Mena Today

A prominent Palestinian-American developer asked a U.S. judge on Friday to throw out a lawsuit accusing him of supporting Hamas through his Gaza projects, arguing it equates participating in Gaza's economy with terrorism.

Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit widened sharply in the first quarter, reaching its highest level since 2018 as government spending on economic diversification projects continued to rise, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday and afterwards questioned why allies including Italy were not backing Washington's efforts to confront Iran and re-open the Strait of Hormuz.

Presidents Erdogan and Tebboune oversee a landmark package of deals spanning trade, transport, industry and media, launching a new era in bilateral relations.

France has announced the return of its ambassador to Algeria, as French Armed Forces Minister Alice Rufo and ambassador Stéphane Romatet - recalled to Paris by President Emmanuel Macron in April 2025 - arrived Friday in Sétif, marking the beginning of a carefully choreographed diplomatic reconciliation.

The United States said on Friday it expected an Iranian response as soon as later in the day to its latest proposal to end the war in the Gulf, even as U.S. and Iranian forces clashed in the Gulf and the United Arab Emirates came under renewed attack.

Shorn of influence in its former colonies in West Africa, France will seek to deepen ties elsewhere on the continent next week at an Africa summit in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, its first in an English-speaking country.

There are gestures that speak louder than policy papers. Pedro Sánchez made one on Thursday.

Something broke in the markets on Thursday, and it wasn't just another bout of volatility. Stocks fell. Bonds fell. Oil rebounded sharply. Commodities tightened across the board.

Keir Starmer's Labour Party suffered heavy early losses in local elections on Friday, showing the depth of voter anger with the British prime minister and increasing doubts about his future just two years after a landslide victory in a national vote.

Lebanon and Israel will hold a third round of direct discussions in Washington next Thursday and Friday, a US State Department official confirmed, speaking on condition of anonymity. 

U.S. and Iranian forces clashed in the Gulf, and the UAE came under renewed attack, endangering a month-old ceasefire and shaking hopes for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.