Five Things That Mattered This Week: The Buddhanov Abides, Fake Mossad Agent, From Moscow to Ankara with Love, Iran Protests, Swiss Ski Resort Fire, Assad’s Kremlin–Alawite Axis and always more

Welcome back to the first Friday Wrap-Up of 2026. Protests raging in Iran, the Buddhanov has arrived, Ankara and Moscow meet in Damascus, foiled ISIS attack — high-stakes moves and simmering tensions.

TGIF. The first Friday back in a brand new year, and as predicted, we’re bucking and bouncing through the opening hours. Switzerland is reeling from a devastating fire at a ski resort that took the lives of over 40 people. Ukraine’s war effort is under a new intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, whose calm, almost Zen-like approach is already shaping the …