Mena Today

In a critical juncture for Syria, United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher met with the country’s new leaders—Commander Ahmed al-Sharaa and Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir—on Monday to discuss scaling up humanitarian assistance.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday that Turkey will "hold the key" to what happens in Syria, where rebels backed by Ankara toppled the government of Bashar al-Assad earlier this month.

The European Union should be ready to ease sanctions on Syria if the country's new leadership takes "positive steps" to establish an inclusive government and respect women's and minority rights, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday.

Iranian President Masoud Pezheshkian is set to visit Cairo on Thursday to attend the summit of the Developing Eight (D-8) group of nations, Qatari newspaper The New Arab reported Monday, citing Iranian sources.

Women from Sudan's South Kordofan state have been repeatedly raped and some held as sex slaves by fighters from the warring Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias, Human Rights Watch said in a report published on Monday.

Israel's foreign minister accused Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris on Monday of antisemitism as he defended Israel's decision to close its embassy in Dublin over Ireland's policies.

Former Lebanese minister and leader of the Tawhid Party, Wi’am Wahhab, sparked controversy on Sunday evening by calling for normalization with Israel. 

One of the four Romanian parties due to join a coalition government demanded clarity over taxation and spending plans on Monday, hampering the talks as the country races to stem the political chaos after the presidential election was annulled.

Syria's Bashar al-Assad said on Monday he was evacuated to Russia from the Hmeimim base in Syria on the evening of Dec. 8 as it came under drone attacks, after leaving Damascus that morning with opposition fighters closing in.

Authorities in Istanbul have reported the deaths of 37 people over the past six weeks due to the consumption of toxic, illegally-produced alcohol, according to an announcement made by the Istanbul Governor's Office on Monday.

The United Nations has reaffirmed its commitment to providing comprehensive assistance to the Syrian people, UN Syria envoy Geir Pedersen said during a meeting in Damascus with Syrian rebel leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa and caretaker Prime Minister Mohammad al-Bashir.