Middle East & North Africa

03 May 2022; MEMO: Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji met with his Venezuelan counterpart Tareck El Aissami on Monday, according to a video published by El Aissami on his Instagram account, reports Reuters.

"It's a pleasure to have you here," El Aissami said in the video, which gave no details of the meeting.

Venezuela and Iran are both under US sanctions and have tightened their relationship regarding oil in recent months.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Nearly six years after Israel accused Mohammed el-Halabi of diverting tens of millions of dollars from an international charity to Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers, he has yet to be convicted in an Israeli court and is still being held in detention.

02 May 2022; MEMO: Israel denounced on Monday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for suggesting that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had Jewish roots, and demanded an apology from Moscow, reports Reuters.

Israeli Foreign Ministry Yair Lapid said the Russian ambassador would be summoned for "a tough talk" over the comments, which Lavrov made on Sunday in an interview with Italian television.

30 April 2022; AA: Germany cannot interfere in Turkiye's internal affairs and that the country should know its place, said the Turkish foreign minister, referring to a case about businessman Osman Kavala on Saturday.

Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkiye brings into line "those who look down on the country, interfere in its internal affairs, and those that attempt to teach the country a lesson," addressing a fast-breaking (iftar) dinner in southern Antalya province as part of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Patna, May 2 (PTI) Political strategist Prashant Kishor on Monday caused ripples in the choppy waters of Bihar politics with the cryptic announcement of a fresh shuruat (beginning) from his home state.

Kishor came out with a tweet in which he called a roller coaster ride his spectacularly successful decade of political consultancy which saw him working with clients as diverse as Narendra Modi, Mamata Banerjee and Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Xinhua: Chinese automakers have gained more and more popularity in the Israeli market with electric vehicles (EVs) amid the Israeli government's ambitions to gradually phase out fossil fuel vehicles.

In a showroom of China's automaker Geely Auto Group in the central Israeli city of Tel Aviv, Segal Yafa, a buyer from the south of the city, has signed a contract for three China-manufactured Geometry C electric vehicles.

   "One for my husband, one for myself, and one for my friend," Yafa told Xinhua.

TEHRAN, May 2 (NNN-IRNA) – A top Iranian commander, said yesterday that, the United States has no place in the Gulf, as regional countries can ensure their own security, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

The remarks were made by Alireza Tangsiri, naval commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), who also warned that, any country seeking to jeopardise Iran’s interests in the Gulf, will receive “a crushing and regretting response.”

ANKARA, May 1. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues undertaking efforts to organize a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky, Turkey’s top diplomat Mevlut Cavusoglu said after visiting Latin American countries.

01 May 2022; MEMO: Oman's Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik has issued a special pardon to over 300 inmates ahead of Eid Al-Fitr which will be celebrated tomorrow for much of the Muslim world.

According to Oman News Agency (ONA), "His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik , the Supreme Commander, issues his special pardon to a group of prison inmates convicted in various cases. An official source in the Royal Oman Police stated that those who were honoured with the royal pardon reached 304 inmates, including 108 foreigners."

01 May 2022; MEMO: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday held talks with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan as part of his visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Anadolu reports.

Sharif arrived in Abu Dhabi on Saturday on his maiden visit to the UAE, the second leg of his Gulf tour, which took him to Saudi Arabia.