World news

World news

The Syrian army is telling civilians to evacuate parts of the rural Aleppo governorate after accusing the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) of building up troops in the area, following days of deadly fighting inside Aleppo city, as concerns rise over a new front in the simmering battle. A humanitarian zone was expected to remain open on Thursday from 9am local time (6:00 GMT) to 5pm (14:00 GMT), allowing residents to leave Deir Hafer and Maskana in the eastern countryside.

India has shut down a medical college in Indian-administered Kashmir in an apparent capitulation to protests by right-wing Hindu groups over the admission of an overwhelming number of Muslim students into the prestigious course. The National Medical Commission (NMC), a federal regulatory authority for medical education and practices, on January 6 revoked the recognition of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Medical Institute (SMVDMI), located in Reasi, a mountainous district overlooking the Pir Panjal range in the Himalayas,

The US has announced the start of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, including the creation of a committee of Palestinian technocrats who are supposed to take over the day-to-day running of the territory for a transition period. The announcement was made on social media by Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, but it lacked any detail or names of potential members of the proposed national committee for the administration of Gaza.

Since then, both sides have accused the other of breaking the deal. Israel has continued to restrict aid into the strip and conduct attacks. The Gazan health ministry says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire, and UNICEF announced this week that at least 100 of the victims were children. Israel says Hamas militants continue to be a threat and that its airstrikes in Gaza are targeting the group.

The Danish Prime Minister said the world should take Donald Trump "seriously" as he keeps insisting, he wants Greenland now. Frederiksen said in an interview with Danish broadcaster TV2, "One should take the American president seriously when he says that he wants Greenland. "If the US chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops, including NATO and thus the security that has been established since the end of the Second World War."

The train was travelling from Bangkok to Thailand's northeast when it derailed after a construction crane fell on to it. At least 22 people have been killed after a construction crane fell on a passenger train in northeast Thailand. The accident took place on Wednesday morning in the Sikhio district of Nakhon Ratchasima province, 230km (143 miles) northeast of Bangkok. The train was headed from the Thai capital to Ubon Ratchathani province.

Direct contact between senior officials from the United States and Iran has broken down, according to reports, as tension between the two countries rises. Communications between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US Special Envoy Steve Wittkopf have been suspended, a senior Iranian official told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday. The report came amid President Donald Trump's threats to intervene as Iran clamps down on protests.

Five decades in the south Jordan valley were ending in a day, and Mahmoud Eshaq struggled to hold back his tears. The 55-year-old had not cried since he was a boy, but as he dismantled the family home and prepared to flee the village where his whole life had played out, he was overwhelmed by grief. While Eshaq's children loaded mattresses, a fridge, sacks of flour and suitcases of clothes into a truck,

After Iran's government cut off access to much of the internet on Thursday, Iranians have turned to proxy tools and Starlink's constellation of low-orbit satellites to get online and share news of the protests with the outside world. Starlink does not have a licence to operate in Iran, but thousands of its terminals have been smuggled into Iran since 2022 when then-United States President Joe Biden authorised US tech companies to bypass sanctions and sell Iranians communication tools.