Business

21 Jan 2023; MEMO: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will visit Algeria early next week to ensure the continuation of the flow of gas. European countries are now preferring to rely on bilateral relations with Algeria after the failure of the agreement between Algeria and the European Union (EU).

20 Jan 2023; MEMO: Israel's Chief Rabbi has given a kosher stamp of approval this week to a company looking to sell steak grown from cow cells – while effectively taking the animal itself out of the equation, Reuters reports.

Cultivated meat, grown from animal cells in a lab or manufacturing plant, has been getting a lot of attention as a way to side-step the environmental toll of the meat industry and address concerns over animal welfare.

18 Jan 2023; MEMO: Oman is planning to build the region's first space rocket launch centre this year, reports The National. The Etlaq Space Launch Complex will be based in the port town of Duqm, with the three-year construction project overseen by the Sultanate's National Aerospace Services Company (Nascom).

The space rocket launch platform will be used to promote scientific research and to promote international collaboration in the space sector.

18 Jan 2023; MEMO: Court documents showed that Tesla's billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, had met with the Governor of the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund, known as the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Yasir Al-Rumayyan, on several occasions, and that Al-Rumayyan had urged Musk to turn Tesla into a private company.

18 Jan 2023; MEMO: Turkiye is set to deliver an undisclosed number of armed drones to Kuwait in a contract worth $370 million, Turkish defence firm, Baykar, said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

International demand for Baykar's TB2 drones soared after they featured in conflicts in Syria, Libya and Azerbaijan, and interest in them increased further following their use by Ukraine's military to thwart Russian forces.

17 Jan 2023; MEMO: Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, said the Kingdom was trying to find a path to dialogue with Iran as the best way to resolve differences, Reuters reports.

He said a decision by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to focus on their economies and development was a "strong signal to Iran and others in the region that there is a pathway beyond traditional arguments and disputes towards joint prosperity".

18 Jan 2023; MEMO: Yemenis ranked third among Arab nationals who bought property in Turkiye last year, Yemen Shabab.net has reported.

Data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute on Tuesday showed that Yemeni passport holders bought 1,202 properties in Turkiye last year. Iraqis were ranked first, buying 6,241 properties, and Kuwaitis were second with 1,671 properties.

18 Jan 2023; MEMO: Iran's priority is to de-escalate tension with its Gulf neighbours and increase cooperation, a foreign ministry spokesman has said. Nasser Kanaani's comments coincided with official statements from Saudi Arabia confirming that there is ongoing communication between Riyadh and Tehran paving the way for dialogue.

18 Jan 2023; MEMO: Egypt's economic crisis is pushing the country's middle class to the brink of poverty, Agence France-Presse has reported. Currency devaluation and rampant inflation are forcing many families to take radical decisions and change their lifestyles.

16 Jan 2023; MEMO: The cargo ship, "MKK 1", travelling from Ukraine to Turkiye, was grounded in Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait on Monday, and traffic in the Strait was suspended for a few hours, shipping agents, Tribeca said.

Several tugs were among vessels sent to provide assistance to the ship, the coastguard authority said. It said no damage or spill was reported, Reuters reports.