Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, leader of the Islamist insurgent alliance that has captured swathes of Syria in a lightning offensive, is an extremist who has adopted a more moderate posture to try to achieve his goals. At the head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is rooted in Syria’s branch of…

The brutal 54-year reign of the Assad family in Syria looks to be over. In a matter of days, opposition forces took the major city of Aleppo before advancing southward into other government-controlled areas of Hama, Homs and finally, on Dec 7, 2024, the capital, Damascus. The offensive was all the…

A report from Amnesty International alleges that Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip constitutes the crime of genocide under international law, the first such determination by a major human rights organisation in the 14-month-old conflict. The 296-page report examining events in Gaza…

Germany is developing an app to help people locate the nearest bunker in the event of attack. Sweden is distributing a 32-page pamphlet titled If Crisis or War Comes. Half a million Finns have already downloaded an emergency preparedness guide. If the prospect of a broader conflict in Europe seems…

The Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, has said the Baltic sea is now a “high risk” zone as he met Nordic and Baltic leaders days after a suspected sabotage attack on undersea cables. The Swedish prime minister declined to speculate on who may have been responsible for the severing of two…

Putin approves changes to Russia's nuclear doctrine 19 November 2024 Maia DaviesBBC News SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock The changes were proposed in September and approved on Tuesday Vladimir Putin has approved changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, setting out new conditions under…

The governments of Norway, Sweden, and Finland have begun the distribution of informative pamphlets to citizens, providing them with advice in case of the outbreak of war or other emergency situations, BBC reported on Nov. 17. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine exacerbated fears among…

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Senior US officials have held talks in Israel aimed at brokering a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, on a day when more civilians in both countries were killed in the year-long war. Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, who had expressed optimism of a speedy settlement “in hours or…

The sound of birdsong is so loud outside Yulia Mykytenko’s current home, an abandoned house somewhere in the Donbas region of Ukraine, that I can hear it through my laptop. We’re speaking on Zoom, Mykytenko visible briefly – young, wearing black, her dark bobbed hair with blue-dyed streaks in it –…

UN says Israeli tanks forced entry into base in south Lebanon 13 October 2024 Aleks PhillipsBBC News EPA The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon says Israeli tanks forced their way into one of its positions early on Sunday morning. In a statement, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) said…

North Korean military engineers have been deployed to help Russia target Ukraine with ballistic missiles, and fighters operating in occupied areas of the country have already been killed, senior officials in Kyiv and Seoul said. There are dozens of North Koreans behind Russian lines, in teams that…

BEIRUT, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Israeli troops opened fire at three positions held by U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Thursday, according to a U.N. source who was not immediately able to specify t

Amid the ongoing escalation in the Middle East, Iran on Saturday was hit by heavy cyberattacks that disrupted nearly all three branches of government and also targeted its nuclear facilities. This att

From 12 Oct 2024 14.43 EDT 34 countries call for protection of Unifil peacekeepers in joint statement 34 Unifil-contributing countries have signed a joint statement reaffirming the protection of Unifil peacekeepers in Lebanon and condemning the latest attacks against them. The letter, which was…

From 11 Oct 2024 17.12 EDT At least 30 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in Jabaliya, says Gaza's civil defence agency Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least 30 people have been killed by Israeli strikes throughout the day in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya town and refugee camp on Friday. At least…

From 6 Oct 2024 20.31 EDT The Israeli Air Force has confirmed the strike on the mosque in Deir al-Balah where medics say at least five were killed, saying it was being used by Hamas. It also said it struck another site “that was previously used as the Ibn Rushd school”. “The command and control…

China has announced the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile into the “high seas” of the Pacific Ocean, flying over the northern point of the Philippines in what is believed to be the first such test since the early 1980s. The launch of the missile, which the defence ministry said was…

Israel’s top general has said the country is preparing for a possible ground operation into Lebanon amid growing international pressure for a negotiated ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel. As an intense bombing campaign inside Lebanon stretched into a third day, Israel’s chief of staff, Maj Gen…

For American diplomacy in the Middle East, the extraordinary attack in Lebanon that simultaneously detonated hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members could not have come at a less auspicious moment – and may still spark an escalation that the US had been seeking desperately to avoid. A day…

Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate against Israel after pagers used by its members exploded across Lebanon simultaneously, killing at least nine people and wounding almost 3,000 in a dramatic and unprecedented attack at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East. There was no immediate comment…

Israel to fight South Africa's Gaza genocide claim in court 2 January 2024 Raffi BergBBC News Reuters Thousands of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October Israel will fight South Africa's claim that it is committing "genocidal" acts in Gaza at the International Court…

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have said they carried out an airstrike on a humanitarian aid convoy in Gaza aimed at “armed assailants” trying to hijack it but the charity that organised the aid said people killed in the strike were employees of the transport company it was working with. The…

Ukrainian troops now up to 30km inside Russia, Moscow says 11 August 2024 Matt MurphyBBC News Getty Images Journalists in the Sumy region witnessed Ukrainian armour moving towards the Russian border Ukrainian troops have advanced up to 30km inside Russia, in what has become the deepest and most…

Ukraine's cross-border attack into Russia enters fifth day 10 August 2024 Jaroslav LukivBBC News and James WaterhouseBBC Ukraine correspondent, Kyiv IZ.RU/Reuters A burning house in the town of Sudzha, Kursk region Ukrainian troops are continuing their offensive in Russia’s western Kursk region, as…

Get started on your cybersecurity degree at American Military University. By Wes O’Donnell Managing Editor, InMilitary.com and InCyberDefense.com. U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force Veteran. Speaker and Veteran Advocate. Some say that truth is often stranger than fiction. According to a 2004 memo by Dr.…

A Russian chef who has lived in France for 14 years has been arrested on suspicion of plotting with a foreign power to stage “large scale” acts of “destabilisation” during the Olympic Games in Paris. The 40-year-old man was arrested during a raid of his apartment in central Paris on Sunday where a…

Russia has pulled all its vessels out of the Sea of Azov, a body of water connected to the Black Sea, according to Ukraine’s navy. “There are no longer any Russian naval vessels in the Sea of Azov,” said Dmytro Pletenchuk, a Ukrainian navy spokesman. Ukrainian naval officials have said in recent…

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea said Thursday that it would consider sending arms to Ukraine, a major policy change that was suggested after Russia and North Korea rattled the region and beyond by signing a pact to come to each other’s defense in the event of war. The comments from a senior…

The US government is closely monitoring the potential deployment of North Korean troops in Ukraine to aid the Russian military. This comes amid reports that Pyongyang is planning to send military engineering units to Russian-occupied territories for rebuilding work. These units were previously…

The enormous loss of Palestinian life attendant to the Israeli military’s 8 June rescue of four hostages held by Hamas cries out for investigation. Hamas’s abduction and detention of these four civilians was a clear war crime, but that does not exempt the Israeli military from the duty to comply…

South Korea’s military has said it fired warning shots after North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the border this week, amid rising tensions after Pyongyang sent rubbish-carrying balloons into the South and Seoul retaliated with a loudspeaker propaganda campaign. “Some North Korean soldiers working…

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has warned that the spread of artificial intelligence technology multiplies the threat of nuclear war, and that humanity is now “on a knife’s edge” as dangers to its existence coalesce. Guterres’s warning is due to be shown on a recorded video to be played…

The United Nations has added Israel to the global list of states and armed groups who have committed violations against children, according to the country’s UN envoy, Gilad Erdan. News of Israel’s inclusion on the list follows eight months of war on Gaza, in which more than 13,000 children are…

Months of extreme hunger have already killed many Palestinians in Gaza and caused permanent damage to children through malnutrition, two new food security reports have found, even before famine is officially declared. The US-based famine early warning system network (Fews Net) said it was “possible,…

From 3 Jun 2024 09.03 EDT Biden only published a partial version of the Gaza ceasefire proposal, Netanyahu says Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said that the US president, Joe Biden, in advancing a plan to wind down the war in Gaza, had published only some of the details. “The war…

Just a few days after arriving at a hospital outside Rafah in the Gaza Strip, Dr Omar El-Taji – a urologist who usually works in Manchester – was woken up at 2am to operate on an urgent case. “A man in his 30s was brought in after his entire building was bombed,” he says. “He had an open wound to…

China holds military drills around Taiwan as 'strong punishment' 23 May 2024 Kelly Ng in Singapore and Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in TaipeiBBC News Reuters China has called its drills around Taiwan a "strong punishment" for "separatist acts" China has started two days of military exercises around…

The UN’s top court has ordered Israel to halt its assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah in a ruling that will ratchet up the pressure on the increasingly isolated country. The president of the international court of justice, Nawaf Salam, said the humanitarian situation in Rafah had deteriorated…

Eagles that have migratory routes through Ukraine have shifted their flight paths to avoid areas affected by the conflict, researchers have found. GPS data has revealed that greater spotted eagles not only made large detours after the invasion began, but also curtailed pitstops to rest and refuel,…