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Politics & Security

Members of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive at the Kurdish-held city of Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobane on January 23, 2026, after they withdrew from the Al-Aqtan prison in the Raqqa province of Syria.

Exclusive

US military negotiated SDF withdrawal from Syria's Raqqa prison

Syrian government forces took full control of Raqqa after hundreds of SDF fighters were evacuated to Kobani under US-negotiated safe passage.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

AFP via Getty Images

Thousands rally for South Yemen independence amid Saudi diplomatic push

Large protests called for southern independence in Yemen on Friday, reflecting persistent support for the separatists despite the Saudi-backed government’s efforts to quash the separatist movement.

Members of Syrian government takeover the Al-Aqtan prison after Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) forces withdraw from al-Aqtan prison, bound for Kobani, on the outskirts of the northeastern Syrian city of Raqqa on Jan. 23, 2026.

Syria forces push deeper into SDF territory, take over ISIS prison: What to know

The advances come as the government and Kurdish forces accuse each other of violating a ceasefire that entered into force this week in northeast Syria.

Latest News

Analysis

Could US shift on Syria’s Kurds unlock progress with Turkey?

Syrian government forces ride on the roof of a vehicle as they deploy after crossing the Euphrates River in the province of Deir Ezzor, eastern Syria, on Jan. 19, 2026.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Analysis

Under fire at home over Board of Peace, Netanyahu hints Trump could OK Gaza war restart

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Interview

Grossi: IAEA seeks return to Syria as Kurdish unrest delays nuclear inspections

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the IAEA, speaks during the 69th annual International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) general conference on Sept. 15, 2025 in Vienna, Austria.

Rafael Grossi

Rafael Grossi

IAEA Director General

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Ezgi Akin

Associate Editor (Turkey)

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Ben Caspit

Israel Columnist

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives at presidential Elysee Palace to meet France's President in Paris on July 28, 2022. French President Emmanuel Macron host Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks in Paris on July 28, 2022, outraging rights groups and the fiancee of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP) (Photo by BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty Images)

In Japan, Saudi Arabia's crown prince eyes expansion of energy, defense ties

In an upcoming visit to Tokyo, the Saudi crown prince will have an audience with the Japanese prime minister, among others, to discuss a "broad range" of issues.

Displaced Palestinians practice their hobbies at the beach in southern Gaza's Rafah near the border with Egypt on April 11, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)

As Gaza rift deepens, will Egypt abandon 1979 peace deal with Israel?

Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace agreement with Israel and has been a key mediator in negotiations to reach a cease-fire in Gaza.

Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, looks on during a joint statement to the media in Baghdad on April 22, 2024.

What’s behind Erdogan’s pardoning of generals jailed over Turkey’s 1997 coup?

The move comes after a landmark meeting between the Turkish president and the main opposition leader that sparked hopes for political reforms in the country.

NICK GAMMON/AFP via Getty Images

Israel accuses South Africa of aligning with Hamas, distorting facts in ICJ case

The Israeli legal team accused South Africa of distorting the truth and ignoring facts in an effort to help Hamas.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Israel recovers bodies of 3 hostages from Gaza as Sullivan heads to region

Israel has recovered from Gaza the bodies of three people kidnapped and killed by Hamas on Oct. 7.

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant speaks to reporters ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting, Jerusalem, September 10, 2023.

Analysis

Can Israel’s Gallant torpedo Netanyahu as Gaza 'day after' gap widens?

The Israeli prime minister believes the Biden administration is coordinating an axis in his war cabinet to influence planning on postwar Gaza.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

TOPSHOT - A picture shows a fire as a result of rockets launched from Lebanon, next to the northern Israel city of Kiryat Shmona, near the near the Lebanon border on May 10, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Hezbollah claims use of new drone with S-5 missiles against Israel

The Iran-backed group said it used a drone equipped with S-5 missiles in an attack against military sites in northern Israel, a first since hostilities erupted last October.

Men sleep outside their homes because of the intense heat, in Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeida on July 21, 2023.

Anger, clashes in Yemen’s Aden over electricity cuts

The city, which is run by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, is reeling from power cuts amid scorching temperatures.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) calls on the Senate to take up the Israel Security Assistance Support Act during a news conference.

House passes bill to force Biden to lift bomb shipment pause to Israel

A bill that would mandate sending military aid to Israel passed with the support of 16 Democrats, but Biden is expected to veto it.

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich walks with soldiers during a visit to Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the border with the Gaza Strip on Nov. 14, 2023, in the aftermath of an attack by Palestinian militants on Oct. 7.

Israel's Smotrich will abolish free trade deal with Turkey, slap 100% tariff

As Israel becomes increasingly isolated internationally, the army stated that two Thai workers, presumed kidnapped by Hamas, were actually killed by the group on Oct. 7.

A boy waves a flag of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan as tens of thousands of Kurds gather during a rally of the DTP.

Turkey hands Kurdish leaders heavy sentences, dimming hopes of democratic change

Selahattin Demirtas, co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), and others were sentenced to a combined 375 years in Turkish prisons. Demirtas has remained in prison since 2016.

South African professor of International Law John Dugard and South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor (R) arrive at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) prior to the verdict announcement in the genocide case against Israel, brought by South Africa, in The Hague on January 26, 2024. The top UN court said Israel should do everything it could to prevent any acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip, in a highly anticipated ruling. Israel must do everything to "prevent the co

South Africa calls on ICJ to end 'Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza'

South Africa claims that Israel did not fulfill provisional measures issued by the ICJ to prevent genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza.