Middle East & North Africa

CAIRO (AP) — A Libyan court Monday sentenced 23 suspected Islamic State group militants to death for launching deadly attacks that killed dozens of people, including Egyptian Coptic Christians.

The appeals court in the western city of Misrata also sentenced 14 other militants to life in prison who were convicted on the same charges, which include destruction of police facilities and public property.

The court sentenced nine defendants to between three and 12 years in prison. It acquitted five suspects.

The court did not elaborate further details.

Tehran, IRNA - Iranian President Ebrahim Rayeesi has said that Iran and Oman have upgraded their cooperation from a level of simple trade to cooperation on investment projects.

President Raisi made the remarks in a joint meeting between high-ranking Iranian and Omani officials in Tehran on Sunday.

The joint viewpoints and approach for regional convergence of the two countries' leaders along with proper capacities can broaden their cooperation at bilateral and regional levels, he said in the meeting. 

Tehran, IRNA- The New Development Bank (NDB) of the BRICS group of major emerging economies is currently engaged in talks with Saudi Arabia to accept the oil-rich kingdom as its ninth member, according to a report.

The Financial Times reported on Sunday that the potential addition of Saudi Arabia to the BRICS bank aims to enhance the Shanghai-based lender’s funding capabilities, especially as its founding shareholder Russia faces challenges due to Western sanctions.

28 May 2023; MEMO: Around 14 million Syrians face significant obstacles preventing their return to their homes in Syria due to the regime's seizure of land and property over the past decade, a new report has revealed.

28 May 2023; MEMO: A Turkish defense company has signed a multimillion-dollar contract with an African country to supply its border and internal security needs, reports Anadolu Agency.

Asisguard, which operates in the fields of armed drones, electro-optics, and vehicle modernization, signed a contract of some $36.5 million with the country, according to data obtained by Anadolu. The country's name was not given.

28 May 2023; MEMO: Ten European countries have called on Israel to halt its policy of home demolitions and confiscation of Palestinian properties in the occupied West Bank, reports Anadolu Agency.

The call came in a joint statement issued by the consulates general of Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the UK, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland and the Office of the European Union Representative to the West Bank and Gaza.

28 May 2023; MEMO: Western-based Christian NGOs have been accused of exploiting the plight of northern Iraq's indigenous Yazidi community by trying to proselytise Christianity to them, according to a report yesterday by Middle East Eye (MEE)...

28 May 2023; MEMO: Iraq said that an electricity grid interconnection with Jordan will start production on July 1, reports Anadolu Agency.

"Production will start with a capacity of 50 megawatts in the first phase," Electricity Ministry spokesman Ahmed Moussa said in statements quoted by state news agency INA.

He said production had been scheduled to start in June but "was delayed due to weather conditions and arrangements on the Jordanian side."

28 May 2023; MEMO: Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said arrived in Tehran on Sunday for a two-day visit expected to focus on regional diplomatic and security issues, Iranian state media reported, two days after Muscat mediated a prisoner swap between Iran and Belgium, reports Reuters.

Oman has long been an interlocutor for the West with Iran and has mediated the release of several foreign citizens and dual nationals.

28 May 2023; MEMO: The leaders of Qatar, Hungary, Somalia and Pakistan were among the first heads of state and government on Sunday to congratulate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is leading in the presidential runoff election.

"My dear brother, congratulations on your victory, and I wish you success in your new term, and that you achieve in it what the brotherly Turkish people aspire to in terms of progress and prosperity," Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said on Twitter.