Mena Today

Syria's new President Ahmed al-Sharaa met China's ambassador to Damascus in the first public engagement between the two countries since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December, Syrian state media said on Friday.

The Forum of Families of Hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023, expressed shock and grief on Friday following an Israeli military announcement confirming that two young brothers, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, had been murdered by terrorists with their bare hands.

Russia could agree to using $300 billion of sovereign assets frozen in Europe for reconstruction in Ukraine but will insist that part of the money is spent on the one-fifth of the country that Moscow's forces control, three sources told Reuters.

Arab states who were swift to reject President Donald Trump's plan for the U.S. to take control of Gaza and resettle its Palestinians are scrambling to agree on a diplomatic offensive to counter the idea, five sources told Reuters.

Egypt’s Central Bank (CBE) has opted to keep interest rates unchanged for the seventh consecutive time, signaling a cautious approach to monetary policy as inflation risks persist.

Israeli warplanes launched overnight airstrikes from Thursday to Friday on the Syrian-Lebanese border, specifically targeting northern Lebanon and Syria’s Homs province. 

Lebanon's Hezbollah will bury its former leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday nearly five months after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike, in a mass funeral aimed at showing political strength after the group emerged badly weakened from last year's war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that Israel would make Hamas pay for failing to release the body of hostage Shiri Bibas as agreed.

Israeli police were searching for suspects on Thursday after explosions on several buses near Tel Aviv, with no casualties, authorities said.

The Syrian Salvation Front, an opposition movement against Bashar al-Assad’s regime, has strongly condemned Algeria’s unwavering support for the Syrian dictatorship and its atrocities. 

A Tunisian judge on Thursday released prominent journalist Mohamed Boughalleb, a critic of President Kais Saied, his lawyer told Reuters, a move the opposition hopes will lead to the release of other jailed opposition and media figures.

The United States' envoy to the Middle East said on Thursday that President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza was not about evicting Palestinians, and the conversation about Gaza's future was being shifted towards how to create a better future for Palestinians.