Middle East & North Africa

TEHRAN, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Iran and Uzbekistan on Sunday signed 10 cooperation agreements and one joint statement in Iran's capital Tehran, according to the website of the Iranian president's office.

The agreements, including cooperation in transportation, pharmaceutical production, insurance, trade, technology, and agriculture, were signed by the two countries' high-ranking officials in the presence of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his visiting Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

TEHRAN, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Iran's border guards smashed a group of armed terrorists in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Sunday.

The terrorists sought to enter Iran through its southeastern border, but were ambushed by Iranian border guards, Mehr quoted Reza Shojaei, commander of Sistan and Baluchestan's border police, as saying, without detailing their affiliation.

One terrorist was killed and a number of them were injured in the operation that involved an exchange of fire between the two sides, he said.

JERUSALEM, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that his government will resume the advancement of the contested plan to overhaul the judiciary system as early as this week.

Speaking at the opening of the weekly Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said his government will take "practical steps" to reform the justice system in a "responsible and measured manner."

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Ministers from Germany and France tasked with regulating migration are joining forces to try to curb deaths on dangerous routes across the Mediterranean Sea, traveling Sunday for talks with the president and their counterpart in Tunisia, a major North African stepping stone for migrants trying to reach Europe at risk of their lives.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday his government intends to move ahead on contentious plans to change the country’s judicial system after talks aimed at finding a compromise solution appeared to be crumbling.

The government’s plans to overhaul the judiciary plunged Israel into one of its worst domestic crises ever earlier this year. Negotiations between the government and opposition parties somewhat alleviated the crisis with attempts to find a middle ground over proposed changes to the country’s justice system.

LOD, Israel (AP) — A relentless wave of violent crime within Israel’s Palestinian minority is turning cities and towns into bloody battlefields, exasperating a community feeling increasingly forsaken by Israeli authorities.

Anger over the mounting insecurity is directed at Israel’s government and its ultranationalist minister in charge of police, Itamar Ben-Gvir. Critics say that with his history of anti-Arab rhetoric, he cannot be trusted to combat the rising scourge.

17 June 2023; MEMO: Turkiye's top defense official held separate talks on Friday with his Dutch and US counterparts on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels, according the Turkish National Defense Ministry, Anadolu reports.

In the meetings, National Defense Minister Yasar Guler discussed bilateral and regional defense, security, and defense industry cooperation with the Netherlands' Kajsa Ollagren and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the ministry said in a statement.

17 June 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Iran on Saturday amid a rapprochement between the two Middle East arch-foes, Iranian state TV said, Reuters reports.

Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed in March, in a deal brokered by China, to end a diplomatic rift and reestablish relations following years of hostility that had endangered regional stability including in Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.

17 June 2023; MEMO: The Turkish national defense minister said Saturday that if Sweden fulfills its commitments it can become a NATO member like Finland, Anadolu reports.

Meeting reporters in Brussels after the NATO defense ministers meeting, Yasar Guler expressed support for the military alliance's "open door" policy.

17 June 2023; MEMO: Turkiye is looking to increase its exports to $265 billion by the end of 2023, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, Anadolu reports.

"Despite the negative global economic outlook, we want to increase our exports to $265 billion at the end of this year and $285 billion next year," Erdogan said addressing the 30th Ordinary General Assembly of Turkish Exporters Assembly and Export Champions Award Ceremony in Ankara.