Mena Today

Two oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed course in the Red Sea on Tuesday after threats from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, as a widening Middle East conflict disrupted shipping through two of the world's most critical energy chokepoints.

The level of "interaction" with Iran's Supreme Leader is increasing day by day, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a video clip published on state media on Tuesday.

Ozgur Ozel, ousted as leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), said on Tuesday he was formally resigning from his party to launch a new one, the latest twist in an unprecedented crackdown on President Tayyip Erdogan's opponents.

Syria's General Authority for Land and Sea Ports and Customs said Tuesday that customs officers had thwarted an attempt to smuggle more than 200 hand grenades hidden inside a vehicle attempting to cross the border toward Lebanon.

Turkey's opposition leader, Ozgur Ozel, said on Tuesday he will resign from the main opposition party and form a new one, amid a nearly two-year long legal crackdown on President Tayyip Erdogan's political opponents. 

Lebanese army troops began deploying in the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh on Tuesday after Israeli forces withdrew from the area, a senior Lebanese security official said, in line with a U.S.-brokered plan.

Israel's main left-wing party, Hademocratim (The Democrats), launched its campaign for the October 27 legislative elections on Monday evening, after selecting its list of candidates through primaries.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is set on Tuesday to present U.S. President Donald Trump with a plan on how to disarm the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and secure Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested when he visits the U.S., after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was still considering the move.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis will impose a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, they said on Monday, further throttling a global energy market already greatly restricted by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. 

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has endorsed former President Macky Sall's candidacy to become the next United Nations secretary-general, the foreign ministry said on Monday, giving his predecessor crucial backing from his home country despite deep political divisions.

Nicaragua's long-serving president Daniel Ortega said the Central American country will no longer hold elections, eliminating the possibility of an electoral challenge when his term ends next year and further entrenching the rule he shares with his wife.