Middle East & North Africa

QAMISHLI, Syria (AP) — Baran Ramadan Mesko had been hiding with other migrants for weeks in the coastal Algerian city of Oran, awaiting a chance to take a boat across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.

Days before the 38-year-old Syrian Kurd was to begin the journey, he received news that a smuggler boat carrying some of his friends had sunk soon after leaving the Algerian coast. Most of its passengers had drowned.

It came as a shock, after spending weeks to get to Algeria from Syria and then waiting for a month for a smuggler to put him on the boat.

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Thousands of people on Sunday joined the funerals of eight young Palestinian men who drowned off the coast of Tunisia nearly two months ago as they tried to sail to new lives in Europe.

The drownings have reverberated across Gaza, drawing attention to the dire conditions in the territory after a 15-year Israeli-Egyptian blockade but also prompting some rare public criticism of the ruling Hamas militant group.

LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — Lionel Messi’s once-in-a-generation career is complete. The Argentina superstar is finally a World Cup champion.

Messi scored two goals and then another in a shootout as Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties Sunday to claim a third World Cup title despite Kylian Mbappé scoring the first hat trick in a final in 56 years.

18 Dec 2022; MEMO: The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Saturday rejected Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's offer for self-rule, reports Anadolu Agency.

17 Dec 2022; MEMO: Israeli occupation officers have been forcing Palestinians to strip at military checkpoints in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, Maan News Agency reported on Friday.

Palestinian residents have complained to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and asked it to urgently interfere to stop this humiliating practice, but nothing has yet been done.

17 Dec 2022; MEMO: Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki has called on Tunisians to resume the revolution to end what he called the "coup" that President Kais Saied carried out against the revolution, put him on trial and restore Tunisian democracy.

17 Dec 2022; MEMO: Russia is currently talking with the Gulf States and a number of Asian countries about the visa-free system, TASS reported Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Ivanov saying on Thursday.

Ivanov shared, according to TASS, that Russia's efforts to achieve a visa-free entry system with more countries have been continuous.

17 Dec 2022; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Palestinians can get autonomy without sovereignty or security.

Speaking to the US radio network National Public Radio on Thursday, Netanyahu proposed restricted autonomy for Palestinians, calling it the only applicable peace with Palestinians.

18 Dec 2022; MEMO: Israeli prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has urged the United States to improve and reaffirm its ties with Saudi Arabia, claiming it would help result in ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

18 Dec 2022; MEMO: The foreign ministers of Russia and Egypt discussed bilateral ties and international issues in a phone call on Saturday, reports Anadolu Agency.

Sergey Lavrov and Sameh Shoukry exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

They affirmed mutual interest in strengthening cooperation on topical international and regional issues, including in the UN, it added.