Mena Today

At the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty underscored Egypt’s strategic commitment to Africa through a series of high-level meetings with African leaders and counterparts.

Private banks in Tunisia have quietly stopped issuing new loans with terms longer than 15 years, in response to new lending regulations that are squeezing profit margins, banking officials told Reuters. 

Gabon's coup leader Brice Oligui Nguema is looking to cement his grip on power as the oil-producing Central African nation holds a presidential election on Saturday that analysts expect to be a one-sided affair.

The 4th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2025), organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, is taking place from April 11 to 13 in the Mediterranean city of Antalya. 

Iran and the U.S. held "positive" and "constructive" talks in Oman on Saturday and agreed to reconvene next week, both sides said, a dialogue meant to address Tehran's escalating nuclear programme with President Donald Trump threatening military action if there is no deal.

President Tayyip Erdogan told Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday that Turkey will continue its diplomatic efforts to lift international sanctions against Syria, Erdogan's office said.

President Donald Trump wants Iran to know that "all options are on the table" for preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons ahead of talks on Saturday between U.S. and Iranian delegations, his press secretary told reporters on Friday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused Israel on Friday of undermining Syria’s fragile transition following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, alleging that Jerusalem is exploiting internal divisions to sabotage the December 8 revolution and destabilize the region.

Over a thousand Sudanese refugees have reached or attempted to reach Europe in early 2025, the United Nations' refugee agency said on Friday, citing growing desperation in part due to reduced aid in the region.

European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic is to travel to Washington on Sunday and will hold talks with U.S. officials on Monday with the aim of reaching a deal on tariffs, an EU spokesperson said.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the main rival of Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan, appeared before a court on Friday for the first time since his high-profile arrest last month, over earlier and separate accusations of insulting a prosecutor.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has extended a deadline for a fact-finding committee to produce its report on the killings of Alawites on Syria's coast last month, the deadliest episode of sectarian violence since Sunni Islamist rebels seized power.