The meeting between the Syrian chief of staff and the Lebanese military official was the first since the Assad regime was ousted from power last month

The United Nations refugee chief says some 200,000 refugees have returned to Syria from neighboring countries since the government of Bashar Assad was overthrown last month.

The fall of the Assad regime will have a substantial impact on Lebanese politics, highlighting border tensions, refugee challenges, and Hezbollah’s influence. Normalization with Damascus depends on Lebanon’s domestic politics,

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister on Friday made his first visit to Syria since the fall of former president Bashar Al Assad and held talks with the country's new leader, Ahmad Al Shara.Prince Faisal bin Farhan's visit to Damascus comes as the Syrian transitional government seeks investments to help rebuild the country after 14 years of civil war.Prince Faisal called for lifting sanctions on Damascus after talks on Syria with top diplomats from the Middle East and Europe earlier this month.Mr Al Shara said Riyadh “will certainly have a large role in Syria's future”, pointing to “a big investment opportunity for all neighbouring countries”.Prince Faisal arrived in Damascus after meetings with Lebanon's leaders in Beirut on Thursday.Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister was last in Syria in April 2023, when he met Mr Al Assad on a landmark visit that ended more than a decade of strained relations between the two countries.Saudi Arabia and other countries severed ties with Syria in 2012 over Mr Al Assad's violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests that sparked civil war.The Assad family's five decades of rule over Syria ended in dramatic fashion last month as rebel factions led by Mr Al Shara's group, Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, seized Damascus in a lightning offensive.The rebel victory came after Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah, Mr Al Assad's main backers, were significantly weakened by Israeli attacks.Riyadh significantly reduced its footprint in Lebanon amid the growing strength of Hezbollah.

NEWS ANALYSIS. Between relief and apprehension, Lebanon is concerned about local repercussions of Syria's change of leadership.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi called Thursday for cooperation between Syria's new authorities, host countries and donors to secure the return of 6.2 million Syrian refugees to their country.

Israeli forces killed at least 22 people and injured dozens more in southern Lebanon on Sunday, Lebanese officials said. In Gaza, Israel said Hamas had violated the terms of the truce.

It highlights how the new leaders are seeking to interdict smuggling and show the region it is serious. There is likely some implicit messaging in this to Israel as well that the Jewish state can trust the new government in Syria to stop the flow of weapons to its enemies.

Joe Biden has now left office, but the fight over the meaning of his Middle East policies is only just beginning.Biden’s defenders argue that he left the incoming Trump administration with the strongest American position in the region in decades—and that his decision to back Israel to the hilt following the Hamas attacks was hard but ultimately strategically correct.

The paper said that in resuming its work from Damascus, it would continue providing coverage reflecting 'the pulse of the Syrian street'.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested Friday that his county’s military might not withdraw all of its forces from Lebanon by this weekend’s deadline set in its ceasefire with Hezbollah