Middle East & North Africa

RIYADH, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday on a visit Beijing hailed as its biggest diplomatic initiative in the Arab world, as Riyadh expands global alliances beyond a longstanding partnership with the West.

The meeting between the global economic powerhouse and Gulf energy giant comes as Saudi ties with Washington are strained by U.S. criticism of Riyadh's human rights record and Saudi support for oil output curbs before the November midterm elections.

DUBAI, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Iran’s Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Tuesday called for "revolutionary reconstruction of the country's cultural system", state media reported, as nationwide protests kept up pressure on the authorities.

"It is necessary to revolutionise the country's cultural structure... the supreme council should observe the weaknesses of culture in different fields of the country," Khamenei said during his meeting with a state cultural council.

DUBAI, Dec 7 (Reuters) - A sister of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has condemned his crackdown on nationwide protests and called on the widely-feared Revolutionary Guards to lay down their weapons, according to a letter published by her France-based son.

Iran has been gripped by unrest since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in police custody on Sept 16., and is facing a three-day general strike movement which started on Monday.

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Exuberant Moroccans poured into the streets of their capital and in cities across Europe on Tuesday, waving flags and honking horns to celebrate their national soccer team’s historic victory over Spain at the World Cup.

Morocco defeated Spain in a penalty shootout, making the Atlas Lions the only team from outside Europe or South America to make it to the quarterfinals in Qatar — and the first Arab team in World Cup history to make it to the last eight.

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — So, the dream is still alive for Cristiano Ronaldo.

Soccer’s most prolific modern-day scorer might yet, at the age of 37 and probably playing in his last World Cup, claim the one major title to elude him in a career like no other.

It didn’t quite feel that way, though, as he walked off the field alone at Lusail Stadium, leaving the rest of the Portugal team to celebrate getting through to the quarterfinals after a 6-1 rout of Switzerland on Tuesday.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s ties to the Jewish American community, one of its closest and most important allies, are about to be put to the test, with Israel’s emerging far-right government on a collision course with Jews in the United States.

06 Dec 2022; MEMO: The Palestinian Ministry of Finance announced that it will today pay only partial salaries to most civil and military employees for the thirteenth month in a row.

"The date for paying public employees' salaries is tomorrow, Tuesday, as follows: 80 per cent of the November salary for all employees, with a minimum limit of 2,000 shekels [$587]," the ministry said in a statement.

06 Dec 2022; MEMO: Trade and investment ties between China and Gulf Arab States are expected to feature prominently in President Xi Jinping's visit to Saudi Arabia this week, as the region increasingly looks East to drive economic transformation at home for a post-oil era, Reuters reports.

06 Dec 2022; MEMO: Germany's Ambassador to Qatar has urged his country to reconsider its recent criticism of Doha, warning that recent comments had caused "serious harm", Spiegel reports.

According to the report, Ambassador Claudius Fischbach called on Berlin to change its strategy and improve diplomatic relations with Doha.

06 Dec 2022; MEMO: The Federation of the Israeli Chambers of Commerce (FICC) and the Turkish Exporters Association (TIM) held meetings between 100 Israeli businessmen and 400 Turkish exporters in Istanbul, Arutz Sheva reported yesterday.