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By Nic Robertson, CNN Emergency and security personnel extinguish a fire at the site of strikes which hit a building annexed to the Iranian embassy in Syria's capital Damascus, on 1 April, 2024. Photo: LOUAI BESHARA / AFP Analysis - Abu Mohammad al-Jolani's road to Damascus has been long. He has talked openly about his change along the way. From young al Qaeda fighter two decades ago, to rebel commander espousing sectarian tolerance. It is a journey along which he has had plenty of time to plan where and how he would mark his arrival, and to fine-tune his narrative - his message for those who put him in power, those who might bring him down, and others who can keep him in power. It is no surprise that the Islamist rebel chose Damascus's venerated Umayyad Mosque - not a TV studio, nor...

By Molly Slattery, ABC Photo: AFP Nearly 100 live samples of the deadly Hendra virus have been lost in a biosecurity bungle at a state-run Queensland laboratory. An investigation has been launched after it was revealed 323 virus samples went missing from Virology Laboratory in 2021 in a "major breach" of biosecurity protocol, Health Minister Tim Nicholls announced on Monday. The material, which included samples of Hendra virus, lyssavirus and hantavirus, appears to have gone missing after a freezer storing the samples broke down. Nicholls said the breach was uncovered in August 2023. The lab has been unable to say whether the materials were removed or destroyed. "It's this part of the transfer of those materials that is causing concern," Nicholls said. "They were transferred to a func...

Photo: 123RF NSW Police say the body of a woman found wrapped in plastic by a member of the public walking on a path near Sydney Airport may have been there for "weeks, if not months". Police said investigators have been unable to identify the woman and the body was in a "severe" state of decomposition. Homicide Squad commander detective superintendent Danny Doherty said police were notified at about 7.30am on Monday. It is being treated as a homicide. The area where the body was found in the bushes off Foreshore Road, a busy industrial area near Sydney Airport. "At this stage the theory would be that the person has stopped and disposed of the body just off the road," Doherty said. "The victim was only metres away from the side of the road, a very busy thoroughfare. "The length of time t...

Jay-Z Photo: creative commons By Kara Scannell and Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN A woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Sean "Diddy" Combs has amended her lawsuit to include allegations that she was also assaulted by Jay-Z at the same party. The lawsuit was initially filed against Combs in October, but on Sunday the woman added Shawn Carter, the rapper and businessman known as Jay-Z, as a defendant in the civil lawsuit. Carter is the first celebrity to be accused of sexual assault in connection to Combs. In a statement addressed to CNN, Carter called the allegations "so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree?" Combs was indicted on charges of...

Kiwi Michael Adair and colleague Mark Overton talk to the couple during the rescue mission. Photo: LifeFlight A couple have been rescued after their four-wheel drive was washed away in crocodile-infested flood waters in north-west Queensland. The couple, aged in their 50s, were stranded in the remote Gulf of Carpentaria after departing Normanton on last Thursday for Kowanyama. Emergency services were notified early on Saturday after a friend reported the couple overdue. New Zealand pilot Michael Adair was first one the scene in what was his first week working at LifeFlight. It is believed the couple had attempted to drive across a river crossing north-west of Staaten River National Park when the vehicle was overcome by a wave of floodwater. The couple told the Mount Isa LifeFlight rescu...