Middle East & North Africa

14 May 2023; MEMO: Israel and Palestinian groups in Gaza on Saturday agreed to an Egyptian-mediated cease-fire set to go into effect at 10 p.m., Anadolu reports.

Egyptian media including Al-Qahera News TV quoted Egyptian sources as confirming both sides' commitment to the cease-fire proposal.

"In light of the agreement of both sides, Egypt announces a cease-fire between the Palestinian and the Israeli side has been reached," read the text of the agreement seen by Anadolu.

15 May 2023; MEMO: Polling stations across Turkiye closed on Sunday as voting in the country's presidential and parliamentary elections ended at 5 p.m. local time (1400GMT), Anadolu reports.

More than 64.1 million people were registered to vote, including over 1.76 million who cast their ballots abroad and 4.9 million first-time voters.

A total of 191,885 ballot boxes were set up for voters in the country.

14 May 2023; MEMO: Egypt's government sold a 9.5% stake in state-controlled Telecom Egypt ETEL.CA for 3.75 billion Egyptian pounds ($121.6 million), the finance ministry said in a statement on Sunday, breathing life into a privatisation programme that had seemingly stalled, Reuters reports.

Telecom Egypt's is the second sale of state assets since Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly promised on April 29 to press ahead with the sales programme and sell assets worth $2 billion by the end of June.

15 May 2023; MEMO: For the first time in its history, the UN General Assembly is commemorating the Palestine Nakba today, UN and Palestinian sources said.

"This year marks the 75th anniversary of the mass displacement of Palestinians known as 'the Nakba' or 'the Catastrophe,'" the UN said in a statement posted on its official website.

ASWAN, Egypt (AP) — The café outside Aswan station was full of Sudanese families, surrounded by luggage and waiting for the train to Cairo, the next leg in their arduous journey escaping violence that has torn apart their country and overturned their lives.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s presidential elections appeared headed for a runoff Monday, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pulling ahead of his chief challenger, but falling short of an outright victory that would extend his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has ruled his country with an increasingly firm grip for 20 years, was locked in a tight election race early Monday, with a make-or-break runoff against his chief challenger possible as the final votes were counted.

ANKARA, May 14. /TASS/: More than 64 million Turkish citizens will cast their ballot in the presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday.

The elections are special partly because they are held during the year when the Republic of Turkey is marking its 100th anniversary.

Polling stations will be open between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. local time (same as Moscow time). Overall, a total of 191,884 ballot boxes will be installed in the country and abroad.

GAZA/JERUSALEM May 14 (Reuters) - Life on both sides of the Gaza Strip border began returning to normal on Sunday after an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire halted five days of fighting between Israel and Islamic Jihad, which killed 34 Palestinians and an Israeli.

Israel reopened its goods and commercial border crossings, allowing fuel to flow to the lone power plant in the blockaded coastal enclave. Shops and public offices reopened and crowds returned to streets that had been deserted for days.

ISTANBUL, May 14 (Reuters) - Turks voted on Sunday in one of the most consequential elections in the country's 100-year history, a contest that could end President Tayyip Erdogan's imperious 20-year rule and reverberate well beyond Turkey's borders.

The presidential vote will decide not only who leads Turkey, a NATO-member country of 85 million, but also how it is governed, where its economy is headed amid a deep cost of living crisis, and the shape of its foreign policy.