Mena Today

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is set to open a representation office in Ankara within weeks, according to its Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini. 

Lebanon's central bank will seek the repayment of public funds embezzled by at least one former central bank official and by lawyers and commercial bankers, to help guarantee its liquidity, Central Bank Governor Karim Souaid said on Thursday.

Israel said Lebanon's efforts to disarm Hezbollah are far from sufficient after the Lebanese army declared that it had established operational control in the south, raising pressure on Lebanese leaders who fear Israel could escalate strikes.

Fighting intensified on Thursday between Syrian government troops and Kurdish fighters in the northern city of Aleppo, with a fierce exchange of fire extending into the night and rescue workers scrambling to put out fires ignited by the shelling.

Israel's military said on Thursday it had carried out a targeted strike on a rocket launch site near Gaza City after identifying a failed launch, as questions mount over when the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire will begin.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said on Thursday that the United Arab Emirates had spirited a separatist leader out of the country in a dramatic twist to a row between the Gulf powers, as witnesses said Saudi-backed forces advanced to the port of Aden after losing ground there.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are in talks to convert about $2 billion of Saudi loans into a JF-17 fighter jet deal, two Pakistani sources said, deepening military cooperation months after the two nations signed a mutual defence pact last year.  

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States would withdraw from dozens of international and U.N. entities, including a key climate treaty and a U.N. body that promotes gender equality and women's empowerment, because they "operate contrary to U.S. national interests."

The Lebanese army said on Thursday that it had achieved the goal of a state monopoly on arms in the country’s south in an "effective and tangible way", but said there was more work to be done to clear unexploded ordnance and tunnels in the area.

Mohammad Sinwar, the elusive Hamas military chief in Gaza, had for months since the death of his brother, in 2024, been Israel's most wanted man. On December 29, Hamas announced that he had died, aged 49, around seven months after Israel said it killed him in a strike.

Switzerland announced the seizure of bank assets belonging to 36 associates of Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela's ousted president. While the exact amount remains undisclosed, this action represents only a fraction of the deposed Marxist leader's wealth.