Mena Today

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on Monday he would sign a bilateral security deal with Britain as well as a strategic partnership accord as he headed to London for an official visit against a backdrop of historic shifts in the Middle East.

Khaled El-Enany, Egypt's candidate for the position of Director-General of UNESCO, has secured significant backing from several countries, including France, Gabon, and Brazil, as well as prominent international organizations such as the Arab League and the African Union.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has announced a significant $2.2 billion increase in the country’s gold reserves in 2024, elevating the total to $10.644 billion by December.

A new Irish coalition government will likely be in place by next week, a senior member of a group of independent lawmakers negotiating with the two large centre-right parties said on Monday.

Israel's budget deficit could near 5% of gross domestic product in 2025, above the government's target but below last year's 6.9% and a level that could boost its credit rating after a series of downgrades, a senior finance ministry official said.

Senior Hezbollah lawmaker Mohammed Raad said on Monday the Iran-backed group's opponents were seeking its fragmentation and exclusion from power in Lebanon.

Israeli private airline Arkia announced on Monday the launch of direct flights between Tel Aviv and New York, starting February 8. The airline will operate three weekly flights, offering round-trip tickets at a competitive price of $1,199.

Six member states of the European Union have called for the bloc to temporarily suspend sanctions on Syria in areas such as transport, energy and banking, according to a paper seen by Reuters.

Nahid Taghavi, an Iranian-German women's rights activist, has been released from prison and is back in Germany after more than four years incarceration in Iran, Amnesty International said on Monday.

Turkey's intelligence agency conducted a cross-border operation inside Syria and seized a man suspected of perpetrating a 2013 bomb attack near the Syrian border that killed dozens of people, a Turkish security source said on Monday.

Nawaf Salam, the head of the International Court of Justice, won enough support to become Lebanon's next prime minister after a majority of lawmakers backed him for the post on Monday, a big blow to Hezbollah which accused opponents of working to exclude it.

Jordan, one of the world’s most water-scarce nations, has signed a landmark agreement with a consortium of French-led investors to construct one of the world’s largest desalination plants.