Syria's new Islamist leaders are undertaking a radical overhaul of the country's broken economy, including plans to fire a third of all public sector workers and privatising state-run companies dominant during half a century of Assad family rule.

Since Islamist rebels overthrew the Assad dictatorship in Syria, Egypt, with parallels in its own recent history, has watched warily.

Syria is seeking to import oil via local intermediaries after its first post-Assad import tenders garnered little interest from major oil traders due to ongoing sanctions and financial risks, several trade sources told Reuters.

Syria's new Islamist leaders are undertaking a radical overhaul of the country's broken economy, including plans to fire a third of all public sector workers and privatising state-run companies dominant during half a century of Assad family rule.

Now, foreign countries are trying to steer Syria’s new de facto leaders toward an inclusive government free of sectarian reprisals and away from extreme forms of Islamism. The head of HTS and the president of Syria’s transitional government,

Syria has demanded reparations from Russia in order to "rebuild trust" after a meeting between Damascus' new administration and a Moscow delegation, according to local news sources. Russia and Syria's meeting to discuss future relations comes as Moscow looks to retain its two military bases in the Middle Eastern country.

Sharaa, promised Thursday to hold a "national dialogue conference" in his first address to the nation since the fall of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad.Sharaa, who was appointed interim president a day earlier for an unspecified transitional period,

A delegation of Russian officials is in Damascus, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported. It is the first such visit to Syria since the fall in December of former President Bashar Assad, an ally of Moscow.

Israeli strikes hit an unofficial border crossing in eastern Lebanon early Friday morning, killing two people and wounding 10, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Humanitarians continue to respond to needs in Syria as security and logistical conditions permit, the UN said on Tuesday. UN aid coordination office, OCHA, reported that the cross-border operation from Türkiye into the northwest is running without impediments.