Middle East & North Africa

ALGIERS, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced on Sunday that he "will soon return home" from his recovery process in Germany following contracting COVID-19 in October.

The announcement came in a five-minute video Tebboune posted on his official Twitter account, the first appearance of the Algerian President in more than two months.

Tebboune said he should return home after three weeks at most.

"Despite illness and being away from home, I have been following closely what's going on in the country," he said.

AMMAN, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Sunday announced its first marine reserve in the Red Sea port city of Aqaba with the object of preserving coral reefs and marine ecosystems as well as promoting sustainable development.

The cabinet has recently approved the declaration of the reserve, which is also hoped to promote tourism and underwater activities in the southern city, according to a statement by the Environment Ministry published by the state-run Petra news agency.

14 Dec 2020; MEMO: Iraq's foreign exchange reserves decreased 12.5 per cent during the first quarter of 2020 to 68.5 trillion dinars ($57.5 billion) down from 78.25 trillion dinars ($65.75 billion) in the last quarter of 2019, the Iraqi Central Organisation for Statistics (COS) said.

COS added in a statement that the country's internal public debt has increased from 38.33 trillion dinars ($32.21 billion) in Q4 of 2019 to 43.45 trillion dinars ($36.51 billion) in Q1 2020.

14 Dec 2020; MEMO:  Saudi Arabia has invested $3.75 billion in its flagship tourism project, The Red Sea Development Co (TRSDC) which it says will provide 70,000 jobs.

The project's Chief Executive, John Pagano, said discussions are underway with local and regional investors to involve them in building resorts, hotels and entertainment facilities in NEOM.

KHARTOUM, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. embassy in Khartoum on Monday officially announced the removal of Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

"The congressional notification period of 45 days has lapsed and the Secretary of State has signed a notification stating rescission of Sudan's State Sponsor of Terrorism designation is effective as of today (December 14), to be published in the Federal Register," said the embassy on its Facebook page on Monday.

14 Dec 2020; MEMO: Three pro-Iranian Revolutionary Guards "military experts" from Iraq and Iran were killed in an air strike in eastern Syria yesterday, local media outlets reported.

The Ain Al-Furat website said an "unidentified" drone targeted a convoy of pro-Iran military experts near Sabikhan village in Syria's eastern Deir Ez-Zor province killing three passengers: two Iraqis and an Iranian.

Khartoum, Dec 13 (AP-PTI) Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Sunday arrived in Ethiopia, his office said, amid a growing refugee crisis that has seen more than 50,000 Ethiopians flee conflict in the Tigray region into neighbouring Sudan.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed greeted his Sudanese counterpart at Addis Ababa's airport, where Hamdok arrived with the acting Sudanese Foreign Minister Omar Qamar al-Din and top intelligence and military officials.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran on Sunday summoned the German and French envoys to Tehran after the European Union condemned the execution of an Iranian journalist whose work helped inspire nationwide economic protests in 2017, Iranian state media reported.

IRNA said an Iranian Foreign Ministry official summoned the ambassadors because of EU statements on the exiled reporter Ruhollah Zam, 47, who was hanged on Saturday.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An oil tanker off Saudi Arabia’s port city of Jiddah suffered an explosion early Monday after being hit by “an external source,” a shipping company said, suggesting another vessel has come under attack off the kingdom amid its yearslong war in Yemen.

The Singapore-flagged BW Rhine saw all 22 sailors on board escape without injury, the BW Group said in a statement. The company warned it was possible some oil leaked out from the site of the blast.

13 Dec 2020; AA:  The phase two trials of the Turkish-made COVID-19 vaccine will begin on Dec. 25, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on late Saturday.

"In parallel with the world, 16 different vaccine studies are carried out in our country. One of them has completed the pre-clinical period and started human trials. Phase two study will begin on Dec. 25," he told the lawmakers during the 2021 budget debate in parliament.

Koca said that the vaccine's production for phase two started on Wednesday.