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10 Mar 2023; MEMO: Iran and Saudi Arabia, the two great oil-producing rivals of the Middle East, have agreed to restore ties and reopen embassies, seven years after relations were severed, Al Jazeera reports.

According to the report, the agreement came after Chinese-brokered talks held in Beijing.

10 Mar 2023; MEMO: The successful talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia in Beijing are a victory for dialogue and peace, China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, said on Friday, following the major diplomatic coup for China in Middle East geopolitics, Reuters reports.

9 Mar 2023; MEMO: Syria's Aleppo International Airport will resume operations tomorrow morning after being shut down because of an Israeli air strike, state media said today, citing a statement by the Ministry of Transport, Reuters reports.

The ministry called on all air carriers to reschedule all flights and said the airport is ready to receive relief aid planes for earthquake victims.

9 Mar 2023; MEMO: Russia said, on Thursday, that a landmark deal to ensure the safe export of grain from Ukraine's Black Sea ports was only being "half-implemented", raising doubts about whether it would allow an extension of the deal that is due to expire next week, Reuters reports.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — With Chinese leader Xi Jinping receiving a norms-breaking third five-year term as president on Friday, the other six men who serve with him on the ruling Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee are beginning to take up their new portfolios.

All are party veterans with close personal and professional ties to Xi, China’s most powerful figure in decades.

Chief among them, the party’s second-in-command Li Qiang is widely expected to take over as premier, nominally in charge of the Cabinet and caretaker of the economy.

8 Mar 2023; MEMO: Ukraine's President and United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, called on Wednesday for the extension of a deal with Moscow that has allowed Kyiv to export grain via Black Sea ports during Russia's invasion, Reuters reports.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: Algerian Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Said Chengriha, said yesterday that his country prefers an approach based on assisting African countries that suffer problems with security without interfering in their internal affairs.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: In further signs of improving ties between Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, Riyadh announced yesterday that it has deposited $5 billion into the Turkish central bank. The deposit is likely to be used to help Turkiye strengthen its currency, the lira, after last month's massive earthquakes.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: Decisions on oil output taken by OPEC+ countries reflect consensus in the group, the Saudi Foreign Minister said on Tuesday after reports of differences among members, Reuters reports.

A media report that the United Arab Emirates is considering leaving OPEC is "far from the truth," two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters last week.

7 Mar 2023; MEMO: Turkiye's Competition Board has announced its decision to fine American business magnate and Twitter CEO, Elon Musk, over his takeover of the prominent social media platform without prior permission.