Middle East & North Africa

04 Jan 2023; MEMO: Bulgaria has signed a deal for gas imports via Turkiye, opening a new gas corridor from Turkish territory to Balkan countries and European Union member states.

05 Jan 2023; MEMO: Jewish organisations yesterday called on Israel's newly-appointed National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to allow ritual slaughter of lamb in Al-Aqsa Mosque to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Israeli media reported that several Jewish organisations submitted a formal request to Ben-Gvir and the Israeli police to allow them to carry out the Passover sacrifice in Al-Aqsa Mosque. Passover falls during the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan this year.

04 Jan 2023; MEMO: The Israeli Occupation Forces have observed an increase in suicide rates after 44 soldiers died last year, the highest number in five years, according to statistics published by the Israeli Army.

Most deaths were due to suicide, with at least 14 soldiers having taken their own lives in 2022, compared to 11 the year prior.

05 Jan 2023; MEMO: Iran summoned France's envoy in Tehran on Wednesday to protest against "insulting" cartoons published by the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, depicting the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian state media reported, Reuters reports.

05 Jan 2023; MEMO: Israeli forces yesterday detained the mayor of Hebron's occupied town of Ad-Dhahiriya and confiscated a digger that was being used to carry out works in the town's Jamil district.

According to local sources, the occupation forces detained Mayor Bahjat Jabareen and a number of workers, adding that they were taken to the illegal Israeli Otniel settlement.

TRIPOLI, Jan 4 (NNN-Xinhua) — Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamed Dbeibah vowed that his government will strive to preserve the country’s unity and avoid war or armed conflict.

Dbeibah made his remarks during a graduation ceremony for 306 police officers from the police academy in the western town of Aziziya, which is located some 46 km south of the capital Tripoli.

“We work together to protect Libya, its unity and we reject any return to war,” Dbeibah said in a speech during the celebration.

TEHRAN, Jan 4 (NNN-IRNA) – The Iranian Foreign Ministry, yesterday, condemned the visit by a far-right Israeli minister to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem as “sacrilege” of the holy site and violation of international law.

Such “sacrilegious acts” also amount to an affront to the values and sanctities of the world’s Muslims, the ministry’s spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, said, in a statement published on the ministry’s website, warning against the “adventurist and provocative” actions of the new hardline Israeli government.

ANKARA, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- "We expect the return of the Chinese visitors to be in a gradual manner, especially with a dynamic after the first half of this year, thus we can reach pre-pandemic levels," said Irfan Karsli, head of the Istanbul-based Ligarba Travel Agency.

As China is expected to orderly resume outbound tourism amidst the optimization of COVID-19 response, Turkish tourism industry players are eager to welcome back Chinese travelers.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Local media are reporting that Iran has released a prominent actress nearly three weeks after she was jailed for expressing solidarity with a man who was executed over unrest linked to anti-government protests.

Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency reported Wednesday that Taraneh Alidoosti, the 38-year-old star of Asghar Farhadi’s Oscar-winning “The Salesman,” was released on bail. Her mother, Nadere Hakimelahi, said she would be released in a post on Instagram.

03 Jan 2023; MEMO: The UAE has been ranked as first in the Middle East and ninth globally in terms of power according to the US News Best Countries rankings.