Mena Today

The US Department of State has approved the potential sale of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to Saudi Arabia, it said on Thursday as the kingdom has been drawn deeper into the Middle East war.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz proposed Thursday that Turkey take in Hamas members from Gaza, amid growing tensions between Ankara and Jerusalem, a suggestion delivered with all the diplomatic subtlety of a passive-aggressive group chat message.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday that Serbia had opened a factory to assemble advanced Israeli-made drones, which will supply the Serbian military and armed forces in other countries.

The US government has approved up to $414 million in financing for a uranium project in Niger, according to the project's developer, in what sources described as a win for Washington two years after the West African nation expelled all US forces.

Greece's parliament lifted the immunity of one of the country's former European Commissioners on Thursday, clearing the way for further action by authorities investigating the "Qatargate" corruption case, one of the biggest scandals to hit the EU.

China has privately asked Tehran to help rein in Yemen's Houthis after an appeal to Beijing by Saudi Arabia following the Iran-backed group's military blitz in the past week, according to three Iranian sources familiar with the matter.

Syria's judiciary issued its first verdicts on Thursday in the trial over massacres of Alawites on the Syrian coast last year, sentencing a member of government forces to 20 years in prison, while two supporters of the deposed government received a death sentence and a life sentence, respectively.

A lightning advance by Yemen's Houthi group has brought the vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait under its control, making the once ragged highland militia a regional player with global clout. 

Morocco’s political parties are trying to entice young voters to the polls next week with promises of jobs and affordable housing after violent protests last year and a border rush on the Spanish enclave of Ceuta highlighted widespread discontent. 

Yemenis took to boats in the Red Sea to escape fighting between Iran-backed Houthi fighters and Saudi-backed forces, as the spreading Middle East war created new threats to global oil supplies.

European and Arab military chiefs will meet in Paris on Thursday to assess the Lebanese Armed Forces' needs and discuss the looming end of a United Nations peacekeeping mission, amid fears of a renewed Israeli military campaign in southern Lebanon.

The foreign ministers of Israel and Morocco agreed to upgrade diplomatic ties, including opening embassies and appointing ambassadors, according to a statement Wednesday by the official Israeli government account in Arabic on X.