Territorial Disputes

A shock four-day offensive in Syria's north-east has seen territory held by the Assad regime since 2016 retaken by militant groups aiming to overthrow the government.

The Syrian army says dozens of its soldiers have been killed in a major attack by rebels who swept into the city of Aleppo, forcing the army to redeploy in the biggest challenge to President Bashar al-Assad in years.

Syrian insurgents have taken control of parts of Aleppo, while Russian air strikes have continued to pound rebel areas, killing at least 277 people.

The missile struck a military warehouse in the early hours of Thursday morning, sparking condemnation from world leaders who labelled the move as an escalation.

Israel and Hezbollah appear unwilling to compromise on how a proposed ceasefire deal between the two sides would be enforced, with the Israeli government saying it wants "the freedom to act" within Lebanon.

At least 25 people are dead across Lebanon in the last 48 hours as Israeli strikes pound the country's southern and eastern regions.

A senior Hamas official says its mediators would accept "any proposal submitted to it" that would lead to a ceasefire and Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

A special UN committee reports Israeli conduct in the besieged Palestinian territory is "intentionally causing death, starvation and serious injury" to its inhabitants.

The vote by Australia in a UN committee puts the country at odds with the United States and Israel, and has angered Australia's Jewish lobby groups.

Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un announced a mutual defence agreement earlier this year, which has paved the way for an estimated 10,000 North Korean troops to join in Russia's fight against Ukraine.

Indonesia's new President Prabowo Subianto is eager to assert a much stronger presence on the global stage than his predecessor — with mixed success.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's speech comes as rockets fired from Lebanon injure 11 people in central Israel, according to Israeli emergency services. 

North Korea fires a long-range ballistic missile, marking Pyongyang's first weapons test since South Korea accused the country of sending tens of thousands of soldiers to Russia.

China has historically been seen as the greatest threat to national security by Indonesia's military, including new President Prabowo Subianto. That is changing.

As an Israeli offensive in the north of the Gaza Strip enters a fourth week, local residents say they are starving as aid convoys are blocked from reaching them.

A Hamas official says the militant group is "ready to stop fighting" if Israel agrees to ceasefire terms in Gaza.

The economic impact of Israel's campaign to remove Hamas from Gaza has wrought "unparalleled destruction" as nearly all Palestinians live in poverty, the UN says.

The drills come a week after China launched a one-day exercise that it said aimed at practising "sealing off key ports and key areas".

Troops from China and India have been involved in a tense stand-off for years high in the Himalayas, but a new deal raises the prospect of a peaceful future.

Relations between the world's two most populous nations are improving after clashes in the western Himalayas left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead in 2020.