Israel and Hamas Negotiators Agree to Gaza Cease-Fire and Hostage Deal, Officials Say: Live Updates If finalized, the cease-fire would take effect immediately, a White House official said. The Israeli cabinet still has to ratify the deal and some details remained unresolved.

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01...

The Assad regime’s fall was a decade in the making and I don’t want to speculate about post-revolutionary challenges today. Just to say: can we please learn from failed Western responses to situations in which groups seen as terrorists became part of political regimes (AFG, Palestine)?

Exclusive: US, UAE discussed lifting Assad sanctions in exchange for break with Iran, sources say The discussions took place before anti-Assad rebels swept into Syria's Aleppo last week.

Just impeccable timing as always www.reuters.com/world/us-uae...

We’re no experts but this sounds like it might be suboptimal for disseminating research.

Hi Marc @abuaardvark.bsky.social, could you pls add me to the menasky list? Thanks!

Hi @profmusgrave.bsky.social, please add me Polisky list. Thanks!

For Republicans voting on the resolution broke down on ideological lines much, much more than on district concerns. Scatterplot of district ideology vs. NOMINATE score. No votes in blue

FFS. As expected, the Slovak election won by Smer, an anti-Ukraine, illiberal party, whose leader had to resign as PM a few years ago.

The only good part is that SMER only 23% of the vote, and will have to form a coalition. But this is another blow for democracy in the region.