As we approach the tenth anniversary of the Syrian uprising, the conflict rages on with no apparent end in sight. The role of the United Nations, the international organisation created to keep the peace and promote human rights in the world, has clearly been a dismal failure. Whilst no one claims that the Syrian conflict is the death knell for the UN, it is becoming increasingly difficult to imagine how the organisation can move forward from here. A litany of failures by the organisation has resulted in the Syrian people feeling abandoned by the international community.

Ali Saleh Al Wakaa from Abu Hamam city in eastern Deir Ez-Zour governorate became the latest media activist to be arrested by the PKK-affiliated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) when he was detained on Thursday (February 4) in Hajin Hospital in the eastern suburbs of the governorate, and taken to an undisclosed location.

Al-Wakka (pictured) was arrested during a visit by a delegation of officials from the International Coalition to inspect the rehabilitation operations in the hospital.

Political sources in Beirut said the assassination of Lebanese Shia political activist and prominent Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim in southern Lebanon on Thursday (February 4), in an area under direct Hezbollah control, was intended to intimidate the Lebanese people, especially the Shia community, and send a message from Iran’s regime to the new US administration.

An Iranian diplomat who masterminded a failed bomb attack at a rally outside Paris was sentenced to 20 years in jail by a Belgian court on Thursday (February 4) for attempted murder and involvement in terrorism.

Assadollah Assadi, 49, had been attached to the Iranian mission in Vienna when he supplied explosives for the intended atrocity at an Iranian opposition rally in France in 2018. He was denied diplomatic immunity because he was on holiday in Germany when he was arrested.

Dignitaries and leading sheikhs in the predominantly Druze governorate of As-Suwayda in southern Syria have reportedly rejected a proposal to support the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad, in the upcoming presidential elections.

Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper quoted a source, identified as a member of Al-Khas family, who said that Sheikh Nawaf Trad Al-Melhem, recently held a meeting with dignitaries and sheikhs from As-Suwayda governorate, including Sheikh Al-Aql Yusef Al-Jarbu`, representatives of leading families and social figures.

Germany intends to deport Assad propagandist, AfD employee Kevork Almassian back to Syria: report

Several media and human rights activists have confirmed a report from Germany’s Die Welt newspaper that the German Federal Ministry of Immigration and Refugees intends to withdraw asylum from Kevork Almassian, an Assad propagandist from Aleppo, now employed an MP of the Assad-allied neo-nazi AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) party.

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.

President Putin has called Donald Trump following tonight’s scenes of unrest at the Capitol building in Washington DC, offering to send military advisors, along with ground troops and air force support to help restore stability and thwart a “destabilizing coup attempt” by insurgents led by Joseph Biden.

Iran’s regime has reportedly set up well-equipped hospitals for its forces and militias in Al Bukamal in eastern Deir Ezzor governorate, even as the already ravaged health services for the area’s long-suffering residents continue to collapse.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said on Monday that Russia's foreign partners in military and technical cooperation are paying increasing attention to Russian-made military products tested during Russia’s military operations on Syrian territory.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin stated that "there is an interest for many countries in obtaining Russian military equipment, which confirms its high reliability and effectiveness in real combat operations," according to what was quoted by the Russian media outlet ‘RT’.