Syrian regime troops and their allies entered Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib, north-west Syria, advancing against rebels in the town where battles raged on Monday night.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the army seized the town’s northern and eastern districts.
A source from one of the rebel factions said pro-government forces entered only part of the town and fierce battles were being fought to fend them off.
The advance threatens to encircle insurgents in their only patch of territory in nearby Hama province and could put a Turkish observation post there at risk.
Earlier in the day a Turkish military convoy was hit by air strikes in Idlib province.
Turkey's defence ministry claimed that three civilians were killed and 12 others wounded in the attack, which they said breached Ankara's agreements and co-operation with Russia, the most powerful ally of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
Turkey said Russia had been told in advance about the convoy.
Ankara said the vehicles had been travelling to a Turkish observation post in north-west Syria, but the Syrian Foreign Ministry said they had been carrying munitions to help rebels in the province.
The “aggressive” Turkish move of sending in the convoy would not affect “the determination of the Syrian Arab Army to keep hunting the remnants of terrorists", a Syrian ministry source told state news agency Sana.
“Turkish vehicles loaded with munitions are heading towards Khan Sheikhoun to help the terrorists, which confirms once again the support provided by the Turkish regime to terrorist groups," the source said.
The convoy was hit near the frontline as it headed for Khan Sheikhoun, which the Syrian army advanced towards last week in a pincer movement.
Turkey has funnelled weapons to the rebels it backs in the north-westerly province to hold off major aerial and ground attacks by the regime and Russia, who seek to gain control of the area.
Mr Al Assad launched the assault in April, saying the rebels had broken a ceasefire.
The Observatory said the Turkish convoy was stuck on a highway after air strikes prevented it from continuing southwards. It said one fighter accompanying the convoy was killed.
Fighting has killed at least 500 civilians and uprooted hundreds of thousands, many of them stranded near the border with Turkey, the UN says.
Turkey, which hosts about 3.6 million Syrian refugees and says it cannot accept any more, fears the onslaught in Idlib could spark a new influx.
A series of truces brokered in talks between Moscow and Ankara has failed to end the fighting.
On Friday, France called for an immediate end to the fighting, and the French Foreign Ministry condemned air strikes on refugee camps.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The specs: 2018 Audi RS5
Price, base: Dh359,200
Engine: 2.9L twin-turbo V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 450hp at 5,700rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 1,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
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ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
