Big changes in the Middle East could set the stage for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

Urgency was the one thing that's been missing from these negotiations and why there hasn't been a deal.

I'm Carol Hills. Today, prospects for peace after 18 months of war.

And the latest on a U.S. delegation to Damascus to meet with Syria's

de facto new leaders. Meanwhile in Belgium, a kerfuffle over language. You have to speak Dutch in Flanders

and French in Wallonia, but in Brussels, it's a bit complicated because it's a bilingual region.

Just don't lose track of where you are on a moving train. Plus, Singapore is requiring a fancy GPS tool in cars, and it's not

cheap. It tracks your speed, your distance, travel daily, and they're going to charge you

for a real, yeah. That's all ahead. Today on the world.

This is the world. I'm Carol Hills. Thanks for being here this Friday. It's been less than two

weeks since the Assad regime collapsed in Syria, but the celebrations continue.

Meanwhile, the political developments are coming in fast and furious.

There's already a de facto leadership in place in Damascus. It's made up of members of the

Hayatir al-Sham or HTS rebel group. And today, the U.S. State Department's top Middle East

envoy, Barbara Leaf, arrived in Damascus to meet with the interim authorities.

After that meeting, the Biden administration announced its called off a $10 million reward for the capture of the HTS leader,

though at this point, the group remains designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

Ibrahim Al-Azil joined me earlier from Damascus to discuss Leif's visit to the Syrian capital.

He's a non-resident senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington.

What I could expect that they discussed from their previous meetings, because I know they also met with civil society groups, they met with journalists, and they were emphasizing about the need

for a national dialogue and for the Syrian government to be representative and to respect

the rights of Syrians. And from Hei al-Tahrir Shahan perspective, what they really care about

...