Friday, 9 January, 2026 , 11:26 AFP — Tear gas burning his eyes, his voice hoarse from shouting anti-government slogans as cars honked around him, Majid joined crowds of Iranians taking to the streets in defiance of a crackdown on a swelling protest movement.

Friday, 9 January, 2026 , 10:56 AFP — Kurdish fighters rejected a call to leave Syria's Aleppo on Friday after the government announced a truce in deadly fighting that forced thousands of civilians to flee.

Friday, 9 January, 2026 , 10:32 AFP — Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday insisted that the Islamic republic would "not back down" in the face of protests after the biggest rallies yet in an almost two week movement sparked by anger over the rising cost of living.

Friday, 9 January, 2026 , 10:14 AFP — Kurdish fighters are refusing to leave the Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsud areas in the city of Aleppo and intend to "resist" the Syrian army encircling them, a statement by the local councils of the two neighbourhoods said Friday.

Friday, 9 January, 2026 , 10:02 AFP —

Friday, 9 January, 2026 , 09:16 AFP — Iranians staged their biggest protests yet of an almost two week movement sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, chanting slogans including "death to the dictator" and setting fire to official buildings, videos showed Friday.

Friday, 9 January, 2026 , 08:59 AFP — Iranians staged their biggest protests yet of an almost two week movement sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, chanting slogans including "death to the dictator" and setting fire to official buildings, videos showed Friday.

Friday, 9 January, 2026 , 08:49 AFP — Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Friday, state media said, as she became the highest ranking EU official to visit since longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was ousted.

Friday, 9 January, 2026 , 08:45 AFP — Iranians staged their biggest protests yet of an almost two week movement sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, chanting slogans including "death to the dictator" and setting fire to official buildings, videos showed Friday.

Friday, 9 January, 2026 , 08:29 AFP — Syria's defence ministry announced a ceasefire in Aleppo on Friday after days of deadly clashes between the army and Kurdish fighters forced thousands of civilians to flee.