By Joshua McElwee

YAOUNDE, April 17 (Reuters) - Pope Leo has debuted a new, forceful speaking style on his four-nation Africa tour this week, issuing sharp denunciations of war and inequality that have sparked repeated attacks on the pontiff from U.S. President Donald Trump.

The change in rhetoric reflects Leo's growing concern with the direction of global leadership, experts said, after he maintained a relatively low profile for a pope during the first 10 months of his papacy.

Tehran threatened on Saturday to shut the Strait of Hormuz once more if the United States continues its blockade of Iranian ports, hours after Iran announced it had reopened the strategic waterway in the wake of a ceasefire in Lebanon.

The potential for the resumption of transit had lifted stock markets on Friday and prompted optimism from Washington, with President Donald Trump telling AFP a broader US-Iran peace deal was "very close" and saying Tehran had agreed to hand over its enriched uranium -- a key sticking point in negotiations.

Alongside hundreds of others forced to flee south Lebanon, Amani Atrash and her family waited eagerly on Friday morning for bulldozers to reopen the Qasmiyeh bridge, which Israel bombed just hours before a ceasefire began.

Her family was among the tens of thousands of people hoping to go home after being displaced by the Israel-Hezbollah war -- despite warnings against returning to the south from the Iran-backed militant group, Lebanese officials and the Israeli army, which continues to occupy parts of the area.

By Lili Bayer and Feras Dalatey

BRUSSELS/DAMASCUS, April 17 - The European Union plans to deepen its engagement with Syria by relaunching formal political contacts and paving the way for closer economic and security ties, according to a document seen by Reuters, marking the latest step in a broader policy shift after years of frozen relations.

By Laila Bassam and Thomas Suen

BEIRUT/QASMIYEH, Lebanon, April 17 (Reuters) - People uprooted by the war in Lebanon began returning home on Friday, checking whether their houses were still standing, though some did not plan to stay for fear a 10-day ceasefire in the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel could prove fragile.

Hills of rubble marked the spot where buildings once stood in the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, an area pummelled by Israel during more than six weeks of conflict that spiralled out of the war between the United States and Iran.

ANTALYA, Turkey, April 17 (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said on Friday he expected Washington and Ankara to soon solve the issue of U.S. sanctions over Turkey's purchase of Russian S-400 missile defences.

"I think you are going to see the S-400 situation solved soon. From my boss's point of view, acceptance into an F-35 programme is fine," Barrack said at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

In 2020, the U.S. sanctioned fellow NATO member Turkey over the purchase and removed it from a procurement and manufacturing programme for F-35 fighter jets.

The latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Russia hails ceasefire -

Moscow backed the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, and said it hoped the pause in fighting could pave the way for a longer-term agreement.

"We certainly welcome the decision on a truce and hope that in these few days it will indeed be possible to reach agreements that will prevent a repeat of the military clashes," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, in response to a question by AFP.

DOUALA, April 17 (Reuters) - Thousands of people were gathering early on Friday in Douala, Cameroon's largest city and economic hub, for a Mass with Pope Leo that will likely be the biggest event of the pontiff's four-nation Africa tour.

The Vatican is expecting about 600,000 to fill streets around Japoma Stadium to be part of the celebration and hear an address from the pope, who has become outspoken on war and inequality and drawn the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump.

A 10-day ceasefire deal struck between Lebanon and Israel took effect on Friday, sending displaced residents streaming south towards their homes, even as the Lebanese army warned of "a number of violations" in the area.

Shortly after the truce went into effect at midnight local time (2100 GMT), the army told residents of the south -- many of whom had to flee their homes following sweeping Israeli evacuation warnings -- not to return, citing "several Israeli acts of aggression".

A 10-day ceasefire deal struck between Lebanon and Israel took effect on Friday, sending displaced residents streaming south towards their homes, even as the Lebanese army warned of "a number of violations" in the area.

Shortly after the truce went into effect at midnight local time (2100 GMT), the army told residents of the south -- many of whom had to flee their homes following sweeping Israeli evacuation warnings -- not to return, citing "several Israeli acts of aggression".