In Syria, President Bashar Al Assad discussed the Lebanon war Tuesday in his first major speech since the conflict began. Assad said Israel and the US are to blame for stalling peace in the region and said Hezbollah has won a major victory.

• Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad: “The kidnapping soldiers were a mere excuse for the world to begin this aggression, but there result was more defeat for Israel, its allies and its masters and more entrenchment of the nationalist forces that support the resistance and the principle of resistance taking root in the hearts and minds of hundred of millions of people in the Arab and Muslim world.”