Middle East & North Africa

25 Apr 2023; MEMO: Turkiye imposed a 130 per cent import tariff on some grain imports including wheat and corn, according to a presidential decision published on Tuesday in the Official Gazette, Reuters reports.

The import duty comes after some European Union countries announced bans on grain imports from Ukraine last week. But some traders said Turkiye's move is largely to protect its local agricultural sectors ahead of landmark 14 May elections.

25 Apr 2023; MEMO: Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority disputed, on Tuesday, whether a Flydubai plane had been hit by a bird strike in Nepali airspace, calling the United Arab Emirates carrier's account of the incident "misleading", Reuters reports.

The airline had said a flight carrying 167 passengers from the Nepali capital, Kathmandu, to Dubai experienced a bird strike during take-off late on Monday.

25 Apr 2023; MEMO: Tensions ran high as ceremonies commemorating slain Israeli soldiers and victims of attacks turned into protests on Tuesday, far from the decades-old tradition of Memorial Day unity, Reuters reports.

Despite calls from Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and opposition leaders to put disagreements aside, the friction was palpable as bereaved families laid wreaths and lit candles at graves across the country.

25 Apr 2023; MEMO: Police in Turkiye have detained 110 people across the country in what it called a "counter-terror" operation, with politicians, lawyers and journalists reportedly among those arrested, local Turkish media reports.

According to the report, the operation focused mainly on the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir in the country's south-east, but extended as far as 21 provinces.

25 Apr 2023; MEMO: Iran has imposed sanctions on numerous individuals and entities in the European Union and United Kingdom, in retaliation to their recent imposition of sanctions against Tehran.

25 Apr 2023; MEMO: Following a backlash from American Jewish leaders and the Biden Administration, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office has backtracked from sending far-right Likud MK, May Golan, to New York as Consul-General, Hebrew media reported on Monday.

Golan has a past of incendiary rhetoric, the Hebrew media said, stating that Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, himself had recognised that the appointment was not suitable.

25 Apr 2023; MEMO: Less than two months after Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic ties, the two Persian Gulf neighbours have resumed their bilateral trade, according to officials on Tuesday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Mining, Reza Fatemi Amin, said in statements cited by state news agency, IRNA, that the entry of Iranian goods into Saudi Arabia was "on the agenda".

ANKARA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday presented state medals to 55,000 personnel from local and foreign rescue teams for their contributions to the rescue and relief efforts after the massive earthquakes in February.

"Today, we will present medals to domestic and foreign search and rescue teams who made sacrifices during the quakes on Feb. 6," Erdogan said at the presentation ceremony held in the capital Ankara.

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrians living on opposite sides of the largely frozen battle lines dividing their country are watching the accelerating normalization of ties between the government of Bashar Assad and Syria’s neighbors through starkly different lenses.

In government-held Syria, residents struggling with ballooning inflation, fuel and electricity shortages hope the rapprochement will bring more trade and investment and ease a crippling economic crisis.

CAIRO (AP) — Sudanese and foreigners streamed out of the capital of Khartoum and other battle zones, as fighting Tuesday shook a new three-day truce brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia. Aid agencies raised increasing alarm over the crumbling humanitarian situation in a country reliant on outside help.