Anxiety rising as Trump and Putin set to talk
The US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are due to talk in the next 24 hours over how to end the Ukraine War.
John Lyons
John Lyons is the Global Affairs Editor of the ABC. John has previously been the Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, Executive Producer of the Nine Network's Sunday program and Head of Current Affairs and Investigations at the ABC.
He has been a foreign correspondent in Washington, New York, the Philippines and the Middle East. His latest books are Balcony Over Jerusalem and Dateline Jerusalem. He's won three Walkley Awards and has been the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year.
Latest by John Lyons
US hits Houthi positions
The Trump administration is escalating its military action against the Iran backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. This comes as President Donald Trump raises hopes for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Putin showed support for a ceasefire — then came his real position
In the new poker game of international politics, Donald Trump is dealing the cards and Vladimir Putin has blinked and made a concession.
'The ball is now in their court': How Zelenskyy may have outwitted Putin
After Zelenskyy and Trump's disastrous Oval Office meeting, Russia had a major battlefield advantage. All of that could change.
Trump says 'we're just getting started' as congressman evicted, others walk out — as it happened
In his first speech to the new Congress, Donald Trump declared his administration was "just getting started" before a Democratic congressman was evicted from the chamber.
Australia's perceived value to the US changes under Trump
Experts say Australia matters less to Trump than it did to Biden which has consequences for vital intelligence-sharing alliance Five Eyes as well as the AUKUS deal.
The end of Russia's war would be welcome but Trump's call has a darker side
A dialogue between the US and Russia is undoubtedly a good thing as this war drags on. But Trump's message for any country wanting to take someone else's land is that violence can work.
The world was stunned by Trump's Gaza plan, borrowed from a relative
To understand how Donald Trump's Gaza plan came about, it's worth considering some comments made to a forum at one of the most prestigious US universities last year.
The battle for a two-state solution just got a whole lot harder
As Donald Trump reshapes America's relationship with Israel — from appointing right wing candidates as ambassadors to Israel and the UN and overturning sanctions on violent Jewish settlers — can the two-state solution survive?
Palestinians released to cheers as three Israeli hostages return home — as it happened
Three Israeli hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attacks have been handed back in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, hours after a ceasefire took effect in Gaza.
Gaza ceasefire deal is yet another Band-Aid on a badly bleeding patient
The model of a two-state solution is bruised and damaged but is the only viable way to prevent further and more intense violence in coming years, writes John Lyons.
The geopolitical plates have shifted. We'll see fallout for years to come
Few recent years have seen such dramatic changes as 2024 — changes that will resonate well into the future.
Why did Israel turn an unlikely bedfellow in Syria into a new enemy?
As Syrians expressed obvious relief at the end of 54 years of one of the most brutal dictatorships of modern times, their neighbour Israel reacted in a very different way: it launched a bombing campaign of 480 strikes in 48 hours.
How the fall of Assad will change the Middle East
Whatever the final outcome of the chaos in Syria, the past week has seen an extraordinary upheaval.
Trump has added another 'rocket man' to his friend list
When Donald Trump re-enters the White House on January 20, he will find that Kim Jong Un, the man he so enjoyed meeting, has built for himself a new international status – and is now a major ally of Vladimir Putin.
This could be the final phase of the Ukraine war — and we're starting to see the 'Trump factor' kick in
The next eight weeks leading up to Donald Trump's January 20 inauguration will be both dangerous and decisive in terms of the future of the Ukraine war.
Donald Trump's victory will send shock waves around the world. First stop, Ukraine
The international outlook is set for a major shake-up — and the most dramatic change would be regarding the war in Ukraine.
Trump has already started hinting that this election has been rigged — and it's making some Americans nervous
As Americans face one of their most consequential elections for years, a subtext is running through the conversations of many of those anxiously waiting for election day: could this country face upheaval or even violence in coming weeks? The trauma of the Capitol riots in 2021 remains seared into the memories of Americans.
A fierce war is waging in southern Beirut. Twenty minutes away, people sip cocktails
Beirut today is a tale of two cities – the areas being bombed by Israel and those where life carries on nearly like normal.
The newest war in the Middle East is an asymmetric one — and Israel is winning
In Beirut at night, you hear the constant low-level hum of Israeli drones. Sometimes, when it appears two or three drones hover over a target, the sound reaches a crescendo and a massive explosion often follows. Hezbollah is unable to shoot down any of these drones which present a round-the-clock threat.
Israel's conduct in the West Bank has worried even some in Israel
The daily reality in the West Bank is that settlers or soldiers are able to threaten or kill unarmed Palestinians knowing that as long as they say they felt threatened they will face no real accountability.
Our trip inside Iran was a closely managed affair, then we got a glimpse of the regime's control
As the Middle East teeters on the precipice of regional war, ABC's Four Corners went where few Western journalists are allowed and got a glimpse of the regime's power.
The Big War
Four Corners travels to Iran, Lebanon and Israel to investigate why a new regional war is looming.
As war in the Middle East deepens, a decades-long fight becomes a new front line
Hezbollah and Israel's war is escalating. Four Corners travelled to Lebanon's Hezbollah heartland and found a group determined to hit back.
Hezbollah says its 'first phase' against Israel is done. But what would 'phase two' involve?
After this new increase in hostilities, Hezbollah said it had completed its "first phase." Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, holds the key to what happens next.