EU crisis management chief Hadja Lahbib announced a 235 million euro aid package for Syria and neighbouring countries on Friday during the first visit by a senior EU official since Bashar al-Assad's ouster.
The trip comes two weeks after foreign ministers from France and Germany visited, calling for a peaceful, inclusive transition, amid a flurry of diplomatic activity by countries seeking to engage with war-torn Syria's new authorities.
Yazeed al-Rajhi made history on Friday by becoming the first driver from host nation Saudi Arabia to win the Dakar Rally.
The Overdrive pilot held onto his overnight lead to beat South Africa's Henk Lategan in a Toyota by 3min 57sec with Mattias Ekstrom of Sweden third in his Ford, 20min 21sec adrift.
Rajhi, 43, had previously recorded a best finish of third in 2022.
Saudi Arabia have hosted the Dakar Rally since 2020, when it moved from South America.
Israel's cabinet convened on Friday to vote on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal that should take effect this weekend, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.
The agreement, which was earlier approved by the security cabinet, would halt fighting and bombardment in Gaza's deadliest-ever war.
It would also launch on Sunday the release of hostages held in the territory since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
US President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday the ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas would have never been reached without pressure from him and his incoming administration.
The agreement, which would exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, awaits approval by Israel's security cabinet before taking effect, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war would be negotiated.
Russia and Iran signed a new treaty on Friday underpinning their economic and military cooperation, in what both sides cast as a major milestone in their relations.
Moscow has looked to the Islamic republic as a strategic ally since sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022, worrying Western officials who see both as malign actors on the world stage.
France's president said Friday that Paris will soon host an aid conference to help rebuild Lebanon after the Israel-Hezbollah war last year, as he visited Beirut in a show of support for Lebanon's new leaders.
After a vacancy of more than two years, Joseph Aoun was elected president on January 9 and named Nawaf Salam as prime minister-designate.
"In the middle of winter, spring has sprung," Macron said at a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart.
"You are this hope," he said, referring to Aoun and Salam.
Hundreds of Paris police officers were deployed on Thursday for a basketball match classified as "high-risk" due to the participation of an Israeli team.
The game between Paris and Maccabi Tel Aviv attracted around 5,000 spectators, 1,000 of whom were backing the visiting team with 600 police on duty in order to quell potential protests.
Around 400 fans sported T-shirts in the colours of the Tel Aviv side.
Thursday's Euroleague match was held just a day after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire and hostage-release deal aimed at ending the war in Gaza.
The fates of a baby and his four-year-old brother, taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023, have been on everyone's mind in Israel since the announcement of a Gaza ceasefire.
Kfir Bibas, whose second birthday falls on Saturday, is the youngest of the 251 people seized by militants during Hamas's unprecedented attack on southern Israel more than 15 months ago.
Human Rights Watch on Thursday called for punishment for the "heinous crimes" committed "on and since October 7, 2023," in Israel and Gaza, after the announcement of a fragile ceasefire deal in the conflict.
"While yesterday Israeli officials and Hamas agreed to a multi-phase ceasefire, the heinous crimes committed on and since October 7, 2023, should not go unpunished," said HRW chief Tirana Hassan.
The war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, which on Wednesday agreed a ceasefire, has killed tens of thousands of people and created a humanitarian disaster.
The fragile ceasefire deal is due to start on Sunday, but still has to be approved by Israel's cabinet.
The sheer scale of bombardment and violence of the fighting have disfigured the densely populated Palestinian territory's urban landscape.
AFP looks at the material impact of the war.
- 170,000 buildings damaged or destroyed -
