Israel’s foreign minister has ordered the closure of the country’s embassy in Dublin, citing the Irish government’s “extreme anti-Israel policy”. Gideon Sa’ar said “Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel”. “The actions and antisemitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel are rooted in the delegitimisation and demonisation of the Jewish state,

I knew we were near a Russian military base when I could read the names of shops, cafes and pharmacies written in Russian, in surrounding villages. The Russians have been permanently based here since 2017, propping up the Assad regime and overseeing the war against their many opponents. And the local communities have benefitted financially

The Kremlin has praised Donald Trump after he criticised Ukraine’s use of US-supplied weapons for attacks deep in Russian territory. Western allies have provided Ukraine with air defence systems to help it protect critical infrastructure, but Russia has sought to overwhelm the air defences with combined strikes involving big numbers of missiles and drones. “It’s

Russia has established “direct contact” with Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) rebel group, according to state media outlet Interfax. It reported that deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov told journalists that Russia was aiming to maintain its military bases inside Syria. Mr Bogdanov said contact with HTS was “proceeding in constructive fashion” and that Moscow