Mena Today

Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters streamed to Jerusalem on Thursday in a show of force against military conscription, a hot-button issue placing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition under increasing political strain.

Syrian soldiers will be allowed to use Turkish military barracks for training meant to boost Syria's military capabilities, while 49 Syrian students will begin schooling at Turkish military academies from Friday onwards, Ankara said on Thursday.

Egyptian officials are hoping the inauguration of a vast new museum on Saturday will accelerate the revival of a tourism industry hampered for more than a decade by internal upheaval, a pandemic and regional conflicts. 

Britain sanctioned Iranian banker and businessman Aliakbar Ansari on Thursday, citing his role in financially supporting the activities of Iran's Revolutionary Guards as the reason for its action.

Turkey and Germany have high potential in the defence industry and must focus on joint projects, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Ankara.

In a somewhat confusing moment of cartographic creativity, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced Wednesday night on LCI that France had sent both military and civilian personnel to Israel to join a U.S.-led coordination center “between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv” — part of ongoing plans to manage the post-war situation in Gaza.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he had agreed with President Xi Jinping to trim tariffs on China in exchange for Beijing cracking down on the illicit fentanyl trade, resuming U.S. soybean purchases and keeping rare earths exports flowing.

The centrist D66 party made huge gains in Dutch elections likely giving it the lead in the formation of the next government, as the party of far-right leader Geert Wilders lost support.

Syria has secured $28 billion in investments over the past ten months, according to interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The announcement was made on Wednesday during his speech at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog is carrying out inspections in Iran, but not at the three sites bombed by the United States in June, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday. 

Saudi Arabia's economy minister forecast real GDP growth of 5.1% for 2025, supported by the non-oil sector, as the kingdom accelerates efforts to diversify away from oil.

The world's largest multilateral climate fund has made its largest financial commitment to date to help build a $6 billion water desalination project in Jordan, its top executive said.