Middle East: Live updates from Syria and the wider region for 9 December

The historic power shift in Syria adds new layers of complexity to the Middle East crisis, with ongoing hostilities in Gaza, violence in the West Bank, and a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon. Millions across the region continue to rely on humanitarian assistance. Meanwhile, in New York, the Security Council is set to meet behind closed…

‘Time is running out’: 12 Nobel laureates urge Keir Starmer to intervene in case of jailed activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah

Writers JM Coetzee, Annie Ernaux, Kazuo Ishiguro and Olga Tokarczuk are among the laureates imploring the prime minister to act on behalf of the British Egyptian political prisoner A group of Nobel laureates have written to the British prime minister Keir Starmer urging him to intervene to help free the imprisoned writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah….

Philly man exonerated after serving 24 years for murder conviction has been convicted in separate killing

A Philadelphia man who was freed from prison after serving 24 years for a murder conviction for which he was exonerated is returning to prison for a separate killing. Shaurn Thomas, 50, was exonerated and given a $4.1 million settlement after he was released from a life sentence in 2017 following the overturning of his…