Middle East & North Africa

TEHRAN, Jun 13 (NNN-IRNA) – The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, yesterday, rejected the U.S. claim that Iran is sending materials to Russia, to help Moscow build a drone manufacturing plant.

Nasser Kanaani made the remarks, at a weekly press conference, in response to the White House’s allegation that Tehran “provided hundreds of armed drones to Russia last month, for Moscow’s war in Ukraine,” according to a statement on the website of Iran’s Foreign Ministry.

CAIRO, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Egypt and the Republic of Korea have signed a financing deal worth 460 million U.S. dollars on manufacturing 40 trains that include 320 carriages for the second and third lines of the metro in Cairo, the Egyptian Ministry of International Cooperation announced Tuesday.

The agreement was signed in Cairo by the Egyptian ministry and the ROK's Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) on Monday.

Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said the deal is part of the soft finance provided by the EDCF to Egypt.

CAIRO (AP) — The United Nations has secured an insurance coverage to start a ship-to-ship transfer of 1.1 million barrels of crude from a rusting tanker moored off the coast of war-torn Yemen — oil that could cause a major environmental disaster.

The United Nations Development Program described the insurance is “a pivotal milestone” in a yearslong effort to evacuate the cargo of the FSO Safer, which is at risk of rupture or exploding.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday his country is ready to open a consulate in Shusha, a city that Azerbaijan took from Armenian forces in a war in 2020.

Erdogan made the comment during a visit to Azerbaijan at the start of his third term in office following presidential elections last month.

“We are ready to open our consulate whenever you wish,” Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Erdogan as telling Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and other officials at the start of bilateral talks.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The World Bank and Jordan are using a “flawed” algorithm to calculate aid for the kingdom’s citizens, excluding some people who are impoverished, hungry or otherwise struggling, a leading rights group said Tuesday.

Human Rights Watch reported that the automated program ranks the income and socioeconomic status of Jordanian families, a practice known as “poverty targeting.” The report said that approach leaves out some needy people — such as the owners of modest businesses — increasing poverty in a nation of 10 million citizens.

13 June 2023; MEMO: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas began a four-day state visit to China on Tuesday. This is his fifth official trip to the country, said the spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry in Beijing.

Abbas is in China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, explained Hua Chunying. He is the first Arab state leader to be hosted by Xi this year, as China and Palestine mark 35 years of diplomatic relations. Beijing has described Abbas as "an old and good friend of the Chinese people."

13 June 2023; MEMO: Egypt's supply minister has denied that India is providing Cairo with a credit line to help boost the North African country's failing economy, after Bloomberg reported New Delhi was giving Cairo an unspecified sum.

Reuters reported that the Egyptian Supply Minister Ali Moselhy said that instead, discussions were ongoing for imports using local currencies other than the dollar.

13 June 2023; MEMO:Iraq's parliament has today approved a budget of $153 billion (198.9 trillion Iraqi dinars) for 2023, a record amount aimed at improving public services and improving infrastructure. According to Reuters, the budget deficit is estimated at a record 64.36tn dinars, more than double the last budget deficit in 2021.

12 June 2023; MEMO: Deputy Secretary-General of Lebanon's Hezbollah group, Sheikh Naim Qassem, has affirmed the group's support for the head of the Marada Movement, Suleiman Franjieh, to become Lebanon's next president.

12 June 2023; MEMO: The United States has sent military reinforcements to its bases in Syria's northeastern Al-Hasakah province, Anadolu news agency reported citing local sources yesterday.

A military convoy of 40 vehicles arrived in the province after crossing into Syria through Al-Waleed border terminal with Iraq on Sunday, the sources said.