Global News

US top diplomat holds talks with Turkey on Syria

US top diplomat Antony Blinken holds talks with President Erdogan on establishing stability in Syria. Also: an 18-year-old Indian becomes youngest world chess champion, and Kyrgyzstan wants to update its national anthem.

12 Dec 6PM 29 min

Biden in largest single-day act of clemency

US president commutes around 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people. Also: inside Syria's abandoned presidential palace, recreational use of cannabis banned in Japan, and the secret to being happy at work.

12 Dec 9AM 28 min

Syria rebels burn tomb of Bashar al-Assad's father

Syrian rebel fighters have destroyed the tomb of late president Hafez al-Assad, father of ousted president Bashar, in the family's home town of Qardaha. Also: "Christmas lights" galaxy reveals how Universe formed.

11 Dec 7PM 26 min

South Korea stand-off outside presidential office

Security guards at presidential office in Seoul try to stop police from getting martial law documents. Also: new Syrian PM promises to guarantee rights for all religions, and humpback whale makes epic migration.

11 Dec 9AM 26 min

Israel confirms attack on Syrian naval fleet

Israel attacks Syria's naval fleet as part of efforts to neutralise the country's military assets after the fall of the Assad regime. Also: New Zealander wins Spanish Scrabble championship - without speaking Spanish.

10 Dec 7PM 33 min

Amascus returning to normal despite Israeli bombing

Life in Dasmascus is returning to normal despite Israeli bombing. Also: Netanyahu appears in court on corruption charges and a judge throws a spanner in the works for the Murdoch succession plans.

10 Dec 9AM 33 min

Syria rebel leader discusses 'transfer of power' after Assad is ousted

Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani has met the outgoing PM to discuss the "transfer of power" - a day after Bashar al-Assad fled the country. Also: Google unveils 'mind-boggling' quantum computing chip.

9 Dec 7PM 23 min

Syrians attempt to free political prisoners

Civil defence workers in Syria are trying to reach underground cells to release some of the nation's tens of thousands of political prisoners. Also: More than 150 mostly elderly people are killed by gangs in Haiti.

9 Dec 9AM 26 min

Moscow gives Assad asylum

Moscow has given asylum to Syria's former president, Bashar al-Assad. Also: Trump threatens to take the US out of NATO, and Zelensky says 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the conflict with Russia.

8 Dec 6PM 30 min

Special edition: What's next for Syria

The latest from our correspondents across the region on what this means for Syria, its people and its future.

8 Dec 8AM 30 min

Amascus Special

Syrian rebels said President Assad had already fled as they declared their capture of Damascus. Reports said that he left the capital by plane for an unknown destination.

8 Dec 12AM 20 min

Amascus

Syrian President's grip on power wanes as another strategic city falls to Islamist rebels. Also: Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is rededicated in front of world leaders and the conman in India who duped families into thinking he was their long lost son.

7 Dec 5PM 29 min

Syria special

Syria's army says it's bolstering defences around the capital, Damascus, as rebels intent on overthrowing President Assad converge on the city.

7 Dec 1PM 14 min

The Happy Pod: Meet Italy's Tom Cruise and Blake Lively

We're at an Italian film festival with a difference, for actors who become the voice of Hollywood stars and achieve fame in their own right. Also: California's canine mayor; and why diplomacy can work better in a sauna.

7 Dec 8AM 26 min

Romanian court criticised for annulling election results

Both candidates in Romania's presidential election have denounced a court's decision to quash the results. Also: why it's hard to be a woman in Iceland, and the bid to save handwriting in the age of the computer.

6 Dec 6PM 29 min

Syrian rebels continue their rapid advance

In Syria, Islamist-led rebels continue their rapid advance. The UN says 300,000 have fled their homes as rebels reach the outskirts of Homs. Also: Romania will rerun its election, and how to survive a polar bear attack.

6 Dec 10AM 28 min

Ama

Islamist rebels celebrate the capture of the Syrian city of Hama. Also: US Police search for the gunman who shot dead a health insurance boss on the streets of New York, and a faster way to predict the weather.

5 Dec 6PM 27 min

Syrian rebels take control of second major city

The Syrian army says it’s withdrawn from the city of Hama after intense clashes. Also: health workers in Sierra Leone will be among the first to receive an Ebola vaccine, as part of a nationwide campaign.

5 Dec 9AM 32 min

French government collapses in no-confidence vote

The French government has collapsed after PM, Michel Barnier, was ousted in a no-confidence vote, after forcing through his budget. Also: Mexican police make their biggest ever seizure of the synthetic drug fentanyl.

4 Dec 6PM 28 min

South Korean president faces impeachment vote

South Korean MPs have begun impeachment proceedings against President Yoon Suk Yeol after thwarting his move to impose martial law. Also: jailed Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi is temporarily released.

4 Dec 10AM 31 min