Mena Today

Syrians in government-held areas headed to the polls on Monday to elect a new parliament, a vote expected to yield few surprises and labelled a farce by political opposition groups.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad said on Monday he would only meet Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan if the two countries could focus on the core issues of Ankara's support for "terrorism" and the pullout of Turkish forces from Syrian territory.

Two vessels came under attack on Monday in the Red Sea off Yemen's port city of Hodeidah, with one ship reporting it had sustained some damage, Britain's maritime agency said.

Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates reached an agreement allowing for the resumption of travel between the two countries, Nigeria's information minister said on Monday.

An altercation in Bourj Hammoud, north of Beirut, escalated into a physical fight and gunfire on Saturday night, resulting in multiple injuries, local media reported. 

Kuwait's budget is projected to show a deficit of 5.6 billion dinars ($18.33 billion) for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, with expenses estimated at 24.5 billion dinars and revenues at 18.9 billion dinars, the Ministry of Finance announced on Sunday.

When Ahmed Elgendy met Mohamed Salah in January, he was given a pep talk and posed for a picture with the Egyptian soccer star while wearing the modern pentathlon silver medal that he earned at the Tokyo Olympics.

The crown prince of Dubai has been appointed as minister of defence for the United Arab Emirates as part of a broader cabinet shuffle, Dubai ruler and UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum posted on X.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Israel of having "no intention of peace" in Gaza during a press conference on Sunday with his Saudi counterpart, who was visiting Istanbul.

Louisa Hanoune, leader of the Algerian Workers' Party (Trotskyist), who was imprisoned following the Hirak protest movement in 2019, announced on Saturday her withdrawal from the upcoming presidential election. 

The Israeli military said that Rafa Salama, Hamas' Khan Younis brigade commander, was killed in an air strike on Saturday that also targeted the head of the group's armed wing, Mohammed Deif.

A senior Hamas official said on Sunday that the Islamist group has not withdrawn from ceasefire talks with Israel after this weekend's deadly attacks in Gaza that Israel said had targeted the group's military leader Mohammed Deif.