Ms. Gabbard grew up in a secretive offshoot of the Hare Krishna movement and has made a dizzying journey from conservative to liberal darling to Trump ally.
The rebel alliance that took power has vowed to prosecute senior figures from the ousted government, but accountability will be hard to achieve in a vulnerable, divided and battered country.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuβs order for Israeli troops to βtake overβ a buffer zone with Syria upended decades of relative calm along the de facto border between the two countries.
For weeks, Iranian officials have downplayed the fall of their ally in Syria. But an important general has offered a remarkably candid view of the blow to Iran, and its militaryβs prospects.
Israeli raids pummeled the historic souk in the city of Nabatieh, in southern Lebanon. Residents and shop owners are only beginning to come to terms with the damage.
The authorization comes after rebels toppled the Syrian government last month and is intended to allow humanitarian groups to operate more freely without running afoul of U.S. sanctions.
The two Mideast powerhouses have been trying to block the rise of Islamist groups in the region for two decades. The rebel takeover in Damascus will test that approach.
Top diplomats from Germany and France went to Damascus on behalf of the European Union. Itβs the first such trip in years, part of a flurry of Western outreach.
Ministers from Jordan and Qatar were among the first high-ranking Arab diplomats to meet with the leader of the rebel coalition that toppled the Syrian regime two weeks ago.