Middle East & North Africa

CAIRO (AP) — Syria’s chief diplomat was in Egypt on Saturday in a step toward normalizing ties between the two countries. It was the first trip to the capital of Cairo for a Syrian foreign minister in over a decade.

Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad met with Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry for talks that addressed ties between the two countries along with other regional and international topics, according to Ahmed Abu Zaid, a spokesperson for the Egyptian foreign ministry.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police shot and killed a man who they alleged tried to snatch an officer’s gun at an entrance to a Jerusalem holy site early Saturday, raising fears of further violence during a time of heightened tensions at the flashpoint compound.

New York, Mar 31 (PTI) Scandals and allegations have been commonplace for Donald Trump for most of the over seven decades that he has walked this planet but handing him the ignominy of becoming the first US President to be indicted on criminal charges is fellow New Yorker and first Black Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Beijing, Mar 31 (PTI) China and Japan on Friday set up a military hotline to strengthen their capability of managing and controlling maritime and air incidents arising due to their aggressive patrolling of the disputed waters in the East China Sea.

London, Mar 31 (PTI) The UK’s Opposition parties are piling on the pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over a recent Budget policy that could benefit his wife, Akshata Murty, through her business interest in a childcare firm.

Murty, the daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, is listed as a shareholder in Koru Kids Ltd which is likely to benefit from a new pilot scheme announced in the Spring Budget earlier this month to incentivise people to become childminders.

31 Mar 2023; MEMO: The United Arab Emirates' central bank today said it will cancel the licence it granted last year to Russia's MTS bank, which was placed under British and US sanctions in February, Reuters reports.

Operations at the bank's UAE branch, which is licensed in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, will be wound down within six months under central bank supervision.

31 Mar 2023; MEMO: Turkiye's parliament yesterday voted to approve Finland's bid to join NATO.

The Nordic country received Ankara's official blessing for its request to join the military alliance, with 276 votes in favour.

Yesterday's vote means that all 30 current member states of NATO have now ratified Finland's accession, a requirement for it to join the alliance.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the vote.

31 Mar 2023; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded an apology from dismissed Defence Minister Yoav Gallant following the statements he made against the judicial overhaul plan proposed by the premier.

31 Mar 2023; MEMO: Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad Al-Maliki, has welcomed Azerbaijan's decision to open a diplomatic office in Ramallah soon, Anadolu News Agency reports.

This came during a meeting he held at the headquarters of the Palestinian Foreign Ministry in Ramallah on Thursday with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, according to a statement issued by Al-Maliki's office.

Thousands of extremist Israelis yesterday came out in support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul plan, blocking a highway in Tel Aviv.

The protests were organised by Netanyahu's Likud Party and the far-right, extra-parliamentary group Im Tirtzu; which a Jerusalem judge found in 2013 draws influence from fascist ideology.