Mena Today

Jordanian FM Ayman Safadi held a phone conversation on Monday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, addressing key regional and international issues. 

Syria's new rulers have installed some foreign fighters including Uyghurs, a Jordanian and a Turk in the country's armed forces as Damascus tries to shape a patchwork of rebel groups into a professional military, two Syrian sources said.

Ukraine and Russia carried out a new exchange of prisoners of war on Monday, with Kyiv bringing home 189 former captives, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday.

Iran confirmed the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala for "violating the laws of the Islamic Republic", Iran's official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.

The Chinese government urged local officials to provide more financial relief or step up one-time allowances to people in need ahead of major holidays over the next month, as China's economic difficulties are set to extend into 2025.

Syria's de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa held talks on Monday with a senior Ukrainian delegation led by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, the Syrian state news agency (SANA) reported, as Kyiv moves to build ties with the new leadership in Damascus.

Israeli airline El Al announced on Monday that it will suspend its flights to Moscow, Russia’s capital, until the end of March 2025. 

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi has praised former U.S. President Jimmy Carter for his pivotal role in fostering peace between Egypt and Israel. 

Turkey is ready to supply electricity to Syria and Lebanon and a team of government officials is already in Syria working on how to resolve its energy issues, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said.

A gas explosion killed three police officers as maintenance work was being performed at Egypt's police academy in Cairo on Sunday night, the country's interior ministry said in a statement on social media.

Abdel Rahmane al-Qaradaoui, the son of the late influential preacher Youssef al-Qaradaoui, was detained in Lebanon on Saturday upon returning from Syria, according to a Lebanese judicial official speaking on condition of anonymity. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in good condition and fully conscious after his prostate surgery ended "successfully," his office said on Sunday.