International
Netanyahu: “Israel’s policy in Syria will depend on the emerging reality”
The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, assured this Sunday in a video statement that Israel will determine its policy towards Syria according to the emerging reality in the country, which barely celebrates a week off from the regime of Bashar al-Assad and is still setting down a new transitional government.
“We have no interest in confronting Syria. We will determine Israel’s policy towards Syria based on the emerging reality on the ground,” Netanyahu said.
Israeli troops have been invading the border area between the Golan Heights (Syrian territory that Israel has occupied since 1967) and Syria for a week to eliminate, according to Tel Aviv, threats against the country.
The president assured that Syria has been an “active enemy” of Israel over the decades, allowing attacks on its territory or Iran’s arms trafficking to the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah.
Transitionaly government
Since the overthrow of Al Asad, Syria has embarked on a transitional government with Mohamed al Bashir as acting prime minister until next March, as well as the leader of the insurgent coalition, the Islamist Ahmed al Charaa (known as the war name of Abu Mohamed al Jolani), as the “strong man” of the country.
In this context, and although Israel celebrates the fall of Bashar al-Assad as a symbol of Iran’s weakness that it claims as its own triumph, the concern is growing in the Hebrew State about what kind of regime will go ahead in Syria and how it will affect the balance of power in the region.
The Israeli operation in the demilitarized Syrian zone, a territory that invaded a week ago for the first time in 50 years, is aimed at destroying weapons that could be used like Israel, as well as weapons smuggling routes from Iran to Hezbulah, a group with which the ceasefire in Lebanon began on November 27.
In this sense, the Israeli leader issued a warning to the region, reiterating that Israel will act “in any arena and at any time” to avoid the rearmament of the pro-Iranian group.
“Challenges” before Israel
Netanyahu assured that there are still “challengs” against Israel: “Iran, with its damn agents, and other potential threats, because reality is dynamic and is changing rapidly.”
The Israeli Prime Minister discussed all this in a call last night with the elected president of the United States, Donald Trump, in a conversation that he described as “very important” about the situation in the region, and in which they talked about “the need to complete Israel’s victory.”
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza on October 7, 2023, which later led to the war in Lebanon with Hezbollah and conditioned the fall of Al Asad in Lebanon (by weakening this Lebanese militia, one of its main allies), Netanyahu defends achieving a “total victory” over Hamas that has been transferred to the rest of the open fronts he maintains in the Middle East.
International
Trinidad and Tobago Education Minister Lisa Morris-Julian dies in house fire with her children
The Minister of Education of Trinidad and Tobago, Lisa Morris-Julian, tragically passed away in a fire at her home early Monday morning, along with her two children, local authorities reported.
Police stated that Morris-Julian died alongside her 25-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter after they were trapped as the fire engulfed their home in the Arima district, the main city in eastern Trinidad. Her husband and two other family members who were present at the time of the fire were injured and are currently under observation in the hospital.
“The Government of Trinidad and Tobago expresses its deepest condolences to her family, loved ones, and constituents at this time, and we keep them in our collective thoughts and prayers,” the government said in a statement.
Prime Minister Keith Rowley and other government officials visited the scene of the fire as firefighters worked to extinguish the flames.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, police said.
Morris-Julian, who was also a Member of Parliament, had planned to seek re-election next year.
International
Nearly 40 dead in Istanbul after consuming contaminated alcohol in six weeks
Almost 40 people have died in Istanbul in the past six weeks after consuming adulterated alcohol, local authorities announced on Monday.
In total, “37 people lost their lives, 77 people were poisoned, with 17 still undergoing treatment due to the consumption of contaminated alcohol since November 1, 2024,” stated the Istanbul governor’s office on social media platform X.
At least 14 people have been arrested for distributing the illicit alcohol, authorities added. Alcohol poisoning is common in Turkey due to the surge in illegal production driven by rising taxes on alcoholic beverages.
In late 2021, at least 25 people died in several provinces within a few days. The previous year, around 40 people lost their lives from the same cause.
Rakı, the national alcoholic drink, costs around 1,300 Turkish liras ($37) per liter in supermarkets, in a country where the minimum wage is 17,000 liras ($489).
International
At least 12 injured in shooting at abundant life christian school in Wisconsin
Over 10 people have been injured following a shooting at a Christian school in Wisconsin, United States, according to international media reports on Monday afternoon.
The shooting took place at Abundant Life Christian School. So far, local authorities have confirmed 12 individuals affected, according to major news outlets.
The scene is still being processed by the State Police. It has also been reported that the shooter has been neutralized, though no details about their identity have been released. Authorities mention that the school caters to students from Kindergarten through Middle School.
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