Mena Today

Berkay Ucar has almost given up hope of finding work after his eight-month search only generated a few unsuccessful interviews.

Lebanon is seeking changes to a U.S. ceasefire proposal to ensure a speedier withdrawal of Israeli troops from south Lebanon and to give both parties the right to self-defence, a senior Lebanese official said on Thursday.

Judges at the International Criminal Court have issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah traded deadly blows on Thursday as their war raged on despite signs of progress in U.S. ceasefire efforts, with airstrikes pounding Beirut's southern suburbs and rockets flying into northern Israel.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Thursday during which they discussed the OPEC+ oil agreement and the situation in the Middle East, the Kremlin said.

Russia is ready to consider any "realistic" peace initiative on the conflict in Ukraine which takes into account Russia's own interests and the situation on the ground, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

The death toll from Israeli airstrikes targeting pro-Iranian groups in the central Syrian city of Palmyra on Wednesday has risen to 68, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Thursday.

Hamas' acting Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya said in remarks broadcast on Wednesday that there would be no hostages-for-prisoners swap deal with Israel unless the war in the Palestinian enclave ended. 

Egypt is in talks with U.S. and other foreign companies to purchase long-term volumes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as it seeks to cut its reliance on more costly spot market purchases to meet power demand, three sources said.

Ukraine fired a volley of British Storm Shadow cruise missiles into Russia on Wednesday, the latest new Western weapon it has been permitted to use on Russian targets a day after it fired U.S. ATACMS missiles.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said in a televised speech aired on Wednesday that his group had reviewed and given feedback on a U.S.-drafted ceasefire proposal to end fighting with Israel, and that a halt to hostilities was now in Israel's hands.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will travel to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates next month, a source briefed on the plans said on Wednesday, as Britain seeks to deepen ties with the wealthy Gulf states.