PARIS (AP) — Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa is visiting Paris on Wednesday for talks with President Emmanuel Macron. It’s his first trip to Europe since taking office in January, and a possible opening to broader ties with Western countries.

New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sets off on his first trip abroad on Wednesday to France and Poland in a bid to renew relations with the country's top allies and show that Germany is back on the world stage despite a bumpy start to his government.

Friedrich Merz travels to Paris and Warsaw on Wednesday on his first foreign trip as German chancellor, still reeling from a humiliating setback in Tuesday’s government transition that raised early questions about his leadership.