Mena Today

CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Venezuela's interim leader in Caracas to discuss cooperation, a U.S. official said on Friday, in the most senior known visit by a U.S. official since the United States toppled President Nicolas Maduro this month.

Greece plans to extend its territorial waters further, including potentially in the Aegean Sea, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said on Friday, despite Turkey's long-standing threat of war should Athens take such a step.

Lebanon has arrested a Syrian national who was helping senior associates of ousted president Bashar al-Assad finance fighters as part of a plot to destabilise Syria's new ruling order, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

Sudan’s gold sector is posting record production numbers even as the state captures only a thin slice of the proceeds, highlighting how the war has accelerated the shift of the industry into informal channels.

Saudi Arabia’s 90-year-old King Salman bin Abdulaziz underwent medical examinations on Friday at a hospital in Riyadh, according to a statement from the royal court.

President Vladimir Putin is mediating in the Iran situation to try to quickly de-escalate tensions, the Kremlin said on Friday, after the Russian leader spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The Munich Security Conference, one of the world's top security forums, said on Friday it was withdrawing an invitation to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi after the Tehran government's crackdown on protests across Iran this week.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was backing the newly appointed "Palestinian Technocratic Government" in Gaza where Washington has announced the launch of a second phase in a ceasefire that went into effect in October but remains fragile.

European airlines like Wizz Air, Lufthansa and British Airways dodged Iraqi and Iranian airspace on Thursday, according to flight tracking websites, opting instead for routes over Afghanistan and central Asia in an effort to mitigate risks associated with ongoing geopolitical turmoil in Iran and the Middle East.

The United States stands by the “brave people of Iran,” and President Donald Trump "has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday. 

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Thursday received Bassirou Diomaye Faye, President of Senegal, during his working visit to the United Arab Emirates, which includes participation in Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2026.

The White House said on Thursday that Iran had stepped back from plans to carry out 800 executions of protesters that were reportedly scheduled for Wednesday, while stressing that the United States continues to keep “all options” on the table.