WORLD NEWS

Israel Says Its Troops Will Stay in Seized Territory for Now

How America Turned Allies into Enemies in Afghanistan

Mullah Osman Jawhari at his home in Waygal, in Nuristan Province in Afghanistan.

Humbled in Syria, Putin Seeks Vindication in Ukraine

Soldiers from Ukraine’s Herkules mobile air defense unit at a shooting range in Kyiv last month. The war is now “all or nothing” for Vladimir V. Putin, one analyst said.

Trump’s Pick as Mideast Adviser, Massad Boulos, Is a Truck Salesman

Massad Boulos in Detroit in October.

Young Koreans, Seeing Democracy at Stake, Take to the Streets

Milei Tames Inflation in Argentina With Painful Policies, Sparking Applause and Anger

President Javier Milei of Argentina speaking at an America First Policy Institute gala at Mar-a-Lago in Florida last month. President-elect Donald J. Trump has lauded Mr. Milei’s tenure in office.

Man Found in Syria Says He Is Missing American Travis Timmerman

A man who appeared to identify himself as Travis Timmerman, a U.S. citizen who was missing for several months, speaking to reporters in Syria on Thursday.

Why Some U.K. Pubs Are Running Out of Guinness

Enjoying Guinness in London in October.

Chinese-Flagged Ship Suspected of Cutting Cables Remains Halted Weeks Later

The Chinese-flagged commercial ship Yi Peng 3 remains anchored off the coast of Denmark.

Russian Troops Advance to Within 3 Miles of Key Ukrainian Transit Hub

An artillery unit of Ukraine’s 68th Jaeger Brigade firing at Russian positions in the Pokrovsk district of Ukraine last month.

As Europe Looks for a Leader, Italy Thrives While France and Germany Teeter

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy has worked to dispel fears about her party’s post-fascist roots by aligning with her European partners on key issues like support for Ukraine.

South Korea President Yoon Defends Martial Law Decree in Defiant Speech

Watching President Yoon Suk Yeol’s address at a railway station in Seoul on Thursday.

Syria After al-Assad’s Overthrow: What’s Happening and What Comes Next

A fighter from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham on Tuesday near an entrance to Bashar al-Assad’s abandoned presidential palace in Damascus.

The Gold Rush at the Heart of a Civil War

Sudanese soldiers drove through a destroyed market in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, in April.

U.S. Hopes for a Gaza Cease-Fire and Hostage Deal ‘This Month’

The White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, speaking on Thursday in Tel Aviv.

Stanley Recalls More Than 2 Million Travel Mugs Over Burn Hazard

The recall covers all Stanley Switchback and Trigger Action stainless steel travel mugs sold in the United States from June 2016 through December.

Two Americans on Holiday Are Killed in Western Mexico

President Claudia Sheinbaum has vowed to curb the violence gripping parts of Mexico.

U.S. and Allies Race to Shape a New Syria

A Syrian flag was hoisted over Saadallah al-Jabiri Square in Aleppo, Syria, on Thursday.

Friday Briefing: Israeli Forces to Stay in Syria for Now

Israeli vehicles at the border between Israel and Syria yesterday.

Syrians Celebrate the Fall of al-Assad, and Rebuild From Tragedy

A crowd celebrating the fall of the Assad government in Bar Elias, Lebanon, near the Syrian border, on Dec. 8.

Ocean Heat Killed Half the Common Murres Around Alaska

Rescued common murres were placed into a special enclosure to dry after examination at a bird rescue center in Cordelia, Calif., in 2015.

Rebel Group’s Terrorist Label Could Hinder Efforts to Aid Syria

A Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighter at a frontline position near the Syrian town of Maaret al-Naasan in 2021.

Why Do Some Rebel Governments Last When Others Fall?

People celebrating the fall of the regime of former president Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo, Syria, on Wednesday.

Trump’s Energy Pick, Chris Wright, Argues Fossil Fuels Are Virtuous

Chris Wright, the founder and chief executive of Liberty Energy, in 2018.

How U.S. Firms Battled a Government Crackdown to Keep Tech Sales to China

A silicon wafer at Applied Materials in May 2023.

U.S. Appeals for Unity Behind New Syrian Government After Fall of Assad Regime

U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Jordanian leaders in the coastal city of Aqaba on Thursday.

Mazen al-Hamada, Syrian Pro-Democracy Activist, Is Mourned at Funeral

While working for the French company Schlumberger in eastern Syria, Mazen al-Hamada became a protester and citizen journalist during the 2011 uprising that led to the civil war.

What I Learned From a Reclusive Taliban Commander

Mullah Osman Jawhari in the hills above his home. “There was no Taliban here when the war started,” he said.

A Father’s Search for His Missing Daughter in South Korea

Assad’s Fall in Syria Renews Push for Justice on Crimes Committed by His Regime

People celebrated in the center of Damascus, Syria’s capital, on Monday. The Assad family ruled the country brutally for more than 50 years.

Thursday Briefing

In Damascus, Syria, yesterday.

How to Pack a ‘Go Bag’ for Extreme Weather

An extreme-weather go bag will eliminate the panic of wondering what to bring with you, and it may end up saving your life.

Canada’s Plan To Avoid Trump’s Tariffs Takes Shape

Commercial trucks heading toward the U.S. border last month from South Surrey, British Columbia.

Syria’s New Leaders Balance Huge Struggles Amid Disorder

A former detainee of the notorious Sednaya prison being treated at a hospital after being freed by rebels.

In Aleppo, Jubilant Syrians Return to a Ravaged City and Toppled Monuments

Young men, some of them rebel fighters, climbing on a giant statue that previously depicted Basil al-Assad, the former president Bashar al-Assad’s late brother, riding a horse on Wednesday in Aleppo, Syria.

Thursday Briefing: The Struggle to Create Order in Syria

A defaced portrait of President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Tuesday.

U.S. Strategy on Syria Risks ISIS Resurgence, Kurdish General Warns

Destroyed trucks loaded with weapons for a Kurdish-led force after a Turkish airstrike near Qamishli, northeastern Syria, on Wednesday.

Biden’s Top Aides Race to Middle East as Militias Wield Power in Syria

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken left for the Middle East on Wednesday, where the main topic of his meetings will be the future governance of Syria.

Russian Navy Ships Have Left Key Syrian Port

Could Cats Become a Vector for Bird Flu?

Scientists worry that if a cat were simultaneously infected with H5N1 and a seasonal flu virus, the H5N1 virus could acquire mutations to spread efficiently among people.

U.K. Bans Puberty Blockers for Teens Indefinitely

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said he had received advice from medical experts that there was an unacceptable risk in prescribing puberty blockers without further research into their impact.

Who Is Mohammed al-Bashir, Syria’s New Prime Minister?

Mohammed al-Bashir during a news conference in the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib in November.

Who Set the Stage for al-Assad’s Ouster? There Are Different Answers in the U.S. and Israel.

A defaced portrait of Bashar al-Assad at the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday.

Scholz Calls for Confidence Vote, in Step Toward German Elections

Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany with his cabinet on Wednesday.

Explosion in Afghanistan Kills Minister in Highest-Profile Blast Since Taliban’s Return

Khalil Haqqani delivering remarks after Friday Prayer in Kabul in 2021. He was a leading figure in the Taliban’s rise to power in 2021.

How Many People Have Died in Syria’s Civil War?

Relatives look for bodies of loved ones who were taken or disappeared at the Sednaya Prison on Tuesday.

What Prince William’s Chat With Trump May Reveal About UK Diplomacy

President-elect Donald J. Trump and Prince William met in Paris after a Notre-Dame reopening ceremony on Saturday. Mr. Trump said, “I had a great talk with the prince,” whom he described as “really, very handsome.”

In Aleppo, Rebels Give a Sense of What Is to Come for Syria

A damaged poster of former President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo, Syria, last week.

Biden Administration Looks to Reinforce U.S.-China Ties Ahead of Trump’s Return

Top Treasury officials will travel to China this week to try and convince their Beijing peers to keep lines of communication open after President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office next month.

How ‘Her Story,’ a Feminist Comedy, Came to Rule China’s Box Office

Shao Yihui, right, the director of “Her Story,” a feminist-themed comedy that has become a box office hit in China, along with members of the cast at a premiere in Beijing.

Wednesday Briefing

Syrian naval ships destroyed in an Israeli attack on the port city of Latakia.

A Search in Syria for the Disappeared

Tangled and Troubling Legacy Pushes Romanians Further to the Right

A woman holding a flag of the antisemitic Legionary Movement during a commemoration for its founder last month in a forest near Bucharest, Romania.

Houthi Attacks Continue to Disrupt Shipping Industry As Israel-Hamas War Rages On

Capt. Tobias Kammann on his freighter, the Hanoi Express, docked in Hamburg, Germany. Ships’ access to the Suez Canal has been cut off for the last year by attackers in Yemen.

South Korean Police Raid President Yoon’s Office in Martial Law Inquiry

Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, in his office in Seoul in 2022.

North Korea Breaks Silence on South Korea’s Martial Law Declaration

Protesters outside the National Assembly in Seoul on Saturday, hours before a bid to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol failed.

Trump Offers Confusing Clues on Syria

Umayyad Square in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday, two days after President Bashar al-Assad fled the country and rebel forces took control of the capital.

A Northern Gaza Hospital Lacks Food and Water for Patients, Officials Say

The Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip after Israeli troops raided it in November 2023.

Syrian Rebels Vow Punishment for Atrocities Under Bashar al-Assad

A defaced portrait of the ousted Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, beside a highway in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday.

French Court Finds Author Charles Onana Guilty of Denying Rwandan Genocide

Family photographs of some of those who died in the Rwandan genocide on display in the Kigali Genocide Memorial Center in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2014.

Uncertainty and Hope on the Road to and from Damascus