Mena Today

The head of Iran’s state-run telecommunications company said on Saturday that internet access could be restored “today or tomorrow,” according to the Fars News Agency.

The Asian Winter Games scheduled for 2029 have been postponed to an unspecified later date, the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced on Saturday.

Airlines have been rerouting and cancelling some flights across the Middle East as tensions ramp up between Iran and the United States, with President Donald Trump saying on Thursday the U.S. had an "armada" heading towards Iran.

Air France resumed flights to Dubai on Saturday, just one day after suspending the route, citing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The abrupt stop-and-go decision has raised questions about the airline’s risk assessment and consistency.

Italy formally protested on Saturday the release on bail of the owner of a Swiss bar engulfed in a deadly New Year's Day fire and recalled its ambassador to Switzerland, as the court's decision came under criticism in both countries. 

Ukrainian and Russian negotiators began a second day of U.S.-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi on Saturday after an overnight wave of Russian airstrikes that knocked out power for millions of people amid freezing winter temperatures.

Syrian troops and Kurdish forces were massed on opposing sides of front lines in northern Syria on Saturday, as the clock ticked down to an evening deadline that would determine whether they resume fighting or lay down their arms.

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Israel on Saturday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mainly to discuss Gaza, two people briefed on the matter told Reuters.

Iran will treat any attack "as an all-out war against us," a senior Iranian official said on Friday, ahead of the arrival of a U.S. military aircraft carrier strike group and other assets in the Middle East in the coming days. 

Spain will not take part in the Board of Peace initiative launched by U.S. President Donald Trump to tackle global conflicts, saying the decision was consistent with its belief in multilateralism and the United Nations system.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog must clarify its stance on U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran's nuclear sites last June before inspectors are allowed to visit those facilities, Iranian media on Friday quoted the country's atomic chief as saying.

Russian Admiral Igor Kostyukov is set to head Moscow's team at trilateral security talks with the U.S. and Ukraine on Friday in Abu Dhabi, as part of efforts to reach a deal to end the war in Ukraine