Middle East & North Africa

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Ukraine’s first lady on Wednesday offered spirited support to her nation’s people while visiting the United Arab Emirates, a country that still remains open to Russia despite Western sanctions.

Olena Zelenska described her role and that of other first ladies and gentlemen in the world as a real power while speaking before a packed ballroom on International Women’s Day. She also applauded the work of the average Ukrainian amid the ongoing war.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: The World Bank has said it is suspending future work with Tunisia after widespread reports of racist violence.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: Israeli opposition leaders refused on Monday to hold any talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the judicial overhaul until and unless it is stopped, local media have reported.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: Egypt's security agents have tortured Mohammad Al-Sayyed Al-Morsi to death in the Damietta detention centre. The Arabic language teacher, 52, was detained on 21 February and subjected to systematic torture in the centre run by the National Security Agency, said his family.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: Algerian Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Said Chengriha, said yesterday that his country prefers an approach based on assisting African countries that suffer problems with security without interfering in their internal affairs.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: The African Union has postponed a conference that was scheduled to take place in Tunisia this month amid mounting criticism of a government crackdown on migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, Anadolu News Agency reports.

"The Pan-African Network Conference on Fighting Illicit Financial Flows in Africa that was scheduled to convene in Tunisia from 15-17 March 2023 has been postponed,'' a spokeswoman for the AU said in text messages to Anadolu on Tuesday.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: At least four Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded by the Israeli army's bullets after occupation forces stormed the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank today.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a brief statement that there were "3 injured people, including one with a serious injury to the chest, arrived at the Jenin Governmental Hospital. Two of those injuries were in the thigh and shoulder.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: In further signs of improving ties between Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, Riyadh announced yesterday that it has deposited $5 billion into the Turkish central bank. The deposit is likely to be used to help Turkiye strengthen its currency, the lira, after last month's massive earthquakes.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: The United States' Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin today arrived in Iraq on an unannounced visit to discuss continued defence cooperation and to reaffirm Washington's partnership with Baghdad.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called for a "serious investigation" into the disastrous 2020 Beirut port explosion in a call that was echoed by dozens of other countries on Tuesday, Reuters reports.