Middle East & North Africa

RIYADH/DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemeni Houthi forces fired a missile that struck a Saudi Aramco oil company distribution station in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea city of Jeddah, a Houthi military spokesman said on Monday.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen later confirmed the attack saying it targeted not only the kingdom’s national capabilities but global energy security. [nL8N2I95E4]

The Houthi spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said foreign companies and residents in Saudi should exercise caution as “operations will continue”.

23 Nov 2020; MEMO: The director of a prominent Egyptian rights group was held in solitary confinement and inhumane conditions for three days after his arrest last week, his lawyers and the group's founder said on Monday.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran expects foreign companies to return to the country if U.S. sanctions are lifted under President-elect Joe Biden and some firms have made initial contacts already, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said on Tuesday.

Major foreign companies left Iran after U.S. President Donald Trump two years ago abandoned Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and restored economic sanctions.

Washington has since blacklisted dozens of foreign companies accused of cooperating with Iran.

AMMAN, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- King Abdullah II of Jordan on Monday held a phone call with U.S. "President-elect" Joe Biden to discuss the bilateral relations between the two countries, according to a statement by the Royal Court.

During the phone call, the Jordanian King said he expected to work with Biden on advancing the strategic partnership and deepening cooperation between Jordan and the United States in service of mutual interests and regional security and stability.

JERUSALEM, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he will visit Bahrain "soon" at the invitation of Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

Netanyahu said in a video statement that he and the crown prince talked over the phone on Monday about ways to strengthen ties between the two countries. He said it was their second talk and described it as "very friendly."

"He also invited me to come in the near future for an official visit to Bahrain," Netanyahu said. "I will do so... with pleasure."

23 Nov 2020; MEMO: Qatar's public prosecutor has filed criminal charges against an unspecified number of police officers working at Qatar's Hamad airport after women said they were invasively searched there last month.

CAIRO, Nov 23 (NNN-MENA) – A six-nation joint military exercise called “Sword of Arabs,” kicked off at the largest military base in Egypt, the Egyptian Armed Forces, announced yesterday.

The military exercise, participated by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain and Sudan, will last till Thursday, said a statement, released by the Egyptian Armed forces.

BAGHDAD, Nov 23 (NNN-NINA) – The Iraqi government said, it plans to build 7,000 schools, as part of its efforts to fill the shortage of school buildings in the country.

A statement by the media office of Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, said, the PM held a meeting with the Higher Committee for Constructing School in Iraq, to discuss building 7,000 schools across the country.

The first stage of the project included the construction of 1,000 school buildings, the statement said.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met the Saudi crown prince in Saudi Arabia, an Israeli cabinet minister said on Monday, the first publicly confirmed trip to the kingdom by an Israeli leader amid a diplomatic flurry prompted by regional fears of Iran.

Earlier, Israel’s Army Radio and Kan Radio both reported that Netanyahu had secretly flown on Sunday to the Saudi Red Sea town of Neom for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

22 Nov 2020; MEMO: A sharp rise in coronavirus infections in the Gaza Strip could overwhelm the Palestinian enclave's meagre medical system by next week, public health advisers said on Sunday, Reuters reports.

Gaza, where the dense and poor population of 2 million is vulnerable to contagions, has logged 14,000 coronavirus cases and 65 deaths, mostly since August.