Mena Today

Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday in Jerusalem © Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he will meet President Donald Trump later this month, saying a second phase of the U.S. president's Gaza plan was close.

President Donald Trump describes a Middle East in transition and argues that the region, long seen as a focal point of global instability, now presents expanding opportunities for partnership, investment, and strategic cooperation. 

Fifty-five Iranians deported from the United States will return to their home country in the coming days, Iran's foreign ministry said on Sunday, in the second such deportation under President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

Benin's government said on Sunday its armed forces had foiled a coup attempt after a group of soldiers in the West African nation claimed on national television to have seized power.

A giant Christmas tree adorned with red and gold baubles stands in the West Bank city of Bethlehem for the first time since 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that he had had a long and "substantive" phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa warned on Saturday that Israel’s insistence on establishing a demilitarized zone in southern Syria places the country in a “dangerous position.” 

Lebanese Foreign Minister Joe Raggi said on Saturday that any handover of Hezbollah’s weapons to the Lebanese authorities ultimately depends on a decision from Iran. 

Tunisians took to the streets on Saturday for a third straight week to protest against President Kais Saied's expanding crackdown on the opposition, critics and NGOs, urging the release of political prisoners.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Reuters on Saturday that not advancing the U.S.-backed Gaza ceasefire plan to its next stage would be a "huge failure" for the world and Washington, noting that President Donald Trump had personally led the push.

In an unusual move that cuts against the usual script of mutual accusations and threats, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, has delivered a direct appeal to the people of Lebanon: We want peace, not your territory.