Today
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.
- Updated
- Hans van Leeuwen
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
- 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.
- Updated
- Jill Colvin
November
Putin warns Russia may strike Kyiv with new Oreshnik missile
The Russian president said “decision-making centres” in the Ukrainian capital were potential targets of its new ballistic weapon.
- Henry Meyer
- Opinion
- Trump diplomacy
Trump’s foreign policy hand is stronger than you might think
Fears of American isolationism ignore that the president-elect’s international relations capabilities might be better than many think once he takes office.
- James Curran
Israeli strikes in central Beirut kill at least 20
The attack completely demolished a multi-storey building in a densely populated neighbourhood while ceasefire talks continued.
- Abby Sewell and Bassem Mroue
Israel pounds southern Lebanon and Beirut outskirts
The intense military campaign against Hezbollah pushes on, tempering hopes that efforts by a US envoy will lead to an imminent ceasefire.
- Reuters
Russia seeks to intimidate Ukraine with new missile, officials say
The decision to deploy the weapon will “neither change the course of the conflict nor deter NATO allies from supporting Ukraine”, a spokeswoman said.
- David L. Stern, Siobhán O'Grady and Ellen Francis
- Updated
- Russia-Ukraine war
Putin claims Russia used nuclear-capable missile the West can’t stop
Vladimir Putin said he was ready to target any facility used to attack Russian territory, after launching a new, intermediate-range hypersonic weapon at Ukraine.
- Updated
- Hans van Leeuwen
What exactly is the new missile that Russia fired at Ukraine?
Vladimir Putin said US air defence systems are powerless to stop the weapon, which he called the Oreshnik – Russian for hazelnut tree.
- Max Hunder
- Updated
- Russia-Ukraine war
Western embassies shut in Ukraine, fearing major Russian attacks
Embassies in Kyiv were shuttered on fears of a massive air raid, as the use of British weaponry inside Russia heightened fears of potential nuclear escalation.
- Updated
- Matthew Cranston and Hans van Leeuwen
How Trump’s win could reshape the world’s biggest war zones
“I’m going to stop wars,” the president-elect said in his victory speech. In Ukraine, Russia and the Middle East, reactions ranged from wary optimism to a truculent shrug.
- Hans van Leeuwen
October
North Korean troops could turn Ukraine into ‘world war’, Zelensky says
The leaders of Ukraine and NATO welcomed Australia’s gift of tanks, as a ministerial summit fretted about Chinese and North Korean involvement.
- Hans van Leeuwen
- Updated
- Middle East conflict
Biden, Netanyahu speak as Israel readies ‘lethal, precise’ attack plan
The two leaders were in discussions for the first time in almost two months as the IDF continued to press hard against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
- Matthew Cranston and Hans van Leeuwen
Netanyahu defiant as Middle East braces
Benjamin Netanyahu is set to speak with US President Joe Biden over his retaliation plans against Iran amid fears of a widening war.
- Hans van Leeuwen
Israel takes fire on three fronts on anniversary of Hamas massacre
As the world commemorated the terrorist attack that triggered the conflict, rockets rained down on Israel from Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen.
- Updated
- Hans van Leeuwen and Matthew Cranston
Biden urges Israel not to target Iranian oil assets
‘Think about other alternatives’, the US president tells Israel from the White House, as US and UK jets and warships struck at Houthi militants in Yemen.
- Updated
- Hans van Leeuwen
Biden triggers oil price surge as Middle East tensions mount
A vague remark from the US president sent oil prices more than 5 per cent higher as Israel’s standoff with Iran threatens to spill out into the global economy.
- Matthew Cranston and Hans van Leeuwen
Israel vows Iran will pay ‘heavy price’, Lebanon combat intensifies
Israel and Iran traded verbal blows, while in Lebanon the first direct troop clashes claimed lives on both sides.
- Hans van Leeuwen and Matthew Cranston
