Middle East & North Africa

24 Mar 2023; MEMO: The Turkish parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission yesterday approved a bill that ratifies Finland's bid to join NATO.

Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akcapar briefed parliamentarians on the proposed bill.

24 Mar 2023; MEMO: A federal judge in New York has ordered Iran's Central Bank and a European intermediary to pay $1.68 billion in compensation to the family members of US Marines killed in the 1983 bomb attack on their barracks in Beirut, Reuters has reported.

24 Mar 2023; MEMO: US base at Al-Omar oil field in Syria's northeast was targeted with a missile attack this morning, according to Lebanese TV channel Al Mayadeen and a security source.

The source told Reuters the attack took place at around 11am (0900 GMT) and it was unclear whether it had caused casualties.

There was no immediate US comment on the reported attack.

24 Mar 2023; MEMO: Israel will not become the property of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's family, former finance minister, and the leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu Party, Avigdor Lieberman, said yesterday.

Lieberman was quoted by the local media as saying that his bloc would submit a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court to invalidate a new law passed yesterday which prevents the attorney general from declaring a prime minister unfit for office.

24 Mar 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia yesterday condemned a recent decision made by the Israeli Knesset that allows Jewish-only resettlement of four previously evacuated illegal settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank.

24 Mar 2023; MEMO: The Saudi government has granted amnesty and released a large number of detainees who had been imprisoned in the Kingdom's jails for minor infractions.

According to the Director General of the Prisons Department, the process of releasing the prisoners has already begun in accordance with the King's decree and the directive of the Minister of Interior, Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef.

24 Mar 2023; MEMO: The United States, on Friday, said it would protect its personnel in Syria after the US military carried out air strikes against Iran-backed forces in retaliation for an attack that killed an American contractor and wounded five US troops, Reuters reports.

24 Mar 2023; MEMO: Russia has become Iran's largest foreign investor, Tehran's Finance Minister said in an interview published on Thursday.

Russia invested $2.76 billion in the Islamic Republic during the current financial year, which ended this week, Ehsan Khandouzi told the Financial Times. These investments were made in various sectors such as the industrial, mining and transport sectors, according to the Minister.

24 Mar 2023; MEMO: At least 34 African migrants were missing on Friday after their boat sank off Tunisia, the fifth shipwreck in two days, raising the total number of missing to 67 amid a sharp increase in boats heading towards Italy, Tunisian officials said.

24 Mar 2023; MEMO: Israel's Attorney-General, on Friday accused Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of breaking the law by ignoring a conflict of interest over his ongoing trial for corruption and getting directly involved in his government's judicial overhaul plan, Reuters reports.