How many Syrians have returned? A ceasefire between the Syrian army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) appears to be largely holding, even as the two sides have accused each other of violating its terms. The army on Sunday said the SDF launched multiple drone attacks in the Aleppo countryside, while the United States-trained Kurdish forces on Monday accused the army of targeting a Kurdish-majority city near the Turkish border. An initial four-day ceasefire between the Syrian army and the SDF was extended by 15 days soon after it expired on Saturday night. The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the SDF launched more than 25 explosive drones on the army positions in the Aleppo countryside on Sunday, breaching the newly extended ceasefire.

How much is US support for Israel costing Trump? What is a Palestinian without olives? Why are Gaza's homes collapsing in winter? Two children have been killed in an Israeli attack in northern Gaza in the latest violation of its ceasefire deal with Hamas in the Palestinian enclave. Medical sources in Gaza on Saturday said the children belonging to the same family were killed when an Israeli drone struck civilians gathering firewood near Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

The US military has launched a mission to transfer up to 7,000 Islamic State (IS) group fighters from prisons in north-eastern Syria to Iraq, as Syrian government forces take control of areas long controlled by Kurdish-led forces. US Central Command said it had already moved 150 IS fighters from Hassakeh province to a secure location in Iraq. The move aimed to prevent a breakout that would pose a direct threat to the United States and regional security, it added. On Tuesday night, Syria's government announced a new ceasefire with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), after the militia alliance withdrew from al-Hol camp, which holds thousands of relatives of IS fighters. Separately on Wednesday, Syria's defence ministry said seven soldiers were killed in a drone attack by Kurdish forces in the Kurdish-dominated province of Hasakah.

Thailand, Cambodia agree to build on ceasefire in talks in China's Yunnan Thailand and Cambodia plan to rebuild mutual trust and consolidate a ceasefire, Beijing says at the end of two days of talks in southwestern China, despite new accusations from the Thai military that its Cambodian counterparts are violating the truce with drone flights. The foreign ministers of Thailand and Cambodia met with the Chinese foreign minister in Yunnan province on Monday for the scheduled two days of talks aimed at ending weeks of fierce fighting along their border that has killed more than 100 people and displaced more than half a million civilians in both countries. As part of the deal, Thailand has agreed to return 18 captured Cambodian soldiers on Tuesday if the ceasefire, which took effect at noon (05:00 GMT) on Saturday, is fully observed. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said he believed the parties were "moving in a positive direction". "We haven't resolved everything, but I think we are making progress in the right direction, and we have to keep up the momentum," he said.

Why is Israel still in southern Lebanon? A war to shape Lebanon's future How many countries has Israel attacked in 2025? Israel has attacked more countries than any other country this year. In 2025, Israel attacked at least six countries, including Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, and Yemen. It also carried out strikes in Tunisian, Maltese and Greek territorial waters on aid flotillas heading for Gaza.

What is a Palestinian without olives? In Gaza, the world has seen the cost of a diplomacy that claims to uphold a rules-based order but applies it selectively. The United States intervened late, and only to defend an occupation the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled illegal. Alongside other Western nations that built multilateral institutions, the US increasingly pursues nationalist agendas that undermine them. The hypocrisy is stark: one set of rules for Ukraine, another for Gaza.

More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. The death toll has continued to rise since a ceasefire took effect on 10 October, with Israel carrying out air strikes for what it says are violations of the truce - while bodies continue to be recovered from under the rubble. Among those reportedly killed in an Israeli drone strike on Saturday were two young brothers, Fadi and Juma Abu Assi, whose family said they had been gathering firewood when they were killed. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told the BBC they had struck two suspects who had crossed the so-called yellow line. The line marks where the Israeli military agreed to withdraw to under a ceasefire brokered by the United States more than seven weeks ago.

Can Pakistan join the Gaza stabilisation force? Two Palestinian children have been killed in an Israeli drone attack on the town of Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, according to medics. Witnesses told Al Jazeera that drones dropped a bomb on a group of civilians near al-Farabi School on Saturday morning, killing two brothers, Juma and Fadi Tamer Abu Assi. The area targeted by the attack lies beyond the so-called Yellow Line marking the Israeli forces' redeployment boundary agreed under the ceasefire agreement, which took effect on October 10, sources said. Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli military launched ground, naval, and air attacks on several parts of Gaza.

What is in the 28-point US plan for Ukraine? Why is Europe opposing Trump's peace plan? Is the fall of Pokrovsk inevitable? 'A corruption scandal may well end the Ukraine war' Trump'wants us to capitulate' to Russia: Ukrainians aghast at peace plan The timing for United States President Donald Trump's new peace plan and a menacing ultimatum for Ukraine could not be worse. Russian troops, drones and fog-generating robots have punctured the southeastern front line as civilians in the city of Zaporizhzhia hear new, harrowing notes in their almost nightly cannonade - the sound of heavy gliding bombs.

Senior Pentagon officials have arrived in Ukraine to discuss efforts to end the war with Russia, the US military has said. The team, led by US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Thursday when he returns from a trip to Turkey. Reports began surfacing on Wednesday that the US and Russia had prepared a new peace plan, containing major concessions from Ukraine. Neither Washington nor Moscow has officially confirmed the plan. Earlier in the day, at least 26 people were killed in a Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine's western city of Ternopil, officials there said.