Mena Today

At least 31,341 Palestinians have been killed and 73,134 wounded since Oct. 7 in Israel's military offensive on the Gaza Strip, the enclave's health ministry said on Thursday.

Russia will hold a presidential election on March 15-17 which President Vladimir Putin is certain to win, barring an unexpected development. That will give the longest serving Kremlin chief since Josef Stalin another six-year term in power. 

The United States has asked Panama to ban Iranian vessels sanctioned by Washington from using its flag, U.S. State Department special envoy Abram Paley said on Wednesday.

 Britain unveiled a new definition of extremism on Thursday in response to an eruption of hate crimes against Jews and Muslims since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, although critics said the change risked infringing on freedom of speech.

Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud on Wednesday ordered a series of measures targeting Syrian refugees living in the Lebanese capital, ordering them, notably, to register their residency papers at the Beirut municipality building within 15 days.

In a significant diplomatic move, Nasser Bourita, the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, received on Wednesday the certified copies of credentials from the ambassadors of Vietnam, Suriname, Greece, and Mali.

The EU on Wednesday called on Israel to open additional crossings besides the Cyprus maritime corridor so that more aid can reach Gaza.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr crashed out of the Asian Champions League in the quarter-finals after the Saudi Pro League side lost 3-1 on penalties to Al-Ain in a pulsating game on Monday.

A centrist bloc in Israel's unity government formed around former defence minister Benny Gantz has broken up, adding to pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu five months into the Gaza war.

Senior officials from Turkey and Iraq will meet in Baghdad on Thursday to discuss energy cooperation, as well as security and defence matters, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

The Greek islands of Crete and Gavdos have seen a steep rise in migrant boats landing on their shores from Libya this year, U.N. data shows, piling pressure on ill-equipped authorities and raising fears of a new smuggling route in the Mediterranean Sea.

The head of Sudan's army has told troops it will press to take more ground after its most significant advance in an 11-month-old war against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as a charity warned of a rising risk of hunger-linked deaths.