SYRIA:  Government troops captured areas near the border with Lebanon today, cutting supply lines for opposition forces.

State TV reported an advance on the mountain resort of Zabadani, which has been under rebel control for two years, cutting it off from rebel-held areas in the mountainous Qalamoun region.

Syrian regime forces, bolstered by fighters from Lebanese Shiite resistance group Hezbollah, reached the Lebanese border town Tufeil yesterday, having systematically captured most rebel-held towns along the frontier since launching an offensive in the region in November.

UNITED STATES: Washington announced in Mozambique today that it would no longer produce or acquire anti-personnel land mines and plans to join an international treaty banning their use.

Barack Obama’s national security council said that the US was “diligently pursuing solutions” to join the Ottawa Convention that bans the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of the mines.

The US statement did not indicate when it would join the treaty or specify the size of its stockpile.

ITALY: Rome’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on behalf of the EU today warning European citizens and companies against doing business with Israeli settlements.

Italy, which assumes the EU presidency next week, said that they would run legal, economic and reputational risks by making deals in illegally occupied territory.

It added that financial transactions, investments, purchases, contracts and tourism in Israeli enterprises based on the occupied West Bank only benefit the settlements.

PALESTINE: Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Kidra reported today that two members of the Popular Resistance Committee were killed when their car was hit by an Israeli rocket.

Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon confirmed the killing of “a terror operative in Gaza who had been responsible for recent rocket attacks on southern Israel and was planning more terror attacks on Israeli citizens.”

In further attacks on what Israel called Hamas targets in Gaza, a Palestinian child was seriously hurt.