What follows Syria's civil war looks combustible

[Balance of Power]( From [Bloomberg Politics]( [FOLLOW US [Facebook Share]]( [Twitter Share]( [SUBSCRIBE [Subscribe]](  President Bashar Al-Assad is moving to reassert his control of Syria, but Turkey and Israel may have other thoughts about what the country should look like after its devastating civil war. Israel, in a rare acknowledgement of its operations in the country, said it [attacked Iranian and Syrian targets overnight]( after a failed missile strike on the Israeli-held section of the Golan Heights. Israel blamed Iran and said Tehran can’t be allowed to entrench itself in Syria. Damascus will pay the price for letting the Iranians use Syria as a forward base to attack Israel, it warned. Whether the assault was meant to show Iran it won’t be cowed should U.S. troops leave, or was aimed at a domestic audience in an election season, Israel's message was clear: Don’t mess with us. In Syria’s northwest, an uneasy truce in Idlib is likely to give way to a Syrian-Russian operation to retake the last major rebel enclave. Turkey failed to carve out a pocket of influence for insurgents it supports. Now it’ll have to negotiate with Russia to try and avoid the type of humanitarian crisis that would send more refugees flooding across the Turkish border. From the U.S., conflicting voices continue to emerge regarding President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw American troops altogether. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara over the weekend, [told Bloomberg]( the exit is more of a “desire” than a plan. It would be an “absolute disaster” to just walk away, he said. After eight years, the civil war may be ending, but Syria is looking increasing combustible. - [Benjamin Harvey]( Dear readers, world leaders and decision makers are descending on the Swiss town of Davos for the 2019 World Economic Forum, which begins tomorrow. Follow real-time coverage on our [special webpage.]( Trump salutes the remains of Scott A. Wirtz, a Defense Intelligence Agency civilian and former Navy Seal, who was killed in a suicide bombing in Syria, at Dover Air Force Base on [Saturday in Delaware](. Photographer: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP Global Headlines [Brexit deja vu]( | Theresa May’s Brexit Plan B looks little changed from the one subjected to a record defeat last week in Parliament. The prime minister has ditched cross-party talks to find a compromise, worried a softer Brexit demanded by opponents would fatally split her ruling Conservative Party. So she’s seeking – again – EU concessions, even though the bloc has repeatedly refused to reopen their agreement. [Shutdown jockeying]( | After rejecting Trump’s [less hard-line]( proposal to end the month-long partial government shutdown, a top House Democrat made a counteroffer: Open the government and provide a permanent solution for so-called “Dreamers” – young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children. While the two sides [remain]( far apart, the president’s willingness to offer Dreamers a three-year reprieve could indicate the White House is feeling pressure to end the impasse. [Slow talks]( | China and the U.S. have made little progress on one of the trade war’s make-or-break issues: ending what the U.S alleges is Chinese theft of its intellectual property. The revelation could let the air out of some of Trump’s claims the talks are making great strides, as he seeks to soothe volatile markets – and comes days before Xi Jinping’s top economic emissary, Liu He, arrives in Washington to meet with U.S. trade czar Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. [What’s in a name]( | Greece’s parliament is expected to approve a historical agreement over a name dispute with neighboring Republic of Macedonia that will see the latter will change its name to Republic of North Macedonia. Greek Premier Alexis Tsipras is likely to muster a majority on the vote that’s expected by the end of the week, paving the way for North Macedonia’s accession to NATO and the EU. [Zimbabwe meltdown]( | Violent demonstrations over the collapse of the economy have rocked the southern African nation for the past week, prompting President Emmerson Mnangagwa to skip Davos. The security forces’ use of live ammunition, door-to-door searches for alleged protesters, and a shutdown of the internet have snuffed out the optimism that greeted the end of Robert Mugabe’s ruinous 37-year rule 13 months ago. What to Watch - U.S. officials are planning for Trump to hold his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month in Vietnam, people familiar with the plans said, suggesting negotiations for the meeting were gathering pace. - Democratic Republic of Congo’s Constitutional Court [confirmed]( opposition leader Felix Tshiskedi as the next president, while rival Martin Fayulu declared himself the rightful head of state and urged his supporters to protest. - As Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe heads for talks in Moscow this week in hopes of resolving a 70-year-old dispute over four small islands, President Vladimir Putin is showing him [a deal won’t be painless](.  [And finally](… China is having its worst baby shortage in nearly 60 years. Births fell by 2 million last year to 15.2 million, the lowest since 1961 under Mao Zedong. There’s little sign the government’s easing of restrictions to allow women to have two children is halting a declining birthrate, fueling worries about long-term economic growth. With the population seen shrinking by 2027, China may move soon to end the limits on children completely.    You received this message because you are subscribed to the Bloomberg Politics newsletter Balance of Power. You can tell your friends to [sign up here](.  [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022