Mena Today

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russia's sovereign wealth fund chief Kirill Dmitriev were involved in negotiations over the release of U.S. teacher Marc Fogel from a Russian prison, a source close to the negotiations between Russia and the United States told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology was not involved in the creation or leakage of the COVID-19 virus, a spokesperson of China's foreign ministry said during a regular press conference on Wednesday.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.

Newly appointed Lebanese Foreign Minister, Joe Raggi, is set to travel to Paris on Wednesday to participate in a ministerial conference on Syria, scheduled for Thursday, February 13.

German opposition leader and chancellor-hopeful Friedrich Merz is scheduled to meet U.S. Vice President JD Vance for bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, a party spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Israel's military has called up reservists in preparation for a possible resumption of fighting in Gaza if Hamas fails to meet a Saturday deadline to release more Israeli hostages and a nearly month-old ceasefire breaks down.

U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend a meeting of global financiers and tech executives hosted by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund in Miami later in February, according to several people with knowledge of the event.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday Iran should further develop its military, including its missiles, after U.S. President Donald Trump made threats of force against Tehran if it refused to negotiate over its nuclear programme.

The United Arab Emirates called on Tuesday for a ceasefire in Sudan during the coming holy month of Ramadan, a UAE official said, a call rejected by the Sudanese army, as the country's civil war approaches the two-year mark.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, on an unannounced visit to Moscow, secured the release on Tuesday of Marc Fogel, an American schoolteacher detained in Russia since August 2021, the White House said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that if Hamas did not release Israeli hostages by noon on Saturday a fragile ceasefire in Gaza would end and the Israeli army would resume its offensive in the Palestinian enclave until the militant group is defeated.

Mosul’s Grand al-Nuri Mosque, known for its eight-century-old leaning minaret, destroyed by Islamic State militants in 2017, has been renovated in a boost for Iraq's second city as it rebuilds after long years of war.