Twelve years into Syria’s devastating civil war, the conflict appears to have settled into a frozen state. Although 30 percent of the country is controlled by opposition forces, heavy fighting has largely ceased and there is a growing regional trending toward normalizing relations with the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The conflict erupted into one of the most complicated in the world, with international and regional powers, opposition groups, militias and extremist groups all playing a role. The Syrian population has been brutalized, with nearly a half a million killed, 12 million fleeing their homes to find safety elsewhere, and widespread poverty and hunger. Meanwhile, efforts to broker a settlement have gone nowhere, leaving the Assad regime firmly in power. Welcome to ‘SYRIAN STALEMATE: 12 Years Of War’

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June 24, 2022, Santa Barbara, California, U.S: A male protestor holds a sign that reads, Force all Men to have vasectomies or is it only cool to control women’s bodies?. Hundreds of people turned out on short notice for a protest sponsored by Planned Parenthood at Santa Barbara historic CourtHouse on June 24, 2022, on the Day the Supreme Court overturned landmark Roe V. Wade decision which has protected women and abortion rights in the USA for fifty years. (Credit Image: © Amy Katz/ZUMA Press Wire)

Scott Mc Kiernan, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, ZUMA Press

June 8, 2023, Montecito, California, U.S.A: Happy Pride banner at Starbucks on Coast Village Road, Montecito, CA in support of Gay Pride Month under images of employees who recently graduated. (Credit Image: © Amy Katz/ZUMA Press Wire)

Scott Mc Kiernan, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, ZUMA Press

Scott Mc Kiernan, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, ZUMA Press

Scott Mc Kiernan, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, ZUMA Press

Jayson Achtenberg, 13, is transitioning to male from his birth-assigned female gender. While still in middle school, he decided begin hormone replacement therapy earlier than planned in order to start before Georgia’s new SB140 law takes effect July 1. The new law will prohibit doctors from performing gender-affirming surgeries or prescribing hormone replacements to Georgians under 18. Patients who begin their treatment for gender dysphoria prior to July would be ‘grandfathered in’. Welcome to ‘TO BE: One of the Guys’

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June 19, 2023, Helena, Montana, USA: Youth plaintiffs, in the landmark Held vs Montana climate change lawsuit, walk to the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse in Helena on the sixth day of their trial. Sixteen young people argue that the state is robbing their future by embracing policies that contribute to climate change during the first of its kind constitutional lawsuit in the United States. (Credit Image: © Robin Loznak/ZUMA Press Wire)

June 19, 2023, Helena, Montana, USA: Youth plaintiffs in the landmark Held vs Montana climate change lawsuit listen to testimony from the defense in the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse in Helena on the sixth day of their trial. Sixteen young people argue that the state is robbing their future by embracing policies that contribute to climate change during the first of its kind constitutional lawsuit in the United States. (Credit Image: © Robin Loznak/ZUMA Press Wire)

June 19, 2023, Helena, Montana, USA: Youth plaintiff RIKKI HELD, 22, middle, waits with other plaintiffs and attorneys for the start of trial in the landmark Held vs Montana climate change lawsuit in the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse in Helena on the sixth day of their trial. Sixteen young people argue that the state is robbing their future by embracing policies that contribute to climate change during the first of its kind constitutional lawsuit in the United States. The trial is scheduled to conclude with closing arguments on Wednesday. (Credit Image: © Robin Loznak/ZUMA Press Wire)

Scott Mc Kiernan, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, ZUMA Press

Scott Mc Kiernan, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, ZUMA Press

June 18, 2023, Taksim, Istanbul, Turkey: Turkish police blocks the march of supporters of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community during the ​Trans Pride Parade Istanbul in Istanbul, Turkey, 18 June 2023. (Credit Image: © Tolga Uluturk/ZUMA Press Wire)

June 18, 2023, Taksim, Istanbul, Turkey: A supporter of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community shouts slogans at the Trans Pride Istanbul held near Taksim, Istanbul on June 18, 2023. Turkish Government banned the Trans Pride Parade Istanbul. (Credit Image: © Tolga Uluturk/ZUMA Press Wire)

Scott Mc Kiernan, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, ZUMA Press

May 2, 2023, Burbank, California, U.S: Hollywood Writers Strike began at 1:00pm on May 2, 2023: thousands of writers and others in the film industry turned out to carry signs at the picket lines in front of Disney Studios to demand more pay and benefits from the studios. (Credit Image: © Amy Katz/ZUMA Press Wire)

Scott Mc Kiernan, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, ZUMA Press