Middle East & North Africa

4 October 2022; MEMO: Saudi journalist's wife, Hanan El Khashoggi, calls Turkiye to provide more evidence on the murder of her husband.

Jamal Khashoggi's wife wrote an article for the Guardian newspaper, on the anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi's murder.

5 October 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has won the bid to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029 at its planned megacity, NEOM, making it the first Arab and Middle Eastern country set to do so.

The development was announced by Saudi Sports Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, on Twitter, where he stated that "With the unlimited support by the Saudi leadership & HRH Crown Prince [Mohammed bin Salman] to the sports sector we are proud to announce we have won the bid to host AWG TROJENA2029 as the first country in west Asia".

5 October 2022; MEMO: Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz yesterday vowed to counter any Palestinian anti-occupation resistance during Jewish holy days.

On Twitter, Gantz wrote that he had held a situation assessment at the Central Command with the participation of Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Aviv Kohavi, and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

Several other military and security chiefs attended the assessment, including Commander of the Central Command Colonel Yehuda Fox.

5 October 2022; MEMO: Islamic Jihad in Palestine (IJP) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said yesterday that they had received invitations from Algeria to participate in the internal Palestinian dialogue hosted by the North African country.

Spokesman of the IJP, Daud Shehab, announced his movement's acceptance of the invitation and hailed the Algerian efforts to end the internal Palestinian division.

TEHRAN, Oct 4 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran is expected to receive its frozen assets from the Republic of Korea (ROK), via the central bank of a third regional country, the Nour News, affiliated with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, reported yesterday.

With the continuation of the indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States, relevant parties agreed upon transferring the Iranian assets frozen in ROK via the designated central bank, it reported, without revealing the name of the third country.

The only obstacle now was the lack of a bank account, said Nour News.

RAMALLAH, Oct 4 (NNN-WAFA) – Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammed Ishtaye, said yesterday Britain’s intention to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem “is a violation of international law.”

Moving the British embassy to Jerusalem “will harm bilateral relations with Palestine and the Arab and Islamic countries, and remove Britain from any future international endeavours, to reach a solution that ends the conflict in Palestine,” Ishtaye said at a weekly meeting of cabinet.

JERUSALEM, Oct 4 (NNN-XINHUA) – A former Israeli minister was found guilty yesterday of breach of trust, in a bribery case involving a multi-billion-U.S. dollar deal, to purchase naval vessels from Germany’s ThyssenKrupp conglomerate.

Eliezer Sandberg, who was convicted by the Tel Aviv District Court in a plea bargain, is expected to be sentenced to seven months of community service, and pay a fine of 50,000 new shekels (14,081 U.S. dollars.)

AMMAN, Oct 4 (NNN-PETRA) – Jordan and Egypt yesterday, agreed to increase their exchange of expertise in the fields of mining, petrochemical industry, oil and natural gas, according to a statement by Jordan’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

During a virtual meeting, a technical committee of officials from the two countries also agreed to prepare a timetable, to support each other’s scientific and technical needs, to help develop natural resources, stimulate investments and boost economies.

RIYADH, Oct 4 (NNN-SPA) – Saudi Arabian Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, announced yesterday, the launch of the Saudi Downtown Company, for urban development across the kingdom.

Affiliated with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the company will build and develop downtown areas and mixed-use destinations in 12 cities, including Al-Madinah, Al-Baha, Najran, Jizan, Taif and Al-Jandal.

BEIRUT, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday called for the election of a new president for Lebanon within the constitutional time frame before President Michel Aoun's tenure ends on Oct. 31, a statement by the Council of Ministers reported.

"I hope that the parliament succeeds in electing a new president for the country within the constitutional time frame because the challenges facing Lebanon require a strong cooperation among constitutional institutions," Mikati said at a Beirut forum to discuss difficulties facing Lebanon's youth.