World

A senior Russian military official has said that Syrian air defence had intercepted at least 71 cruise missiles fired by US, UK and France forces.

At a news conference in Moscow on Saturday, Lt. Gen. Sergey Rudskoy said at least 103 cruise missiles, including Tomahawks, were fired into a number of targets in Syria.

''Russia has fully restored the air defence system of Syria, and it continues to improve it over the last six months,'' Rudskoy said.

Among those targeted by the US-led operation was the Al-Dumayr military airport outside of Damascus.

Russia said all 12 missiles directed at the airport were intercepted.

The United States, France, and the UK have taken military action against Syria in response to last Saturday's suspected chemical attack in Douma that killed at least 85 people and affected hundreds others.

The targets of the US-led airstrikes are reportedly President Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons production facilities.

Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher reports from Washington, DC.

American guided-missile destroyer the USS Donald Cook has recently arrived in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, joining sister destroyer, the USS Porter.

Last week, aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman also set sail from the United States towards the Mediterranean.

While the US ships carry weapons that can attack from hundreds of kilometres offshore, Russia has its own defensive capabilities in its base in Latakia, Syria.

Al Jazeera's Laura Burdon-Manley takes a look at weapons capability of the US and Russia in Syria.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has held an emergency cabinet meeting to decide whether the country should back the US in any missile attacks against the Syrian government, as a response to the chemical attack in Douma that killed at least 85 people and affected hundreds of others.

Al Jazeera's Neave Barker reports from Westminster.

China's navy is to hold live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait next week.

The exercises come at a time of heightened tension with the US over Washington's support for the island republic.

China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province.

The announcement came as the country's navy concluded its biggest-ever fleet review, in the contested waters of the South China Sea.

Al Jazeera's Adrian Brown reports.

Thousands of Palestinians are preparing for a third Friday of protests along the Gaza-Israel border fence.

Gaza's health ministry says more than 1,600 demonstrators have been shot by Israeli forces so far, 30 of them killed.

Among the dead was Yaser Murtaja, a freelance photographer.

Local journalists who are preparing to cover the latest demonstrations say they believe they are being deliberately targeted.

Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett reports from Gaza

Unethical, ego-driven and with a leadership style like that of a mob boss.

That's the scathing assessment of US President Donald Trump in a new book by the former FBI Director James Comey.

It comes less than a year after Comey was fired by the president.

The book titled, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership, comes out next Tuesday at a time when the president is already besieged with domestic problems.

Al Jazeera's Andy Gallagher reports from Washington.

US President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state has faced tough questions from senators at a confirmation hearing.

Mike Pompeo was grilled on everything from Iran and North Korea to his views on Islamophobia - as well as the investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

The Senate will vote on his nomination later this month.

Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan reports.

This comes after Western nations promised a response to a suspected chemical weapons attack that killed at least 85 and affected hundreds of others in the city of Douma.

The Syrian government has been hiding aircraft, moving its assets and evacuating potential targets, including the ministry of defence and army headquarters in Damascus.

Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports from Beirut in neighbouring Lebanon.

A former senior official in China - once a contender for a leadership position - has pleaded guilty to charges of corruption.

Sun Zhengcai is one of the most prominent figures charged as part of President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption crackdown.

He has pleaded guilty to taking bribes worth of $27m and abuse of power between 2002 and 2017.

Before he was expelled, Sun was the youngest member of the Politburo - a committee of the ruling Communist Party's top members.

Analysts say the Xi’s anti-corruption campaign is more really about eliminating political rivals.

Al Jazeera's Adrian Brown reports from Beijing.