Today
- Opinion
- Syrian conflict
Assad’s fall is an embarrassing blow to Putin
Lots could still go wrong in Syria, but the fall of a brutal regime aligned to other brutal regimes is a good thing.
- 32 mins ago
- Gideon Rachman
Dutton blocked show of political unity on antisemitism, says Labor MP
Josh Burns says the Liberal leader stopped shadow minister James Paterson reading a statement on his behalf condemning the Melbourne synagogue attack.
- 59 mins ago
- Andrew Tillett
Horrors of Assad’s ‘slaughterhouse’ prison emerge
Thousands of prisoners have been freed from notorious Saydnaya outside Damascus, but the fate of thousands more who disappeared inside the jail are unknown.
- Raya Jalabi, Sam Joiner and Alison Killing
No dinner with Putin, but Assad will not lack for luxury in Moscow
Nothing has been seen of the murderous Syrian tyrant since he fled from Damascus, but he joins a dubious list of unseated former pro-Kremlin dictators in Moscow.
- James Kilner
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
- Updated
- Syrian conflict
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.
- Hans van Leeuwen
Yesterday
Iran must wish it never heard of Yahya Sinwar
Iran’s “axis of resistance” is destroyed, and its horizons have narrowed to a choice between pragmatism and, quite literally, going nuclear.
- Adrian Blomfield and Akhtar Makoii
Stubborn Assad’s fall was unexpected. But the signs were always there
Bashar al-Assad missed numerous opportunities to recast himself both at home and abroad.
- Liz Sly
Is that a $3m Bugatti Veyron? Watch as rebels find Assad’s luxury cars
Videos show fighters and civilians entering the president’s sprawling palace and combing through rooms and grounds.
- William Yang
The urbane, well-educated jihadist who overthrew Syria’s regime
Abu Mohammad al-Jolani is the son of an economist who came back from fighting Western forces in Iraq with bags of cash and a mission to bring down the president.
- Raya Jalabi
- Analysis
- Syrian conflict
Iran’s ‘axis of resistance’ crumbles as Assad flees
Tehran’s regional allies are weakened or collapsing: Syria’s president has fled, Hezbollah is battered by conflict with Israel, and Hamas is still at war.
- Alissa J. Rubin
How Assad’s family ran Syria like the mafia
Hafez and his son Bashar killed countless people over five decades and oversaw the country’s descent into kleptocracy.
- Chloe Cornish
This Month
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
- Updated
- Middle East conflict
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.
- Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Timour Azhari
Jewish leaders plead with PM: crack down on antisemitism now
An arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue is a “crime of hate”, Anthony Albanese says.
- Andrew Tillett
- Analysis
- Middle East tensions
With Assad challenged, cutting Syria’s ties to Iran gets harder
Efforts by the Gulf nations, particularly the United Arab Emirates, to lure the Syrian president away from his regional allies have been under way for a while.
- Erika Solomon, Ronen Bergman and Adam Rasgon
Australia to break with Israel in looming UN votes
Australian diplomats are weighing supporting several resolutions in an attempt to help revive the stalled two-state solution peace deal.
- Andrew Tillett
- Breaking
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
White powder scare at Israel embassy
The embassy, in the heart of Canberra’s diplomatic community, went into lockdown while police tested a mysterious substance.
- Andrew Tillett
- Updated
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Trump vows ‘hell to pay’ if Gaza hostages not released
The president-elect has threatened to hit Hamas “harder than anybody has been hit” after news emerged of an American-Israeli soldier killed on October 7.
- Jill Colvin
What led to Syria’s 13-year civil war, and why has fighting surged again?
The sudden assault by Syrian rebels has redrawn the front lines of a war many thought was over. Here’s what to know.
- Kelly Kasulis Cho and Kelsey Baker
Iran pledges support for Syria to halt rebel advance
Damascus launched airstrikes to push back the insurgents who have taken the northern city of Aleppo in a surprise attack.
- Kareem Chehayeb
- Opinion
- Middle East conflict
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 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
‘We must rescue our society’: PM urged to lead on antisemitism
Jews are dismayed by the surge in hatred since October 7 and the lack of leadership by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. It’s a “fight for our way of life” says Jillian Segal, the antisemitism envoy.
- Andrew Tillett
Netanyahu says conditions have improved for possible Gaza hostage deal
The Israeli prime minister spoke positively, without providing any specific details, about efforts to secure the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
- Reuters
