Damascus - Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh arrived in Damascus on Wednesday to formally initiate diplomatic ties with Syria for the first time since independence 60 years ago.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem and Salloukh announced in a joint statement "the launch of diplomatic relations between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Lebanese republic effective today, October 15, 2008."

The two ministers signed the joint statement in which they stressed their aim of "boosting relations between both their countries on basis of mutual respect."

Damascus - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said that border control with Lebanon was "not possible" for the time being, though diplomatic relations can be achieved before the end of 2008, al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported on Wednesday.

"We cannot control the common border," al-Moallem told the pan-Arab daily, adding that border control requires demarcation of the Lebanon-Syria border and reaching a security agreement.

Al-Moallem, pointed to the continuous smuggling "from and to Lebanon" but refuted the idea that Syria is helping Hezbollah with the arms, saying that Hezbollah "does not need that."

Damascus  - A car bomb in the Syrian capital Damascus early Saturday killed at least 17 civilians and wounded 14 in an attack believed to be aimed at intelligence personnel.

The 200-kilo bomb went off near the busy Sayyida Zainab district at 8:45 am (0545 GMT). The bomb, which exploded near a secret service facility, was believed to be targeting a senior intelligence official who was in the building at the time, Lebanese media reported.

There were no immediate reports whether this person was killed or injured.

Damascus - A car bomb in the Syrian capital Damascus Saturday morning has killed 17 civilians, national news agency SANA reported.

Damascus  - Hundreds of Iraqi refugees in Syria will return home on October 4 in the latest of a series of repatriations as violence declines in Iraq, an Iraqi embassy source said Thursday.

Iraq's government, which will fund the trip, has encouraged Iraqis who fled after the US-led invasion to return. It is funding air tickets and giving each refugee 500 US dollars, the source said.

Hundreds of Iraqi refugees already left Syria by land a couple of months ago. October's repatriation will be the first by air, the source said.