Middle East

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Islamic militancy

Syrian conflict

Iranians at a pro-government rally in Tehran on January 12. Photo: West Asia News Agency via Reuters

German chancellor says Iran’s leadership may be in ‘final days’

Friedrich Merz warns that a government relying on violence is ‘effectively finished’ as the reported death toll from Iran’s protests passes 640.

2 hours agovideocam

Iranians use Musk’s Starlink to pierce internet blackout during protests

4 hours ago

Exiled shah’s son emerges as a rallying figure as Iranians protest

5 hours agovideocam

Trump says Iran wants to negotiate after reports of hundreds killed in unrest

Amidst unrest, Trump claims Iran seeks talks, but warns of strong action. Tehran blames the US and Israel, but signals openness to diplomacy.

12 Jan 2026 - 7:31PMvideocam

A masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran on Friday. Photo: UGC via AP

Israel-Gaza war

Hamas says will dissolve its Gaza government when Palestinian body takes over

Militant group agrees to cede power to technocratic committee under Trump-brokered plan, but silence remains over disarmament.

12 Jan 2026 - 11:17AM

Israel-Gaza war

Gaza clings to Medecins Sans Frontieres following Israeli aid ban

Israel announced it would ban 37 aid groups, including MSF, from operating in Gaza from for failing to provide information on Palestinian staff.

11 Jan 2026 - 5:58PM

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Iran will target US, Israel if Trump strikes over protest

Israel is also on high alert for the possibility of a US intervention to support ‌Tehran’s protest movement.

11 Jan 2026 - 8:07PMvideocam

Iranians block a street during a protest in Tehran on Friday. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

US says it carried out new ‘large-scale’ strikes against Isis in Syria

The attack is the latest response to a shooting by a lone militant that killed two American soldiers and a US civilian interpreter.

11 Jan 2026 - 5:54AMvideocam

‘Tools of repression’: crackdown fears grow as Iran rocked by new rallies

Activists warn authorities could intensify suppression of the protests under cover of the internet blackout.

10 Jan 2026 - 9:50PM

Iran protests: a day-by-day guide to the country’s unfolding crisis

What began with a currency collapse has spiralled into a deadly nationwide revolt, with dozens killed and internet access cut.

10 Jan 2026 - 1:41PMvideocam

A protester in Paris waves a pre-1979 Islamic Revolution Iranian flag during a demonstration on January 4. Photo: AFP

‘Something has to give’: Iran on the brink as protest fury mounts

Weakened by conflict with Israel and a plummeting currency, analysts say the regime faces a choice between radical reform or collapse.

10 Jan 2026 - 1:30PMvideocam

Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Kermanshah, Iran, on Thursday. Photo: TNS

Trump says protest-hit Iran in ‘big trouble’, again threatens military strike

The US president warned that ‘we’ll start shooting too’, if the authorities kill demonstrators.

10 Jan 2026 - 7:55AMvideocam

Protests sweep Iran amid internet blackout and state TV warning of casualties

Iranian state media breaks silence on protests as internet and phone access is restricted amid widening unrest.

9 Jan 2026 - 7:44PMvideocam

Kurdish fighters refuse to leave Syria’s Aleppo after truce

Kurdish fighters defy Aleppo truce, sparking fears of wider conflict amid civilian evacuations and international pressure.

9 Jan 2026 - 8:41PM

Columns of smoke rise from Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah neighbourhoods amid intense clashes between government forces and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces. Photo: AFP

Israel-Gaza war

Israel says Bulgarian diplomat to direct Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza

The Board of Peace is meant to oversee the implementation of the second and far more complicated phase of the Gaza ceasefire.

9 Jan 2026 - 1:12PM

Palestinians walk amid buildings destroyed by Israeli air and ground operations in Gaza City. Photo: AP

Israel-Gaza war

‘Where is the ceasefire?’: Israeli gunfire kills 11-year-old in Gaza ‘safe zone’

Despite the agreement, Israel has killed 424 people since the ceasefire started nearly three months ago.

8 Jan 2026 - 8:06PM

Ankara anchor: Malaysia finds Turkey ‘reliable friend’ in stormy global waters

Trump’s tariffs and actions in Venezuela are causing the Global South to look for less mercurial partners, analysts say.

8 Jan 2026 - 5:33PM

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Deadly clashes in Aleppo shatter Syria’s fragile peace as thousands flee

Fierce fighting between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led SDF exposes the failure of a year-long plan to merge the two militaries.

8 Jan 2026 - 2:49PM

People flee Aleppo’s Ashrafiyah Kurdish neighbourhood on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

US allies Saudi Arabia, UAE risk a split in Middle East over competing visions

A ‘new order’ is emerging as Abu Dhabi-backed separatist allies clash with pro-Riyadh governments in the region.

8 Jan 2026 - 5:21PM

UN accuses Israel of subjecting Palestinians in West Bank to ‘apartheid’

For first time, UN rights chief labels situation in occupied Palestinian territories ‘apartheid’, a term previously used only by UN experts.

7 Jan 2026 - 7:06PM

Iran protests death toll hits 35 and 1,200 detained, activists say

Iran’s judiciary vows ‘no leniency’ for rioters as nationwide unrest enters its second week.

6 Jan 2026 - 8:14PM

Protestors attacking a government building in Fasa, in southern Iran on December 31. Photo: Photo: UGC via AFP

Palestinian embassy in UK officially inaugurated

Ambassador Husam Zomlot hails upgrade from a mission to full embassy status as an ‘historic moment’.

6 Jan 2026 - 1:00PM

Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Dr Husam Zomlot delivers a speech during the inauguration ceremony of the Palestinian embassy in London on Monday. Photo: EPA

At least 16 dead in Iran during week of protests: rights groups

Rights groups report rising fatalities and hundreds of arrests in the biggest Iran protests in three years.

5 Jan 2026 - 10:01AM

Britain, France bombed suspected Isis arms dump in Syria: UK defence ministry

Intelligence analysis identified an underground facility believed ‍to contain weapons and explosives in mountains ‍near Palmyra, the UK said.

4 Jan 2026 - 1:38PM

Pro-Saudi forces regain province from separatists: Yemen presidential council

Rashad al-Alimi said forces had successfully retaken positions in the resource-rich Hadramout province, which borders Saudi Arabia.

4 Jan 2026 - 6:44AM

Saudi-backed forces that took control of the Second Military Region Command on the outskirts of Mukalla, the capital of Hadramout, where the UAE-backed STC recently launched an offensive to seize the resource-rich province. Photo: AFP

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