By Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib, Arab News

Many people adopt new year’s resolutions. They usually involve quitting smoking, losing weight, spending more time with family or just being more positive. However, for Bashar Assad, his resolution seems to be to rebrand himself as a man of peace.

Suspects arrested under Hong Kong’s national security law may be detained in special holding centres for as long as authorities see fit, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.