Mena Today

Hopes for a peace deal on Iran faded on Tuesday after Donald Trump said a ceasefire with Iran was "on life support" as Tehran rejected a U.S. proposal to end the conflict and stuck to a list of demands the U.S. president described as "garbage".

Orthodox Christian bishops in Georgia elected a new patriarch, Shio III, on Monday, in what is a pivotal juncture for the South Caucasus country where the Church plays an influential role in social and political life.

European Union foreign ministers reached an agreement on Monday on new sanctions targeting violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, as well as leading Hamas figures, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. 

Abu Dhabi is putting its $57 billion infrastructure agenda front and centre this week. 

The United Nations human rights chief warned on Monday that widening and intensifying violence in Sudan, as well as the rising use of drones, could lead to more death and displacement.

Israel's Iron Dome has been nearly 99% effective against missiles from Hamas and Hezbollah militants and has knocked out most missiles from Iran, the chairman of state-owned Iron Dome maker Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd said on Monday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will visit Qatar on Tuesday for talks on the Iran war, its impact on the Gulf and efforts to ensure navigational safety in the Strait of Hormuz, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Monday.

The European Union is taking its most significant step toward re-engaging with Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, as EU foreign ministers meet Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Brussels Monday to launch a high-level political dialogue.

President Donald Trump's swift rejection of Iran's response to a U.S. peace proposal sent oil prices surging on Monday amid concerns the 10-week-old conflict will drag on, keeping shipping through the Strait of Hormuz paralysed.

A Turkish Airlines plane was evacuated after smoke was observed from its landing gear while it was taxiing after landing in Nepal's capital of Kathmandu, the airline said, forcing the closure of the airport for an hour.

President Donald Trump on Sunday rejected Iran's response to a U.S. proposal for peace talks to end the war, as two ships were allowed to pass through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Saturday to discuss security threats and defence cooperation in the Middle East, the State Department announced.