Mena Today

"Last year, I said that Syria had returned. Today, I say that Syria is rising," Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, one year after becoming the first Syrian leader in nearly six decades to address the body.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a speech at the UN on Wednesday that Tehran would never surrender to the US but still believes in diplomacy, a day after President Donald Trump used the same forum to threaten to "annihilate" Iran.

If neighbouring countries cooperate with the United States by stopping Iranian flights, Iran will ensure their airports cannot function, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said in an interview with state TV on Wednesday.

The first shuttle talks between the United States and Iran for months raised hopes on Wednesday that the adversaries could make progress towards ending the Middle East war, although neither side spelled out any change in its position.

The United States is withholding a visa for Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ahead of his scheduled UN appearance in a move that Sudanese and other sources say is linked to a US-backed ceasefire proposal that Khartoum has resisted.

US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace will unveil a six-month, $2.45 billion recovery plan for Gaza at a meeting of its members on Wednesday, Axios reported.

Nasser Bourita, Morocco's Minister of Foreign Affairs, told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that non-State armed groups threatening states have grown considerably, now posing a threat to the world's maritime corridors and straits. 

Purges of military leaders may have dented China's war-fighting readiness, but are likely to have strengthened President Xi Jinping's grip on an institution that is a key source of power for the ruling Communist Party, diplomats and analysts say.

Moroccans vote in an election on Wednesday that will shape the government overseeing the final stages of a $20-billion push to prepare for the 2030 World Cup and projects to direct economic gains towards the country's disenchanted youth.

Israel reacted sharply to remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron at the United Nations, after Macron criticized Israeli actions in the West Bank and claimed Hamas was not active in the territory, where the Palestinian Authority governs.

Opportunism, falsehoods, unjustified attacks: French President Emmanuel Macron's latest speech to the United Nations has drawn sharp criticism. 

US President Donald Trump used his UN General Assembly speech on Tuesday to make the case for his war on Iran, arguing he has prevented Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and warning that he could "annihilate the Islamic Republic" if no deal is reached to end the conflict.