Today
- Opinion
- Opinion
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.
- 33 mins ago
- Gideon Rachman
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
- Bashar al-Assad
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
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
No ongoing threat after synagogue attack: ASIO
ASIO conducts own antisemitism inquiries as the AFP sets up a special operation; David Lamming avoids criminal conviction after arrest outside The Star. How the day unfolded.
- Updated
- Lucy Slade
- Analysis
- Analysis
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
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.
- Updated
- 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.
- Updated
- Raya Jalabi
- Analysis
- Analysis
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
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
Trump stands by US dollar with 100pc tariff threat
The US president-elect turned his attention to the BRICs; the new FBI nominee wants to turn the Hoover building into a museum of the deep state; Anthony Albanese says Elon Musk’s criticisms reflect his agenda. See how the day unfolded.
- Updated
- Andrew Hobbs
October 2023
Israel agrees to US request to pause Gaza invasion: report
Washington is reportedly scrambling air defence systems to protect its troops from any regional fallout that might follow Israel’s ground assault on Gaza.
- Hans van Leeuwen
- Updated
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Biden steps up diplomatic push amid fears of widening conflict
The US president spoke with G7 leaders, Benjamin Netanyahu and Pope Francis amid growing fears the Israel-Hamas war could mushroom into a wider Middle East conflict.
- Updated
- Ronald Mizen
October 2022
Repatriating IS families will strain intelligence budgets: Dutton
Senior Liberal MPs have talked up the risk to the Australian community from young men and boys radicalised after their fathers travelled to fight with Islamic State.
- Tom McIlroy
July 2022
Putin finds a new ally in Iran, a fellow outcast
A three-way summit in Tehran between the leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey sent a clear signal that Vladimir Putin is pushing back against being ostracised by the West.
- Anton Troianovski and Farnaz Fassihi
November 2021
- Exclusive
- Skills shortage
The refugees who could solve Australia’s tech skills crisis
Software engineer Sarya fled Syria in 2012, but thanks to a new government program she has found work at an Aussie tech company, hungry for skilled workers.
- Jessica Sier
