54 h. ago Myanmar holds its last election round with the army already certain to keep control over government

Voting has begun in the final round of Myanmar’s general election, concluding a monthlong process

Politics

3 d. ago Syrian forces take control of prison housing IS members after Kurdish fighters evacuate

Syria's government forces have taken control of a prison housing Islamic State group members in the country's north

Events

5 d. ago Syrian government takes control of camp housing thousands linked to the Islamic State group

Syrian government forces have taken full control of camp in northeast Syria housing thousands of people linked to the Islamic State group

Politics

7 d. ago Dozens of IS prisoners freed in Syria amid clashes between army and Kurdish

It remains unclear who freed prisoners, with both sides blaming the other, as Syria’s president looks to gain control of north-east and consolidate his ruleDozens of inmates from a jail holding Islamic State prisoners have been freed in Syria amid clashes between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and government-affiliated forces in the north-east of the country.Videos released by the SDF showed what it said were IS members being broken out from a jail in Shaddadi by figures in black balaclavas. It said it had lost control of the building after an attack by government-affiliated fighters that killed or wounded dozens. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Syria president claims ‘victory for all’ as ceasefire with Kurdish

Government’s truce with Syrian Democratic Forces follows advance on Kurdish-held areas amid struggle to control entire countryThe Syrian government on Sunday announced a ceasefire with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), taking almost full control of the country and dismantling the Kurdish-led forces that controlled the north-east for over a decade.The announcement comes as tensions between government forces and the SDF boiled over earlier this month, eventually resulting in a major push by government forces towards the east. The SDF appeared to have largely retreated after initial clashes on a tense frontline area in eastern Aleppo province. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Myanmar holds second round of ‘sham elections’ amid armed conflict

Special rapporteur working with UN human rights office says elections are neither free nor fair

Events

2 w. ago Myanmar junta holds second phase of election widely decried as a ‘sham exercise’

UN and many western countries as well as human rights groups say that in the absence of a meaningful opposition the election is neither free, fair nor credibleVoters in war-torn Myanmar queued up on Sunday to cast their ballots in the second stage of a military-run election, following low turnout in the initial round of polls that have been widely criticised as a tool to formalise junta rule.Myanmar has been ravaged by conflict since the military ousted a civilian government in a 2021 coup and detained its leader, Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking a civil war that has engulfed large parts of the impoverished nation of 51 million people. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump says major oil companies will invest $100B in Venezuela and promises them government security assistance

The U.S. government is attempting to take control of the Venezuelan oil industry

Politics

2 w. ago Trump says major oil companies will invest $100B in Venezuela ahead of White House meeting

The U.S. government is attempting to take control of the Venezuelan oil industry

Politics

2 w. ago What are Trump’s real options for gaining control of Greenland?

The White House has said using the US military is always an option, but few analysts believe it a likely oneEurope live – latest updatesThe Trump administration has said repeatedly that the US needs to gain control of Greenland, a strategically-located, mineral-rich, largely self-governing part of Denmark with foreign and security policy run from Copenhagen.The White House has said using the US military is “always an option”, but few analysts believe an armed operation is likely and France’s foreign minister has said the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has ruled out the possibility of an invasion. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Venezuelan government seeks to show it is operating free from US control

Venezuelan leaders are asserting the country's independence after the U.S. captured President Nicolás Maduro

Politics

3 w. ago Made in America by Edward Stourton review – why the ‘Trump doctrine’ is no aberration

From territorial overreach to deportations, the current president is not as much of an anomaly as he might seem‘Almost everyone is a little bit in love with the USA,” declares Edward Stourton in his introduction to Made in America. And why not? It is the land of razzle-dazzle and high ideals, of jazz music, Bogart and Bacall, Harriet Tubman and Hamilton, a nation that was anti-colonialist and pro-liberty from its conception, whose Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal”. Why, then, does this same country so often produce clown-show politics, racism at home and abroad, and imperial ambitions, latterly in Greenland and Canada? Why does it regularly show contempt for the world order it helped create? Why did it once again elect Donald Trump?These contradictions have kept an army of journalists, White House-watchers and soothsayers in business for generations. Alistair Cooke, perhaps the greatest British exponent of the genre, interpreted the country via the ...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘We will not be anyone’s colony’: Caracas government seeks to reassert control

Maduro regime maintains grip on streets of capital after US raid

Politics

3 w. ago ‘We are always living in fear’: inside Myanmar’s ‘sham’ election

Myanmar’s military rulers are holding the first elections since the 2021 coup, and life in the country’s biggest city is fraught with anxiety Yangon feels, on the surface, like a normal, bustling city. In downtown areas, commuters stream past roadside sellers and diners perch beneath parasols. Packed buses and cars chug along the roads. At sunset, young people stop to pose for photos opposite the famous Sule pagoda, as it gleams against a pink-blue sky.But almost five years on from the military seized power in a coup, ousting and imprisoning then de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, life for local people feels anything but stable. Myanmar’s military rulers are in the process of holding the first elections since before the coup, a vote that the junta has touted as a return to democracy and stability. The UN and western governments have called the process, which will be held in three phases ending on 25 January, a sham. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Photos show Myanmar holding its first election since the military seized power

Voters in Myanmar cast ballots in the first phase of the country’s general election Sunday. The polls are being held under military rule during a civil war. Critics argue the election is a facade to legitimize military control under the pretense of civilian rule.

Events