Middle East & North Africa

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq urged countries on Monday to repatriate their citizens from a sprawling camp in Syria housing tens of thousands linked to the extremist Islamic State group, saying it has become a “source for terrorism.”

The statements were made during a conference in Baghdad discussing al-Hol camp in northeast Syria. Iraqi officials, the U.N. representative in Iraq, some members of the international coalition fighting IS and ambassadors of several countries were present.

Islamabad, Jun 12 (PTI) Pakistan's efforts to unlock access to the already agreed USD 6.5 billion loan package with IMF a quagmire after the cash-strapped country unveiled a subsidy and development-packed budget of Rs 14.46 trillion which experts say will do little to allay the concerns of the global lender.

11 June 2023; MEMO: Turkiye has called on the international community to cooperate with it in achieving the voluntary and safe return of Syrian refugees to their country, as Ankara continues to make their return a key policy goal.

A statement issued on Thursday evening by Turkiye's National Security Council emphasised the importance of the international community's cooperation on the matter of Syrian refugees and their voluntary, safe, and dignified return.

11 June 2023; MEMO: Iraq has agreed to pay about $2.76 billion in gas and electricity debt to Iran after receiving a sanctions waiver from the United States, a senior Iraqi foreign ministry official said.

11 June 2023; MEMO: Air forces from Saudi Arabia and the United States held a joint military exercise on Saturday, according to the kingdom's defense ministry.

A ministry statement said the drill, held at the King Faisal Air Base in northwestern Saudi Arabia, aims to raise the level of joint action and maintain security and stability in the region.

F-15SE fighter jets and American B-1 Lancer strategic bombers took part in the exercise.

11 June 2023; MEMO: Turkish security forces blocked the entry of a group of around 40 migrants who were attempted to be sent to Turkiye by Greece on Thursday, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, the ministry said that Turkish troops detected a group of approximately 40 people advancing toward the Turkish border in the northwestern Edirne province.

11 June 2023; MEMO: The head of Iran's atomic nuclear agency Mohammad Eslami says the country is enriching uranium on a higher scale to force the West to lift sanctions, Anadolu reports.

In an interview with the local Persian-language newspaper Etilaat on Saturday, Eslami said high-purity enrichment activity carried out in line with the parliamentary law is aimed at lifting sanctions.

11 June 2023; MEMO: Iran's supreme leader said on Sunday that a deal with the West over Tehran's nuclear work was possible if the country's nuclear infrastructure remained intact, amid a stalemate between Tehran and Washington to revive a 2015 nuclear pact, Reuters reports.

Months of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington to salvage the nuclear accord with six major powers have stalled since September, with both sides accusing each other of making unreasonable demands.

11 June 2023; MEMO: The Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced Saturday that a new visa entry system has been initiated for Sudanese wishing to enter, Anadolu reports.

The decision came as the number of Sudanese fleeing ongoing fighting in Sudan has reached more than 200,000 since mid-April.

"These measures aim to set an organisational framework for that process after more than 50 days since the outbreak of the crisis," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement.

AMMAN, Jun 11 (NNN-PETRA) – Jordan and Egypt, yesterday, inked an agreement, aimed at bolstering cooperation in the realm of gas infrastructure.

As per the deal, Egypt will utilise the floating storage vessel, located at Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Port in Aqaba, Jordan, for gas processing. In return, Jordan will receive liquefied natural gas from Egypt and will, when required, pump back a portion of the natural gas through existing pipelines between the two nations.