Middle East & North Africa

31 Dec 2022; AA: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Saturday welcomed the passage of a UN General Assembly resolution seeking opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

In a statement, the pan-Muslim group hailed the stances of the countries that backed the resolution which "affirm their commitment to the international law and in line with their historical stances" towards supporting Palestinian cause.

31 Dec 2022; MEMO: Qatar's Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned the new Israeli government's plans to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank and its "attempts to Judaise" Jerusalem.

In a statement, Qatar expressed: "Its strong condemnation and denunciation of the Israeli government's plans for settlement expansion and its continued attempts to Judaise Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa Mosque."

31 Dec 2022; MEMO: Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has asserted that mediation between his country and Morocco was not possible and that severing relations with Rabat was the alternative to war.

In an interview with the French Le Figaro newspaper, Tebboune added that Algeria's severing of its relations with Morocco resulted from accumulations since 1963.

31 Dec 2022; MEMO:With its roles in the Black Sea grain initiative and the mediation in the Russia-Ukraine war, Turkiye contributed to establishing global peace, tranquility, and security in 2022, Turkiye's president said on Saturday, Anadolu reports.

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec 31 (Reuters) - The Palestinians on Saturday welcomed a vote by the United Nations General Assembly requesting that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) provide an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.

The Hague-based ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the top U.N. court dealing with disputes between states. Its rulings are binding, though the ICJ has no power to enforce them.

RABAT, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- The foreign direct investment in Morocco increased by 45.7 percent to 2.3 billion U.S. dollars in the first 11 months of 2022 compared to the same period last year, the country's Foreign Exchange Office said Friday.

The North African country's trade deficit increased by 56.9 percent year-on-year by the end of November, according to the report published by the office.

The deficit comes as a result of a faster growth of imports, which rose 42.3 percent to 64.7 billion dollars, while exports rose 33.1 percent to 37.3 billion dollars.

TUNIS, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian President Kais Saied decided on Friday to extend the state of emergency imposed across the country for one month.

"Saied decided to extend the state of emergency in the entire territory of the republic for one month, starting from January 1, 2023 until January 30, 2023," said the official gazette Journal of the Republic of Tunisia (JORT).

The state of emergency in Tunisia was first declared on November 24, 2015, following a bloody bomb attack on a bus of the presidential guards, which killed 12 agents.

TEHRAN, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- At least one passenger was killed and 37 others were injured after two buses collided near Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on Saturday morning, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

Eleven of the injured people are in critical conditions, the agency quoted the airport police chief as saying.

All the injured people have been transferred to local emergency centers, it adds.

The police chief said a fatigued and sleepy driver caused the accident by hitting another bus in front.

30 Dec 2022; MEMO: The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman, Badr Bin Hamad Al-Busaidi, has welcomed the parliament's vote in favour of amending Article 1 of the Royal Decree to further expand banning relations with the occupation state of Israel.

He described the vote as "an embodiment of the aspirations of the Omani people and other regional countries to reach a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause, in accordance with international standards and the Arab Peace Initiative."

30 Dec 2022; MEMO: The Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) yesterday announced that it "will present an initiative to save the country from collapse in cooperation with the components of civil society, away from political tensions."

This came in a speech by Noureddine Taboubi, the secretary-general of the UGTT, when he said: "We will not accept chaos or the collapse of the country, we are not against parties that build political life and compete over programmes and options."