Middle East & North Africa

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian workers in the Gaza Strip have found dozens of ancient graves, including two sarcophagi made of lead, in a Roman-era cemetery — a site dating back some 2,000 years that archaeologists describe as the largest cemetery discovered in Gaza.

Workers came upon the site last year during the construction of an Egyptian-funded housing project near Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip. Since then, crews have worked to excavate the 2,700-square-meter (2/3 acre) site with the support of French experts.

24 September 2023; MEMO: Turkiye on Saturday strongly condemned “despicable attacks” against the Muslim holy book, the Quran, outside the embassies of some member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, including the Turkish Embassy, in the Netherlands.

In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that Ankara condemns the spread of these “provocative attacks,” which are allowed to be carried out in European countries under the guise of freedom of expression.

TEHRAN, Sept 24 (NNN-TASNIM) – Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said that, an agreement on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), will be “within reach,” if the U.S. stops its “contradictory behaviours.”

Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks to reporters in New York, while elaborating on his meetings on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

JERUSALEM, Sept 24 (NNN-WAFA) – The Israeli military, yesterday, struck a military post belonging to the Hamas organisation, which rules the Gaza Strip, according to a statement released by the Israeli army.

The strike, carried out using an unmanned aerial vehicle, came, in response to a demonstration held by residents of the territory, adjacent to the border with Israel.

DUBAI, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Authorities in Iran have neutralised 30 bombs meant to go off simultaneously in Tehran and detained 28 terrorists linked to Islamic State, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday, citing the intelligence ministry.

"Some of the members are of Islamic State (IS) and the perpetrators have a history of being affiliated with Takfiri groups in Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Kurdistan region of Iraq," Iran's intelligence ministry added in a statement.

22 September 2023; AA: The Turkish-Russian Joint Observation Center detected 258 cease-fire violations by Armenia in Karabakh since January 2021.

Established to monitor and observe the cease-fire in Karabakh, the Turkish-Russian Joint Observation Center has continued its activities since Jan. 30, 2021.

The center has been operating with the regulation signed between Türkiye and Russia after the second Karabakh War, which resulted in the victory of Azerbaijan.

23 September 2023; AA: Thousands of anti-Brexit protesters on Saturday gathered in the British capital to call for rejoining the EU.

Organized by the National Rejoin March, thousands of people marched toward Parliament Square and demanded "we want our star back."

The protesters were carrying EU flags and wearing hats and t-shirts which also featured the EU flag. They were also carrying banners that called on the government to resign.

22 September 2023; MEMO: Türkiye's tech giant, Turkish Aerospace Inc (TAI), will carry out new missions in the country and abroad with various satellites besides its responsibilities in the national communications satellite Turksat 6A.

TAI Space Systems Deputy General Manager Selman Nas told Anadolu that the company developed an operational satellite for another customer by using the competencies gained in making communications satellite Turksat 6A.

23 September 2023; MEMO: The US State Department has approved a potential $500 million deal to provide maintenance support for Saudi Arabia’s fleet of combat vehicles, the Defence Security Cooperation Agency announced yesterday.

The deal would cover spare parts, components and repair services for vehicles, including Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles operated by the Royal Saudi Land Forces.

23 September 2023; MEMO: The Turkish Central Bank has, once again, hiked interest rates in the country, pushing its policy rate up five points to 30 per cent, in a continued effort to curb soaring inflation, AP reports.

According to the report, the Bank said, on Thursday, that the increase was necessary in the face of services inflation and surging oil prices. It means that the country’s interest rate is sitting at a level not seen since 2003.