Middle East & North Africa

ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The number of people arriving in Ethiopia due to the conflict in Sudan has reached 81,095, according to the UN migration agency.

As of Sept. 16, a total of 81,095 crossings had been made by returnees, refugees and asylum seekers from conflict-affected Sudan to its neighboring country Ethiopia, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in its latest update issued on Thursday.

TEHRAN, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Aerospace Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Friday displayed for the first time four of its domestically-developed Fattah hypersonic ballistic missiles, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

The missiles were showcased in the presence of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and senior military officials in a parade staged by the Iranian armed forces in the capital Tehran on the occasion of the Sacred Defense Week, which marks the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war during 1980-88, the report said.

20 September 2023; MEMO: Kuwait’s Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC) signed an agreement with a Shell subsidiary to acquire 40 per cent of Egypt’s Nile Delta offshore block 3, KUNA reported today.

The Kuwaiti news agency quoted Mohammad Al-Haimar, KUFPEC’s CEO, saying the move was in line with the approach to expand operations with “our international partners that are active in special exploration basins.”

20 September 2023; MEMO: Israel Police reported this morning that a tank had been stolen from an army training base located in the Elikim interchange and was later found in a scrap yard in northern Israel.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the incident, initially reported to authorities by the Defence Ministry, is under joint investigation by both law enforcement agencies and the Israeli Ministry of Defence.

20 September 2023; MEMO: Morocco plans to spend at least 120 billion dirhams ($11.7 billion) in a post-earthquake reconstruction plan over the next five years, the royal palace said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck on 8 September, killing more than 2,900 people, mostly in the hard-to-reach villages of the High Atlas Mountains.

21 September 2023; MEMO: Shots were fired outside the US Embassy in Lebanon late on Wednesday evening, but no casualties were reported, Reuters has reported.

“Small arms fire was reported in the vicinity of the entrance of the embassy at 10.37pm local time,” explained Embassy Spokesman Jake Nelson. “There were no injuries, and our facility is safe. We are in close contact with [the Lebanese] law enforcement authorities.”

21 September 2023; MEMO: A fundraising effort with the goal of securing the release of the settler who killed the Palestinian Dawabsheh family in an arson attack in 2015 from prison has raised over NIS 1.2 million, reported The Times of Israel.

The effort to overturn his conviction, titled “Amiram also deserves justice,” made headlines this week when Limor Son Har-Melech, a far-right Otzma Yehudit MK, spoke at a fundraising gathering for the cause, referring to him as a “holy righteous man”.

21 September 2023; MEMO: Turkiye has said it welcomes talks in Saudi Arabia on ending the war in Yemen, calling for constructive support from all parties for a lasting solution, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

According to the report, Turkiye will continue to resolutely support preservation of the national unity and territorial integrity of brotherly Yemen.

21 September 2023; MEMO: Egypt is in talks with an Abu Dhabi-based bank for a loan facility that would finance wheat purchases from Kazakhstan, three traders told Reuters.

The move could give Egypt a cheap alternative to grain from Russia, which has supplied an increasing share of Egypt’s wheat since last year but recently blocked a deal for a purchase below an unofficial price floor for wheat purchases, traders say.

21 September 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, has warned that the Kingdom will be forced to acquire a nuclear weapon if Iran manages to do so, raising concerns of renewed rivalry in the region after a thaw in the two countries’ diplomatic relations.