Yesterday
Assad’s wife given ‘50/50 chance’ of survival as leukaemia returns
Asma al-Assad is thought to have flown to Moscow for treatment some time before the Kremlin persuaded her husband to flee in the face of lightning rebel advances.
- Ben Farmer
This Month
How Mossad tricked Hezbollah into buying exploding pagers
Dressed in ski masks and sunglasses the disguised former spies reveal the secrets of the 10-year operation to sell 16,000 booby-trapped pagers to Hezbollah.
- Jotam Confino
Bassel was right about the Assads. It couldn’t save him
The 27-year-old had a Fulbright Scholarship and the future was bright. This is the story of one man’s pursuit of freedom for Syria.
- Andrew Burke
How Assad secretly sent 21 planeloads of Syria’s cash to Moscow
The near-broke central bank sent almost $400 million in bulk shipments between 2018 and 2019 to Russia when the dictator was indebted to the Kremlin.
- Miles Johnson, Mehul Srivastava and Chloe Cornish
Israeli curbs on Gaza water supplies are ‘acts of genocide’
Human Rights Watch alleges attacks on infrastructure and repair workers contribute to thousands of deaths
- James Shotter
- Opinion
- World politics
Trump should present Iran with a choice – and a dare
The end of Bashar al-Assad’s wretched regime in Syria unlocks many doors for the United States across Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and Iran.
- Bret Stephens
- Analysis
- Middle East tensions
A greater Israel is, sadly, the best alternative to regional anarchy
The tragedy of the modern Middle East is that the Ottoman Empire, while it lasted, solved a problem that would bedevil the entire 20th century into the 21st.
- Robert Kaplan
Assad says Russia forced him to flee Syria
Former president Bashar al-Assad said he wanted to stay and fight the rebels, but he was trapped on a Russian military base in Syria that was under attack.
- Sarah El Deeb and Bassem Mroue
Israel to close Ireland embassy over Gaza tensions
The decision to close the embassy came in response to what Israel’s foreign minister has described as Ireland’s ‘extreme anti-Israel policies’.
- Wafaa Shurafa and Natalie Melzer
- Analysis
- Middle East conflict
The complex task for the rebels looking to rebuild Syria
The new rulers are taking control of institutions hollowed out by corruption and a devastated economy – amid a desire for revenge from some victims of Bashar al-Assad.
- Raya Jalabi and Sarah Dadouch
How will the rebels rule Syria? Their past offers clues
The Islamist rebels who ousted Syria’s dictator ran a pragmatic and disciplined administration in the territory they controlled. They also jailed their critics.
- Neil MacFarquhar and Justin Scheck
US in direct contact with Islamist rebels in Syria
Western and regional officials are seeking to deal with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham that overthrew the Assad regime despite its designation as a terrorist group.
- Matthew Lee
The first new foreign policy challenge for Trump just became clear
Opportunities in foreign policy can come totally out of the blue – and the great presidents are the ones who seize them, even if it means eating a little crow.
- Thomas L. Friedman
After Assad: everything you need to know about what’s next for Syria
Rebels have asserted control in Damascus, but Israel, Turkey and the United States are also involved in the action.
- The New York Times
- Opinion
- Syrian conflict
The vexed conundrum facing Syria’s new regime
Preferencing Islamist rule in a multi-faith state cannot be done without consigning some to subordinate status – and there are some early signs of that disconnect.
- Rodger Shanahan
Syria hails global hero executed as Assad fled
Crowds in Damascus have celebrated the legacy of Mazen al-Hamada, the face of the country’s uprising, whose tortured body was found this week.
- Adrian Blomfield
- Analysis
- Middle East tensions
Have Syrians fought just to replace Assad with an extremist?
The man behind the ouster of Bashar al-Assad has changed his name, his clothes and his brand from global jihadist to nationalist Islamist, but many remain sceptical.
- Anchal Vohra
‘We need time’: Syrians in Europe resist calls to return home
Those who fled the 13-year civil war pointed to the political uncertainty after a rebel offensive swept into Damascus over the weekend.
- Laura Pitel, Eleni Varvitsioti and Amy Kazmin
How Assad hoodwinked a naive West
Bashar al-Assad, Putin, Gaddafi – the free world too often gets its hopes up about despots.
- Janan Ganesh
What now for Assad’s wife? The star banker turned global pariah
Asma al-Assad once worked for JPMorgan in the UK before embracing her new life as Syria’s first lady. Now she’s in exile in Russia.
- Martin Fletcher and Ella Nunn
- Updated
- Syrian conflict
Israel ‘destroyed the chemical weapons no one else would touch’
Israel said it had destroyed Syria’s naval fleet in a mass bombardment that sparked concern among some in the international community.
- Jack Nicas
Netanyahu set to take the stand in long-running corruption trial
The Israeli prime minister is accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of cigars and champagne from a billionaire Hollywood producer.
- Tia Goldenberg
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 and Andrew Tillett
- Opinion
- Syrian conflict
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.
- Gideon Rachman
Dutton blocked show of political unity on antisemitism, says Labor MP
Josh Burns says the Liberal leader stopped shadow minister James Paterson reading a statement on his behalf condemning the Melbourne synagogue attack.
- Andrew Tillett