Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Friday met with Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al Jolani, in a visit to Damascus, his first since the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Al-Jolani took office as the head of the new Syrian administration after the rapid collapse of al-Assad's regime last year.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is travelling to Syria on Friday to encourage the country’s transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by Islamist insurgents, and said Europe should review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.

We want to be a bridge in the new Syria and the EU,' says Antonio Tajani during his visit to Damascus - Anadolu Ajansı

ROME (Reuters) - NATO needs a stronger focus on the south and Africa, Italy's prime minister told a news conference on Thursday, saying Russia might boost its presence in eastern Libya after the collapse of its allied regime in Syria.

Foreign ministers from Italy, France, Germany, Britain and the United States will meet this week over the situation in Syria, Italy said Tuesday.

In phone call with Italian premier, Recep Tayyip Erdogan says lifting sanctions on Syria with Italy taking lead would benefit this process - Anadolu Ajansı

Italy said it is prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for Syrians, and is seeking to coordinate several post-Assad initiatives.

Bishara highlights the contrasting approaches of European nations toward normalizing relations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Israel’s military says it carried out new airstrikes in Yemen against what it said were Houthi rebel targets. Its statement Friday said fighter jets struck “on the western coast and inland Yemen,” a day after the Houthis launched three drones at Israel.

Israel’s army confirmed Friday that one of the bodies recovered from Gaza earlier this week was that of 23-year-old hostage Hamzah AlZayadni.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani met Syria's new ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, the latest European diplomat to visit the country since Bashar al-Assad's fall. Watch this report for more details!