Mena Today

Fourteen months into the war, there are at least three signs that the Israeli economy still enjoys the confidence of investors.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced on Thursday that Syria’s newly installed leader, Ahmad al-Shara—previously known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani—has affirmed the long-standing and strategic nature of the relationship between Syria and Russia. 

Lebanon said on Thursday it was looking forward to having the best neighbourly relations with Syria, in its first official message to the new administration in Damascus.

Syria's new authorities on Thursday launched a security crackdown in a coastal region where 14 policemen were killed a day before, vowing to pursue "remnants" of the ousted Bashar al-Assad government accused of the attack, state media reported.

The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) called on Thursday for a timely Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon, citing what it called Israeli violations of a Nov. 27 ceasefire agreement with Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

Israel's ultranationalist security minister ascended to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Thursday for what he said was a "prayer" for hostages in Gaza, freshly challenging rules over one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East.

Hezbollah has chosen the final resting place for its former Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, according to sources cited by Saudi news outlet Asharq Al-Awsat. 

Syria’s new administration is reportedly preparing to file a memorandum with international courts seeking hundreds of billions of dollars in compensation from Iran for its role in the country’s devastating 13-year war.

Russia sees no point in a weak ceasefire to freeze the war in Ukraine but Moscow wants a legally binding deal for a lasting peace that would ensure the security of both Russia and its neighbours, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

Turkey has decided to allow parliament's pro-Kurdish party to hold talks with militant leader Abdullah Ocalan on his island prison, the pro-government Sabah newspaper reported on Thursday, setting up the first such visit in nearly a decade.

Fourteen members of the Syrian police were killed in an "ambush" by forces loyal to the ousted government in the Tartous countryside, the transitional administration said early on Thursday, as demonstrations and an overnight curfew elsewhere marked the most widespread unrest since Bashar al-Assad's removal more than two weeks ago.