Mena Today

African leaders meeting in Ethiopia this weekend are to launch a new push for slavery and colonial reparations, but can expect to be stonewalled by former colonial powers, most of which have ruled out making amends for historical wrongs.

Hamas does not want the Gaza ceasefire agreement to collapse, the Palestinian militant group said on Thursday, ahead of a Saturday deadline for it to release more Israeli hostages.

Syria's new rulers are combing through the billion-dollar corporate empires of ousted president Bashar al-Assad's allies, and have held talks with some of these tycoons, in what they say is a campaign to root out corruption and illegal activity.     

An agreement signed years ago for the creation of a Russian naval base in Sudan remains on the table following talks in Moscow, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Yusef Sharif said in an interview with Russia Today on Wednesday.

Jordan's King Abdullah discussed on Wednesday "dangerous developments" in Gaza and the West Bank during a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to a post on X by the Jordanian royal court.

Egypt continues to strengthen its economic and diplomatic footprint in Africa, with Minister Badr Abdelatty engaging in key meetings with African officials on Wednesday.

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday that peace efforts in the region should be on the basis of a two-state solution for the Israel-Palestinian conflict, state news agency WAM reported.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russia's sovereign wealth fund chief Kirill Dmitriev were involved in negotiations over the release of U.S. teacher Marc Fogel from a Russian prison, a source close to the negotiations between Russia and the United States told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology was not involved in the creation or leakage of the COVID-19 virus, a spokesperson of China's foreign ministry said during a regular press conference on Wednesday.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.

Newly appointed Lebanese Foreign Minister, Joe Raggi, is set to travel to Paris on Wednesday to participate in a ministerial conference on Syria, scheduled for Thursday, February 13.

German opposition leader and chancellor-hopeful Friedrich Merz is scheduled to meet U.S. Vice President JD Vance for bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, a party spokesperson said on Wednesday.