CATEGORIES

Rebels seize Damascus as Assad flees to Moscow

Celebrations across Syria after decades of brutal rule come to end | Militias take capital just 11 days since start of offensive against regime

'Will this ever end?' Abuse survivors on how the long wait for justice prolonged their anguish

It took more than 40 years before Alison Ruby felt able to tell police about the man who had peeled off her school tights and stolen her childhood. She told detectives that, from the age of 12, an antiques dealer named Richard Craig had regularly enticed her into his home during the school day to rape her in his bed.

Insurance Make sure you have cover in case presents are pilfered

Burglaries soar during the festive season, with new smartphones, jewellery, bikes and other gifts offering rich pickings for thieves.

Christmas How to pick the greenest tree at the best price

Our comprehensive guide to finding the perfect tree, whether real, potted, rental or artificial. Amy Sedghi measures up the options

Czech Sphinx Business dealings of tycoon close to takeover of Royal Mail

On a cool June day in 2016, as Britain reeled from the Brexit vote, a private jet soared into the skies from RAF Northolt, charting a course for Moscow.

Supermarket Christmas veg price war 'comes at a cost' for British growers

Ten years ago, marketing executives at Britain's biggest supermarket had a brainwave: might slashing the price of basic vegetables tempt people to do their Christmas shop with them?

Direct Line accepts improved takeover Offer from rival Aviva

The insurance company Direct Line has accepted an improved offer from its rival Aviva in a deal valuing the business at £3.6bn.

Property prices hit another record high, says Britain's biggest lender

The average price of a house in the UK has hit a record high after a fifth successive month of increases in the value of properties, Britain's biggest mortgage lender has said.

Thames Water receives £5bn buyout offer from Covalis

Embattled Thames Water has received a £5bn bid from Covalis Capital that would result in France's Suez Group being brought in to manage a restructure of the UK's largest water company.

A 'Brexit problem': fears over safety of tap water after closure of test labs

The safety of tap water in the UK could be at risk because water companies are unable to use products to clean it, industry insiders have said, as all the laboratories that test and certify these chemicals have shut down.

Golden age Why saving older animals is vital to species' survival

It's not just humans who get wiser as they age - animals do too, according to a growing body of research.

Pom-poms for all Austria's first male and non-binary cheerleaders subvert gender stereotypes

Dressed in short shorts and tight T-shirts, they bounded onto the gymnasium floor. After the female roller derby teams had pushed, pounded and smashed into each other, the men and their pom-poms were now on the same court in Vienna, ready to offer up the exact opposite: a hip-shaking, acrobatic-laced half-time show.

'They get blinded' How underwater noise pollution is posing a threat to Norway's whales

From the moment that the biologist Dr Heike Vester presses play, sounds of static from the fjord fill the room. First comes the constant, steady rumbling of a boat engine. Then, every eight seconds, like a foreboding bass drum, comes the explosion of seismic airguns - extremely loud blasts used in oil and gas exploration that can travel vast distances underwater. And finally, dancing above it all - and at times drowned out by it - are the soaring vocalisations of whales.

Search for suspect of New York shooting 'on right track', mayor says

New York's mayor said the hunt for the man believed to have shot a top health insurance executive was \"on the right track\" as the investigation continued into a third day yesterday.

Trump set to have richest cabinet in US history again, worth £270bn

Enough billionaires and multi-millionaires have been assembled by Donald Trump to fill key roles in his administration to form a football team.

Risk on both sides Could Trump help end the Ukraine war?

Nobody knows when the talks will happen, or in what city. It is unclear who might be sitting at the table, or what format the discussion will take. But at some point in the coming months, the incoming US administration will probably attempt to negotiate an end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

Three climbers missing on New Zealand's highest peak believed dead

Three climbers - two from the US and one from Canada - missing for five days on Aoraki, New Zealand's highest mountain, are believed to have died in a fall.

K-pop and autocrats Jolt to democracy lays bare the two sides of South Korea

In the global battle for soft-power supremacy, a winner has emerged in recent years: South Korea. Spearheaded by the boyband phenomenon BTS, the Korean Wave has turned a country few knew much about into a cultural behemoth.

Syrian rebels close in on Homs as advance on Damascus gathers pace

Syrian insurgents yesterday entered towns north of Homs, the country's third largest city, sweeping along a road that eventually leads to the capital, Damascus, in a lightning-fast advance that has shaken the Middle East.

We could see significant gains for insurgents this weekend, but don't expect a clear outcome

Analysts have described Bashar al-Assad's military as hollowed out by poor morale, defections and corruption

Grief, joy and confusion Loved ones seek hope after rebels' jail release

Oammar Ali has been searching for his older brother for 39 years.

Gaelic noir Primetime gamble pays off for BBC's Irish-language murder mystery

Its setting is remote, desolate, and windy. Its protagonist is a mercurial policeman struggling with his own personal demons. Its subject: a long-lost body found in a mountain bog.

Pride - and criticism: reactions across the Pacific to Moana 2

Audiences across the Pacific have welcomed Moana 2 and cheered seeing aspects of their culture on the big screen, but Disney's portrayal of the demigod character Maui has drawn some criticism for reinforcing stereotypes.

Stage review: An engaging Mowgli takes us on a lively adventure

Here is a startling piece of transformative stagecraft towards the start of Sarah Punshon's production of the Rudyard Kipling favourite.

Murderers face longer in jail for strangling or killing ex-partners

Murderers in England and Wales who kill their former partners or use strangulation will face longer prison sentences, ministers have said.

Jolly king returns but we are subject to charmless shades of fashion queen

A man dies on the sidewalk at the hands of a masked gunman, and much of the commentary around it is unsympathetic.

Ethnic minorities 'less likely to survive' UK stem cell transplant

Black and Asian cancer patients are less likely to survive in the five years after a donor stem cell transplant than their white counterparts, according to the largest study of its kind.

Party like its 1899 Why some young powerful women still want to be debutantes

The event began with an opening dance, then the \"debutantes lined up for a waltz with their fathers\" before being \"passed on to their cavaliers\". \"Family and other guests sat at tables in golden chairs and took it all in, as the chandelier ceiling dripped with decadence.\"

'Watch this space' Musk interest in British politics could have profound consequences

Elon Musk appears to have many obsessions. The world's richest man is evangelical about electric vehicles, space travel and Donald Trump.

'Positive step' Refugees get extra time to find homes

Charities and politicians have welcomed a Home Office trial that will double the time refugees have to find a home before being evicted from asylum accommodation.