Mena Today

A New Year's message of hope for Mena Today readers. As we bid farewell to 2023, it's impossible to ignore the turbulent and often harrowing events that have defined the year. 

The prime ministers of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali on Saturday affirmed their commitment to a shared future under an alliance that has seen the three junta-led countries distance themselves from the larger West African political bloc since their coups.

 U.S. singer, dancer and "American Idol" star Paula Abdul filed a lawsuit accusing British television executive Nigel Lythgoe of sexually assaulting her when they worked together on two popular talent shows, according to court documents.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organization on Saturday received a report of an incident in the Red Sea about 55 nautical miles southwest of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.

 An Israeli-French woman who was among scores of people taken hostage by Hamas militants has described how she feared being raped by the gunman who watched over her around the clock in the home where he lived with his wife and children in Gaza.

McDonald's Malaysia has sued a movement promoting boycotts against Israel for "false and defamatory statements" that it says hurt its business, seeking damages amounting to 6 million ringgit ($1.31 million).

Israel must take full control of the Gaza Strip border corridor with Egypt to ensure a "demilitarisation" of the area, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday, as Israel's military pushed deeper into central and southern Gaza.

Starting January 1, 2024, France will no longer accept new "detached" imams, meaning those sent by other countries.

The United Arab Emirates has completed negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement with the Republic of Congo, the second such deal announced with an African state in a week.

The armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said on Saturday that an Israeli soldier being held captive by the group in Gaza had been killed in an Israeli air strike that had also wounded some of his captors.

The CMA CGM Palais Royal, the world's largest LNG-powered container ship with a capacity of 23,000 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), made an exceptional stop at the port of Beirut on Saturday.

In a significant security crackdown, Turkish authorities have apprehended nearly 200 individuals suspected of being associated with the jihadist group ISIS.