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Rebel leader Abu Mohammed al Jolani, whose group was central to the lightning offensive that toppled decades of dictatorship in Syria this weekend, has spent years trying to distance himself from his former ties to al Qaeda.Labelled a terrorist by the US, which still has a $10m (£7.8m) bounty on his head, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) says he has renounced his past as a hardline jihadi extremist and now embraces pluralism and tolerance. Now poised to play a major role in the future governance of Syria - a diverse country with a variety of religious minorities - al Jolani's apparent transformation will be put to the test.Follow live: Assad flees to Moscow amid celebrations in SyriaEarly years and pivot to jihad Al Jolani's real name is Ahmad al Sharaa - it's what he was known by ...

Israel has said it is "more optimistic than before" about the chance of reaching an agreement over hostages held in Gaza.Foreign minister Gideon Saar said indirect negotiations were taking place over the return of about 100 hostages.It comes amid reports Hamas has asked for lists to be compiled of people still being held by militants in Gaza.Mr Saar said: "We can be more optimistic than before but we are not there yet. I hope we will be there."There will not be a ceasefire in Gaza without a hostage deal."A Palestinian official said Hamas had asked other factions in Gaza to start listing the names of Israeli and foreign hostages in their custody, whether dead or alive, according to the Reuters news agency.The official gave no further details, but said the mediators, backed by the US, had st...

Two people have died and four are missing after an explosion at a fuel depot near Florence, authorities said.Eight people have also been injured in the blast - with an emergency alert sent to everyone living within 5 km from the site. Italian energy group Eni, which owns the site, said: "Eni confirms that a fire broke out this morning at the fuel depot in Calenzano (Florence) and that the Fire Brigade is working to put out the flames which are confined to the loading shelter area and do not affect the tanks in any way."The impacts and causes are being immediately verified. Updates will follow".This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.Please refresh the page for the fullest version.You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via...

The UK government could remove the group that led the Syrian rebellion from its list of banned terror organisations, a senior minister has told Sky News.Pat McFadden told Sky News' Breakfast with Kay Burley a decision would be made "quickly" about whether to take Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) off the proscribed terror list. Syria latest: 'Human slaughterhouse' prison investigatedAsked if the government planned to do so, Mr McFadden said ministers will "consider" it."I think it will partly depend on what happens in terms of how that group behaves now. "I think countries around the world who proscribe HTS - it's not just the UK, the United States, European countries as well - I think probably will look at that now, and see what's going to happen in the future."It won't take that long. I think w...

Thousands of people, including women and children, have been released from Syria's infamous prisons - as civil defence teams work on freeing those who may still be detained in hidden underground cells. After insurgents swept across the country in little more than a week to topple the Assad family's half-century rule, families wept as they reunited with inmates held on political charges. At Sednaya prison near Damascus - a facility dubbed the "human slaughterhouse" by Amnesty International - women screamed with their children as their cells were opened.Syria latest as Assad flees to Moscow"Don't be afraid… Bashar Assad has fallen," one of the rebels told them as he tried to rush streams of women out of Sednaya prison. As they left their cells a toddler could be seen walking down the corrido...