for the West

Donald Trump is likely to try to destroy the International Criminal Court over the pursuit for Israel’s leaders, but this is not in anybody’s interests.

  • Updated
  • Gideon Rachman
Thick smoke and flames erupt from an Israeli airstrike on Tayouneh, Beirut.

Israel-Hezbollah peace deal draws closer

The Israeli cabinet will meet to decide on a US-proposed 60-day truce, which is expected to be approved.

  • Updated
  • Maayan Lubell and Laila Bassam
Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv on Sunday,.

US ambassador says Israel close to ceasefire with Hezbollah

After the sides rained rockets on each other over the weekend, the Israeli prime minister considers a proposal to quieten fire.

  • Dan Williams
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Australia will comply with international law on Netanyahu arrest

Penny Wong has given her strongest signal that Australia would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu; man charged over Sydney anti-Israel vandalism. How the day unfolded.

  • Updated
  • Lucy Slade