Vegetation grows between crumbled walls and torn asphalt, and not a single street remains intact in Syria's Maaret al-Numan, a key war battleground town being brought back to life by returnees.Bilal al-Rihani reopened his pastry shop in the western town this week with his wife and 14-year-old son.The 45-year-old baker couldn't stay away after years of exile, even amid the devastation surrounding him.Working without water or electricity, the shop bustles with customers as they prepare cinnamon pastries -– a family speciality for 150 years.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Syrians rebuild Maaret al-Numan, symbol of war's devastation
What are our choices if Iran sprints to obtain a nuclear weapon?
"If Israel concludes that it cannot effectively strike the Iranian nuclear program alone and needs the United States, its options become much more limited."
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: What are our choices if Iran sprints to obtain a nuclear weapon?
Victoria to ban masked protests, Hamas, Hezbollah flags in response to extremism
Hamas, Hezbollah, and several other groups are listed as terrorist organizations, and it is prohibited to display their symbols for purposes such as incitement.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Victoria to ban masked protests, Hamas, Hezbollah flags in response to extremism
UN envoy to Syria warns 'conflict has not ended yet'
Syria's "conflict has not ended yet," even after the departure of former president Bashar al-Assad, the UN's envoy to the country warned Tuesday, highlighting clashes between Turkish-backed and Kurdish groups in the north."There have been significant hostilities in the last two weeks, before a ceasefire was brokered... A five-day ceasefire has now expired and I am seriously concerned about reports of military escalation," said Geir Pedersen, the UN's special envoy for Syria."Such an escalation could be catastrophic."
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: UN envoy to Syria warns 'conflict has not ended yet'
Iran's Khamenei says 'resistance' not over after Assad ouster
Iran's supreme leader said Tuesday that Israel and the United States were "completely wrong" to imagine the Tehran-backed axis of resistance had collapsed with the ouster of Syria's longtime strongman."With the developments in Syria and the crimes the Zionist regime is committing and the crimes that America is committing, and the help that some others are giving to them, they thought that the resistance was over," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech. "They are completely wrong."
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Iran's Khamenei says 'resistance' not over after Assad ouster
Presidents Milei, Herzog celebrate 75 years of Israel-Argentina relations
Milei underscored the long relationship between the two countries and praised his relationship with both President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Presidents Milei, Herzog celebrate 75 years of Israel-Argentina relations
The wild ups and downs of hostage deal talk and what's left to nail it down
In short, a deal is likely imminent for the first time since July, but until Hamas has actually handed over the hostages, everyone will need to continue to hold their breath.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: The wild ups and downs of hostage deal talk and what's left to nail it down
Swiss parliament overwhelmingly votes to ban Hezbollah, despite government opposition
The ban against Hezbollah passed the lower house with 126 votes in favor, 20 against, and 41 abstentions.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Swiss parliament overwhelmingly votes to ban Hezbollah, despite government opposition
UN envoy to Syria warns conflict not over
Syria's conflict "has not ended" even after the departure of former president Bashar al-Assad, the UN's envoy to the country warned Tuesday, highlighting clashes between Turkish-backed and Kurdish groups in the north.Geir Pedersen, the UN's special envoy for Syria, also called at the Security Council for Israel to "cease all settlement activity in the occupied Syrian Golan" and said an end to sanctions would be key to assisting Syria.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: UN envoy to Syria warns conflict not over
Netanyahu holds security briefing atop strategic Syrian peak
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a security briefing Tuesday atop a strategic Syrian mountain inside the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights that Israel seized this month, the defence minister said. Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz and the heads of the armed forces and the domestic security agency visited "outposts at the summit of Mount Hermon for the first time since they were seized by the military", Katz's office said.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Netanyahu holds security briefing atop strategic Syrian peak