Middle East & North Africa

10 April 2022; MEMO: Kuwait has vowed support to cash-strapped Lebanon, the Lebanese government said on Sunday, reported Anadolu Agency.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati received a phone call from Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah.

A statement issued by Mikati's office said Sheikh Ahmed said Kuwait "will spare no efforts to support Lebanon and help it to bounce back."

10 April 2022; MEMO: Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has dismissed Vice President Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar and delegated his full powers to the newly formed eight-member Presidential Council to govern the country through a transitional period, Anadolu Agency reported.

Hadi has been based in Saudi Arabia since fleeing to the kingdom in February 2015 after the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

10 April 2022; MEMO: Syrian air defences confronted an "Israeli air aggression" on Saturday in the country's central region, Syrian state media reported, Reuters reported.

"At 6:45 pm today, the Israeli enemy launched an air aggression from the north of Lebanon, targeting some points in the central region," state media said citing a military source.

Israel's military declined to comment on the reported air strikes in Syria.

10 April 2022; MEMO: Pilgrims arriving from overseas must also submit a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before their departure to the kingdom.

Saudi authorities want to promote pilgrims' safety "while ensuring that the maximum number of Muslims worldwide can perform the Hajj," the ministry's statement added.

At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, only 1,000 pilgrims were able to take part in the Hajj. This limit was increased to 60,000 last year for fully vaccinated, domestic participants.

11 April 2022; MEMO: The Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese company, Power China, to build four new dams without the knowledge of the federal government in Baghdad, according to the official Iraqi newspaper, Al-Sabaah.

10 April 2022; MEMO: The Saudi-led coalition in the ongoing war in Yemen has an outstanding payment to the US for the sum of $17 million. The debt remains unpaid more than three years after the US stopped some air support for the coalition.

11 April 2022; MEMO: The Palestinians' confrontation of the Israeli occupation will not end until they achieve their legitimate rights and an independent state, a presidential statement said yesterday.

"The confrontation with the occupation is not over yet, and it will not end without our people obtaining their legitimate rights in their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital," presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in the statement.

11 April 2022; MEMO: The European Union yesterday expressed its shock after Israeli occupation forces shot dead a Palestinian woman near the occupied city of Bethlehem.

The EU said in a statement that it was "horrified" by Israeli act, sending it's "deepest condolences" to the deceased's family.

10 April 2022; MEMO: US President Joe Biden should lift some sanctions on Iran to show his goodwill towards reviving the international nuclear agreement with Tehran, Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Sunday, Reuters reported.

Iran and the United States have engaged in indirect talks in Vienna over the past year to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement which then-US President Donald Trump left in 2018 and Iran subsequently violated by ramping up its nuclear programme.

DAMASCUS, Apr 10 (NNN-SANA) – Israel carried out missile strikes against Syrian military sites, yesterday.

The missile strike was initiated from the airspace of Lebanon, targeting military sites in central Syria, a military source was quoted as saying.

The Syrian air defences intercepted most missiles, it said, adding, the attack left damage only.

It’s the latest Israeli strike to hit Syrian sites in Syria.