Mena Today

Syria’s Latakia port welcomed its first major shipment of wheat since the ousting of former President Bashar al-Assad by rebel forces in December 2024. 

Democratic Republic of Congo suspended former President Joseph Kabila's political party and ordered his assets seized over accusations of supporting Rwandan-backed rebels in the east, the government said.

In a bold move that’s sending ripples through diplomatic circles, South Carolina’s Rep. Joe Wilson took to X in April 2025 to demand a seismic shift in U.S. policy on the Western Sahara. 

Several multinational energy companies, including U.S. giant Chevron, have pulled out of their oil and gas exploration blocks in Egypt’s Red Sea after failing to make any viable discoveries, Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum confirmed this week.

The United Arab Emirates has successfully mediated the largest exchange of captives between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ukraine since the outbreak of their conflict in 2022, bringing the total number of individuals exchanged through UAE efforts to 3,771.

In a moving display of faith and unity, Pope Tawadros II, head of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, presided over the Easter Mass on Saturday evening at the historic St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo’s Abbasiya district.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Ukrainians on Easter Sunday not to give up hope that peace will return to their country and to persevere to overcome the difficult path of war on which they have been travelling for 1,152 days.

The father of a U.S.-Israeli hostage held in Gaza said on Saturday he remains hopeful his 21-year-old son was still alive after Hamas said it could not account for his status.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday he had instructed the military to intensify pressure on Hamas after the Palestinian terrorist group this week rejected an Israeli proposal for another temporary truce, instead demanding a deal to end the war in exchange for the release of hostages.

The United Nations Development Programme is hoping to deliver $1.3 billion over three years to support war-ravaged Syria, including by rebuilding infrastructure and backing digital start-ups, its assistant secretary-general told Reuters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a unilateral Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, ordering his forces to end hostilities at 6 p.m. Moscow time (1500 GMT) on Saturday until the end of Sunday.

Iran and the United States agreed on Saturday to task experts to start drawing up a framework for a potential nuclear deal, Iran's foreign minister said, after a second round of talks following President Donald Trump's threat of military action.