Middle East & North Africa

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese authorities and a European judicial team on Tuesday agreed to exchange information about their separate corruption probes of Lebanon’s Central Bank governor, officials said.

The announcement came during a visit by a European delegation from France, Germany, and Luxembourg — its third visit to Lebanon to interrogate suspects and witnesses in an ongoing investigation of Governor Riad Salameh and associates over several financial crimes.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel marked its Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of militant attacks on Tuesday against the backdrop of some of the deepest political divisions in its history and soaring tensions with Palestinians.

Memorial Day is one of the most solemn moments on Israel’s national calendar, in honor of its 24,213 war dead and 4,255 attack victims. It is typically a day of national unity but this year, tensions between Israeli supporters and opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government bubbled up.

CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s warring generals pledged Tuesday to observe a new three-day truce that was brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia in an attempt to pull Africa’s third-largest nation back from the abyss.

The claims were immediately undercut by the sound of heavy gunfire and explosions in the capital of Khartoum. Residents said warplanes were flying overhead.

24 Apr 2023; MEMO: A meeting of defence ministers and intelligence chiefs of Turkiye, Russia, Syria, and Iran will be held in Moscow on Tuesday, the Turkish national defence minister said on Monday.

Hulusi Akar said Turkish, Russian, and Syrian defense ministers and intelligence chiefs met in Moscow on December 28 last year, and resolved to continue the meetings.

24 Apr 2023; MEMO: The Israeli government is gripped by a sense of disappointment after the ongoing rapprochement between Iran and several Arab countries, and efforts to set aside disputes in favour of returning relations to normalcy.

24 Apr 2023; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to meet with Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis when the expected 2024 presidential candidate visits Israel this week, Netanyahu said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.

DeSantis is traveling abroad to Japan, South Korea, Israel and the United Kingdom. The visit to Israel coincides with protests over Netanyahu's plans to tighten controls on the country's Supreme Court.

24 Apr 2023; MEMO: Palestinian resistance factions have affirmed that the occupation's threats to assassinate their leaders will lead to a confrontation and the occupation will pay its price.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the occupation's threats to activate its assassination policy is an attempt to bolster its image after the growth of our people's revolution and the diversification of resistance action fronts.

24 Apr 2023; MEMO: Turkiye on Monday lashed out at US President Joe Biden's remarks on the 1915 events between Turkiye and Armenia.

"Yet another attempt by political charlatans to distort history! Politically driven statements cannot change the facts.

"Those intentionally insisting on their mistakes are destined to be remembered as hypocrites. No one shall dare to lecture us on our history," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter.

24 Apr 2023; MEMO: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday discussed the latest situation in Ukraine engaged in war with Russia, reports Anadolu Agency.

Cavusoglu and Stoltenberg also exchanged views on the upcoming NATO summit and the alliance's enlargement over the phone, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.

Lithuania will host a NATO summit in the capital Vilnius on July 11-12.

24 Apr 2023; MEMO: As Sudan collapsed into fighting last week that has trapped civilians in their city neighbourhoods, cutting off access to water, food and healthcare, community groups, websites and apps have sprung up to mobilise medical help and find basic supplies, Reuters reports.