Middle East & North Africa

Bengaluru, Apr 2 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that the West has had a "bad habit" for a long time, of commenting on others, and it thinks it has a "God-given right" to speak about the internal matters of other countries.

He said this during a 'Meet and Greet' interaction organised by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya and Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan with over 500 young voters, joggers and visitors at Cubbon Park here.

02 Apr 2023; MEMO: Arab nations normalising relations with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and his regime should try to "get something" out of it, a senior American official has said.

Speaking in a digital briefing from the US Department of State's London International Media Hub, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf said that Washington has been having discussions with its allies in the Middle East about "their shift in policy" toward the Assad regime.

02 Apr 2023; MEMO: At least four PKK terrorists who escaped from a terror camp in northern Iraq surrendered to Turkish security forces, the country's National Defense Ministry announced Saturday, Anadolu reports.

The terrorists laid down their arms at a Turkish frontier control post in southeastern Sirnak province, a statement said.

The only way out for the terrorists is to surrender to justice, it added.

02 Apr 2023; MEMO: The family of a young Palestinian shot dead by Israeli forces in occupied East Jerusalem accused Israeli police of lying about the circumstances of his death, Anadolu reports.

Mohammad al-Osaibi, a 26-year-old doctor from Houra, a Bedouin Arab village in southern Israel, was killed by Israeli police forces at an entrance to Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied city early Saturday.

02 Apr 2023; MEMO: Protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul showed no sign of abating on Saturday, despite its suspension by the embattled premier this week, as tens of thousands took to the streets to demand it be scrapped entirely, Reuters reports.

02 Apr 2023; MEMO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is likely to meet his Syrian counterpart Bashar Al-Assad at the end of April, Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, says Anadolu Agency.

The US newspaper, citing informed sources, said Cairo and Damascus are conducting "advanced discussions" to restore diplomatic ties and to hold a top-level meeting between the two countries.

02 Apr 2023; MEMO: The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned the deal between the US and Greek Cypriot Administration that is "encouraging Greek Cypriot side's armament', says Anadolu Agency.

JERUSALEM, Apr 2 (NNN-MA’AN) – Tens of thousands of Israelis resumed demonstrations in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, last night, calling for a complete cancelation of the government’s judicial overhaul plan, according to local media.

The Times of Israel, citing the estimation of Channel 12, reported that some 160,000 people were demonstrating in the major Israeli city. Demonstrations were also held in several other cities.

CAIRO, April 2 (Reuters) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is travelling to Saudi Arabia on Sunday, according to three diplomatic sources, as Cairo continues to seek financial inflows to ease pressure on its currency and bolster a faltering economy.

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia has long provided financial support to Egypt but recently signalled it would no longer provide such backing without strings attached, which observers think may have sparked a rare media clash between the two countries.

RIYADH/BEIRUT, April 2 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is planning to invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to an Arab League summit that Riyadh is hosting in May, three sources familiar with the plans said, a move that would formally end Syria's regional isolation.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will travel to Damascus in coming weeks to hand Assad a formal invitation to attend the summit scheduled for May 19, two of the sources said.