Middle East & North Africa

16 Mar 2023; MEMO: India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have partnered together to further the development of each other's Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly drive innovation in various financial products and services, especially in CBDCs.

16 Mar 2023; MEMO: A high-level Hamas delegation visited Moscow recently at the invitation of the Russian government, the Palestinian resistance group said on Tuesday. It made the announcement while highlighting its standing among major global powers. Both Russia and China have good ties with Hamas despite it being designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel and its allies in the west.

16 Mar 2023; MEMO: Syrian President, Bashar Al-Assad, has told his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that he would welcome any Russian decisions to establish new military bases and increase troop numbers within Syria, in a seemingly direct invitation to have a permanent Russian military presence in the war-torn country.

17 Mar 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia and Russia yesterday confirmed their commitment to the OPEC+ decision to reduce oil production by two million barrels per day until the end of 2023, Anadolu reported.

This came during a meeting held in Riyadh between the Saudi Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman, and the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

17 Mar 2023; MEMO: Israeli Police Chief Yaakov Shabtai criticised National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, for interfering in police work.

"Ben-Gvir interferes in police work, and instructs our low-ranking officers to demolish several homes," Shabtai said in a statement he submitted to the Supreme Court.

Shabtai said that Ben-Gvir had contacted a number of senior police officers during Thursday's protests against the government's bill to change the judicial system.

JERUSALEM, Mar 16 (NNN-MA’AN) – Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, rejected yesterday, a mediating proposal suggested by President Issac Herzog, saying, his government will continue to push through the controversial and divisive judicial reform.

Herzog put forward his proposal last night, after weeks of talks with ministers from the coalition government, opposition lawmakers, and legal experts.

Warning that Israel is “on the verge of civil war,” Herzog said, his plan suggests a compromise that reflects the stance of wide sections of Israeli society.

JERUSALEM, March 16 (Reuters) - Jerusalem woke on Thursday to the sight of a long red line painted by protesters along roads leading to Israel's Supreme Court, hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a compromise deal for his government's planned judicial overhaul.

Police said they had arrested five people who had disguised themselves as workers to carry out the protest action overnight.

BEIRUT (AP) — On a recent school day, the Rene Mouawad High School in Beirut was empty, its classrooms dark, just like all of Lebanon’s public schools have been for most of the past three months. Its striking teachers were protesting in front of the Education Ministry, not far away.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Some 2.5 tons of natural uranium stored in a site in war-torn Libya have gone missing, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Thursday, raising safety and proliferation concerns.

Natural uranium can’t immediately be used for energy production or bomb fuel, as the enrichment process typically requires the metal to be converted into a gas, then later spun in centrifuges to reach the levels needed.

16 Mar 2023; MEMO: A man said to be the oldest Yemeni alive has died at the age of 140.

Ali Anter had two horn-like shape protruding from the side of his head, local media reported yesterday.

Anter, who had the nickname 'two-horns', found that the two horns had begun to grow after he reached the age of 100. They were said to have grown from his forehead down to his cheeks.