Antoine Khoury

US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack called Saturday for restraint in the southern province of Sweida, a Druze-majority region, following tensions between local figures.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the release of five Lebanese nationals held by Israel, after being abducted from southern Lebanon during the successive wars since 2023.

Jordan's King Abdullah II has expressed his "full support" for the international conference backing Lebanon's armed forces and Internal Security Forces (ISF), for which a preparatory meeting is set to take place in Paris on September 17.

Denmark reopened its embassy in Damascus on Monday, Syria's official news agency SANA announced, the latest in a series of diplomatic reopenings following more than a decade of interrupted activities due to the civil war.

Lebanon's Civil Defence issued a statement Saturday warning against "the risks associated with swimming and all types of water activities and sports along the coastline, from Abdeh (Akkar, far north) to Naqoura in the south, today and tomorrow Sunday." 

A day after criticizing the stalled progress on Hezbollah's disarmament, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa continued his diplomatic push Thursday, visiting the Druze Community House in Beirut for talks with Sheikh Akl Sami Abi el-Mona.

The Syrian Liberal Party has expressed profound appreciation to President Donald Trump and the US Administration for the historic decision to formally rescind Syria's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.

Turkey welcomed on Tuesday the United States' decision to remove Syria from its list of countries supporting terrorism.

Syrian Druze leader Hikmat al-Hijri has declared that the Druze community, present across several Middle Eastern countries, is "an integral part of Israel," citing a shared "faith and ideology" with the Israeli state, according to remarks reported Tuesday by the Syrian digital outlet Syria Now.

The French consulate in Lebanon announced on X that non-biometric Lebanese passports are no longer accepted for Schengen visa applications at Beirut's TLS center, which handles visa requests for France and other consular services.

Maronite Patriarch Béchara Raï reiterated his support Sunday for the US-brokered framework agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel in late June, describing it during his Sunday homily as a "national path to resolving outstanding issues, consolidating a just, comprehensive and lasting peace, and preserving the state's sovereignty over its entire territory."

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun received a Palestinian delegation at Baabda Palace on Friday, led by Yasser Abbas, special representative of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.