Trending Middle East brings you the latest social media and search trends from the region and around the world.
On today’s episode, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urges Israel to abide by its international legal obligations, stressing that “escalation is not the solution”. His comments come after Israel launched a two-day incursion in the West Bank this week, its largest military operation in the area in decades.
Twitter threatens to sue Meta over the social media company's Threads app. A letter from lawyer Alex Spiro says Elon Musk's X Corp has “serious concerns” that Mark Zuckerberg's company has engaged in “systemic, wilful and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter's trade secrets and other intellectual property”.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani has ordered sweeping changes to senior security posts, including the heads of the National Security Service, the Intelligence Service and other senior roles in these departments, a government official tells The National.
Central bank digital currencies are becoming more popular, with 109 countries actively exploring or engaging with them across various phases of development as of last month, according to a report by Finbold, a UK financial news platform.



![A damaged car and a damaged building are seen at the site of a strike in Bartalla in the northern Iraqi Nineveh province on July 29, 2026. US-Saudi strikes on Iraq on July 29 killed at least 20 members of a former paramilitary alliance that includes pro-Iran groups, the alliance said. The United States and Saudi Arabia said they had struck Iran-backed militants in Iraq in response to attacks on US forces and Saudi oil facilities. (Photo by Zaid AL-OBEIDI / AFP) / Attention editors: AFP covers the war in the Middle East through its extensive regional network, including bureaus in Tehran, Jerusalem and several neighboring countries. Since the start of the conflict, journalists have been working under increasingly restrictive conditions. Authorities in several countries have limited reporters’ movements, photo and live video coverage from sensitive locations. Some governments and armed groups have banned images of missile or drone strikes and other security-related sites. / “The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Ziad OBEID has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: corrects byline [Zaid AL-OBEIDI] instead of [Ziad OBEID]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require. ”](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/PLSC2TSQZTFNYGSCPBJVUPIB2I.jpg?smart=true&auth=b0d3bd2d2b21bfcd8f9d5a89db763ef91727ee31e46f2bd5651027a66d97a8f5&width=124&height=69)
