"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
Local residents said Syrian military operations on Monday focused on Baseimeh Village at the edge of the valley. Army soldiers and allied fighters from popular defense groups launched a major offensive last Friday to recapture the village after terrorists refused to surrender and leave the mountainous area near the Lebanese border.
The Takfiri militants earlier contaminated Damascus's drinking water supply with diesel. The water authority had to cut supply to Damascus and resort to using water reserves on Friday after extremists polluted the al-Fija spring in the Barada Valley.
Separately, a high-ranking militant with the Daesh terrorist group has been killed in an airstrike by the US-led coalition.
The strike targeted the city of al-Thawrah, also known as al-Tabqah, which lies approximately 55 kilometers west of the northern city of al-Raqqah, and killed a Kuwaiti national identified as Abu Jandal.
Also on Monday, Syrian military aircraft bombarded a Daesh supply line linking Aqirbat region in the western-central province of Hama to the ancient city of Palmyra.
Additionally, a number of Takfiri militants and their families fled the western flank of the liberated northern city of Aleppo toward the Turkish border.
A Syrian army unit also discovered a major cache loaded with a considerable amount of munitions in an Aleppo neighborhood. The military later released footage of the weapons depot.
Several militants were also killed and wounded when they engaged in fierce clashes with government forces near an oil pumping station on the western outskirts of Palmyra. (Press TV)
Police have called for a full-blown criminal investigation into a corruption case involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to a report aired by Israel’s Channel 2 on Monday, police have recently gained access to a new document in a secret case which was opened some nine months ago.
After receiving the documentation of receiving bribes and engaging in aggravated fraud, police called on Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to permit the operating of a full criminal probe into Netanyahu’s affairs.
The investigation was initially started in June after Police Chief Roni Alsheich green-lighted it on the condition of full secrecy and a block out on media coverage.
One of the Israeli premier’s spokespersons has dismissed all the allegations as “nonsense.”
“Since Netanyahu’s victory in the last elections and even before, hostile elements have used heroic efforts to attempt to bring about [Netanyahu’s] downfall, with false accusations against him and his family. This [latest attempt] is absolutely false. There was nothing and there will be nothing,” added the spokesperson.
In June, Israel's attorney general ordered a criminal investigation into possibly non-reported millions in funds transferred by French fraudster Arnaud Mimran to Netanyahu during the 2009 elections.
Earlier in May, an Israeli watchdog cited a “fear of criminality” over a case involving the prime minister and his family when he was the finance minister over a decade ago.
The report by the Israeli comptroller said Netanyahu received funding from private organizations and donors for family travels between 2003 and 2005.
The payments were made by “foreign entities,” mainly US-based broker-dealer Israel Bonds that underwrites Israeli debt securities.
The Netanyahu family has long faced scrutiny over accusations that their lifestyles are out of touch with regular Israelis. Netanyahu’s wife,Sara, has also come under fire for her lavish tastes and abusive behavior toward staff members.
(Press TV)
Russia said on Tuesday that a U.S. decision to ease some restrictions on arming Syrian rebels had opened the way for deliveries of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, a move it said would directly threaten Russian forces in Syria.
Moscow last year launched a campaign of air strikes in Syria to help President Bashar al-Assad and government forces in a conflict with rebels, some of whom are supported by the United States.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the policy change easing some restrictions on weapons supplies to rebels was set out in a new U.S. defense spending bill and that Moscow regarded the step as a hostile act.
U.S. President Barack Obama signed the annual defense policy bill into law last week.
"In the administration of B. Obama they must understand that any weapons handed over will quickly end up in the hands of jihadists with whom the sham 'moderate' opposition have long acted jointly," Zakharova said in a statement.
"Such a decision is a direct threat to the Russian air force, to other Russian military personnel, and to our embassy in Syria, which has come under fire more than once. We therefore view the step as a hostile one."
Zakharova accused the Obama administration of trying to "put a mine" under the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump by attempting to get it to continue what she called Washington's "anti-Russian line."
During his election campaign, Trump said he was keen to try to improve relations with Moscow and spoke positively about President Vladimir Putin's leadership skills.
A back-and-forth exchange between Trump and Putin over nuclear weapons last week tested the Republican's promises to improve relations with Russia.
The Obama administration and U.S. intelligence officials have accused Russia of trying to interfere with the U.S. election by hacking Democratic Party accounts.
(Newsweek)