World

The Syrian government appears to have fallen after a lightning offensive by rebels. President Bashar al Assad fled Damascus on a plane for an unknown destination, according to two senior Syrian army officers speaking to the Reuters news agency and Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, speaking to AP. Syria’s army command

The Syrian government has fallen after a lightning offensive by anti-regime forces across the country – ending President Bashar al Assad’s 24-year rule. Mr Assad has left office and the country after giving orders for there to be a peaceful transfer of power, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday. Russia was

Seismic is an overused word. Not when it comes to events currently under way in Syria, a country straddling the fault lines of the Middle East. The collapse of the Assad regime, if it comes, will be the most significant event yet in the upheaval that’s followed the 7 October attacks by Hamas in Israel

Seismic is an overused word. Not when it comes to events currently under way in Syria, a country straddling the fault lines of the Middle East. The collapse of the Assad regime will be the most significant event yet in the upheaval that’s followed the 7 October attacks by Hamas in Israel last year. Syria

Any evidence that Russia tried to influence an election in a NATO state would expose a form of hybrid attack that is designed to weaken the alliance from within. So-called “political influence operations”, which can use social media to amplify a particular candidate to boost their chances of success, are deliberately difficult to attribute –

Tear gas has been fired by security forces at protesting farmers in India as they attempt to march to Delhi. Demonstrators broke through several layers of barricades during clashes with hundreds of police and para-military forces at the Shambhu crossing at the Punjab and Haryana border. The farmers have a series of demands including waiving

Romania’s top court has annulled the results of the first round of the country’s presidential election after claims of Russian interference. The unprecedented decision came after declassified intelligence documents alleged Russia was behind a campaign to promote far-right candidate Calin Georgescu on platforms such as TikTok and Telegram. Mr Georgescu was viewed as an outsider

Israel has dismissed allegations it is committing genocide in Gaza, saying the claims from Amnesty International are “no surprise”. Government spokesman David Mencer called it “fake news” and told Sky’s Mark Austin the human rights group’s “raison d’etre is to criticise Israel – they do that at every opportunity and this is sadly just another

Russia’s ability to outmatch Ukraine with artillery barrages on the battlefield has significantly reduced to just 1.5 Russian rounds for every Ukrainian shell fired back, Western officials have said. This compares with Russian forces launching at least five times as many artillery rounds as Ukraine could in the war previously – with the ratio at times

French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to stay in office until the end of his term in 2027 following the resignation of the country’s Prime Minister Michel Barnier. It comes after politicians in France’s National Assembly passed a no-confidence motion in the government on Wednesday. In an address to the nation on Thursday evening, Mr

Amnesty International has accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians during its war against Hamas in Gaza. The human rights group said Israel sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by launching deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid. It said such actions met the legal threshold for the

The man at the centre of negotiations over a Gaza ceasefire has told Sky News Donald Trump wants a deal done before he takes power in January.  Speaking exclusively to Sky’s The World with Yalda Hakim, the prime minister of Qatar expressed cautious optimism but said it required “maximum pressure” on all parties to end

Russian President Vladimir Putin is using Ukraine as a “testing ground for experimental missiles” and is “not interested in peace”, NATO’s secretary general has warned. Mark Rutte made the remarks as foreign ministers from the alliance’s 32 members gathered in Brussels for a two-day meeting where there will be several discussions on Ukraine. In a

Joe Biden is on a trip to Angola that the US State Department is calling “historic”. This is the first time a sitting US president has visited sub-Saharan Africa in close to a decade. But rather than salvage his legacy in Africa, the trip has cemented that the US is not only losing influence here

A missing woman, whose dad took his own life after failing to find her, disappeared voluntarily, police have said. Hannah Kobayashi, 30, missed a connecting flight from Hawaii to New York in Los Angeles on 8 November and vanished days later after sending “alarming” texts to her family. Her father Ryan retraced her footsteps with

A court in Vietnam has upheld a death sentence for a real estate tycoon after rejecting her appeal against a conviction for embezzlement and bribery, state media reported. Truong My Lan, the chairwoman of real estate developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group (VTP), was sentenced to death in April for her role in a financial

Syria’s military has said its joint airstrikes with Russia have killed at least 400 insurgents over the past 24 hours – as Vladimir Putin reaffirmed his support for Syrian President Bashar al Assad. The strikes are being carried out after insurgents led by jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al Sham and including Turkey-backed fighters launched a

Israel’s prime minister says he will “respond with force” after Hezbollah fired towards an Israeli military post in disputed territory in Lebanon. Two projectiles fell in open areas and no injuries were reported. Israel said they had been launched toward Mount Dov, a disputed Israeli-held territory known as Shebaa Farms in Lebanon, where the borders

Syria’s president has said his country will “defend its stability and territorial integrity” after rebels reportedly took control of most of the country’s second-largest city Aleppo. In his first public comments since the start of the offensive, Bashar al Assad said the regime would defeat the “terrorists and their supporters”. In comments released by the

Donald Trump is set to make another controversial addition to his top team after saying he wants convicted tax evader Charles Kushner to serve as ambassador to France. The president-elect made the announcement in a Truth Social post, calling Mr Kushner “a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker”. The real estate developer is the father