Assad’s government in December 2024 created new possibilities to ensure accountability for years of atrocity crimes and the opportunity to establish a new government that respects human rights.

BEIRUT - French President Emmanuel Macron called on Israel on Friday to accelerate its troop withdrawal from southern Lebanon, as a deadline nears for the pullout under the terms of a ceasefire that ended the war with Hezbollah last year.

The fall of the Syrian regime and loss of Iranian influence opens the door for the Lebanese to finally take their fate into their own hands.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati will meet Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Saturday, two Lebanese sources said, becoming the first head of government to visit Syria's capital since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.