Middle East & North Africa

Turkiye says will not buy F-16s from US if conditions imposed on use

24 August 2022; MEMO: Turkiye's Foreign Minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, said Turkiye will not buy F-16 warplanes from the US if restrictions are imposed on their use, Haber Global TV reports.

According to the report, the US House of Representatives, in July, proposed allowing President Joe Biden to sell Turkiye upgraded F-16s on condition that Ankara will not deploy them for unauthorised territorial over-flights of Greece.

Iran receives US response to EU nuclear text for revival of 2015 pact

24 August 2022; MEMO: Iran has received Washington's response to an EU-drafted final offer for saving Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, giving no firm indication of how close they are to narrowing remaining gaps Reuters reports.

Iran condemns US strikes on eastern Syria

25 August 2022; MEMO: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani has "strongly condemned" the US army air strikes on eastern Syria, describing them as an "aggression" and "a violation of the country's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity."

Kanaani denied a link between those "popular groups fighting against occupation" and Iran.

He added that the continued presence of US forces in parts of Syria "is against international law and constitutes a breach of Syria's sovereignty", calling for the US to leave Syria.

Lebanon: chess player refuses to face Israeli opponent

24 August 2022; MEMO: A junior Lebanese chess player has withdrawn from an international festival in the United Arab Emirates to avoid playing against an Israeli opponent.

Nadia Fawaz refused to face Israeli Elijah Grosman in the fourth round of the 28th Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival after winning her matches against Brunei's Wafa Yacoub, Saudi Arabia's Ziad Saleh Abdali and the UAE's Wafia Darwish Al-Maamari.

Saudi Arabia allows children of illegal residents to enrol in schools

25 August 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Education has announced that children of illegal residents will be able to enroll in schools during the new academic year.

The ministry stated that schools should provide the parents of children residing illegally in the kingdom with admission forms and direct them to the relevant offices in the regions where they are residing to complete the application process.

Turkey's economy expanded 7.5% in Q2

25 August 2022; MEMO: Turkiye's economy expanded 7.5 per cent annually in the second quarter of 2022, Reuters reports.

According to the report, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's new economic programme pushed the lira to end last year down 44 per cent against the dollar and shed another 27 per cent so far this year.

On the other hand, Turkiye's Erdogan said last week that Turkiye does not need interest rate hikes despite high inflation rates. Turkiye's inflation rate hit almost 80 per cent – a 24-year high – last month.

Israel bans Jordanian tribal judge from entry

25 August 2022; MEMO: Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked has prevented senior Jordanian tribal judge Sheikh Trad Al-Fayez from entering Israel, Arab48 reported yesterday.

Shaked tweeted: "After violating the conditions of the visa and serious incitement against the state [of Israel], I ordered that he [Al-Fayez] be banned from entering Israel."

India: Inflation holds its impact on puncture repair too

Kanpur: Like all other things impact of inflationary trends falls upon the repairing of the bikes, scooty and cycles also.

For merely restoring the punctured tubeless tyre the charge for a scooty wheel comes at Rs 40 or 60 only for checking the puncture spot as well as injecting the readymade stick into the wheel.

When the scooty owner objected to the surplus charge the repair shop owner did not reduce the amount but started arguing with the man owning the scooty.

Pakistan attaches high importance to its fraternal ties with Qatar: PM

DOHA, (Qatar) Aug 24 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reiterated that Pakistan attached high importance to its long-standing fraternal ties with Qatar, rooted deep in common history and shared aspirations for socio-economic development.

The prime minister reaffirmed government of Pakistan’s commitment to deepen and diversify multifaceted engagement with Qatar in order to transform the two countries’ close political relations into a robust and comprehensive economic partnership.

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