Five months after its liberation from the police state of Bashar al-Assad, Syria sometimes looks like a country in civil war. Sectarian clashes have turned into street battles with rockets and mortars.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump met with interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the first encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years and one that could mark a turning point for Syria as it struggles to emerge from decades of international isolation.

United States President Donald Trump has announced that Washington is exploring the normalisation of ties with Damascus, following a historic meeting with Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa – the first such encounter in over two decades.

Sharaa? Syria’s president who met Trump and once had $10m US bounty on his head - Ahmad al-Sharaa, the militant leader who led the stunning insurgency that toppled Syria’s President Bashar Assad, has