Middle East & North Africa

BEIRUT (AP) — Facing an economic meltdown and other crises, Lebanon’s president on Wednesday asked for the world’s help to rebuild the capital’s main port and neighborhoods that were blown away in last month’s catastrophic explosion.

President Michel Aoun made the plea in a prerecorded speech to the U.N. General Assembly’s virtual summit, telling world leaders that Lebanon’s many challenges are posing an unprecedented threat to its very existence.

23 Sep 2020; MEMO: Turkey and Greece agreed to talks over disputed waters in the Eastern Mediterranean, both sides announced yesterday, after German-led efforts to defuse a crisis that has raised fears of conflict.

Earlier in the day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a video conference with European Council President Charles Michel and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

23 Sep 2020; MEMO: The right of the Palestinian people to have a state with Jerusalem as its capital is not subject to bargain, the Algerian president said on Wednesday, Anadolu reports.

Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s remarks came at a speech he delivered at the 75th UN General Assembly via video link.

“The Palestinian cause remains a sacred cause for Algeria and its people,” Tebboune said.

23 Sep 2020; MEMO: Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani affirmed that his country will continue to support efforts to achieve justice and hold the perpetrators of atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria accountable.

“We will continue to provide all aspects of support and assistance to the brotherly Syrian people,” he vowed during a speech at the opening of the 75th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on Tuesday.

23 Sep 2020; MEMO: A group of Saudi dissidents, most of them in exile, on Wednesday announced the formation of a party to push for political reform in Saudi Arabia in defiance of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who has moved to crush any dissent, Reuters reports.

The world’s top oil exporter and US ally is an absolute monarchy without an elected parliament or political parties. Past attempts to organise politically in the Gulf state in 2007 and 2011 were suppressed and members arrested.

23 Sep 2020; MEMO: Turkey keeps a prudent and calm attitude despite Greece’s provocations and rising tension in the region, the Turkish president said on Wednesday, Anadolu reports.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s remarks came during a phone conversation with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg about the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and the relationship between Turkey and NATO.

23 Sep 2020; MEMO: A Hezbollah-owned weapons cache in southern Lebanon exploded yesterday afternoon as a result of a “technical error”, Al Jazeera reports.

The explosion, according to local media outlets, killed at least four people and injured several others. Hezbollah, however, has denied claims the blast resulted in casualties.

23 Sep 2020; MEMO: Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun has called for international help to secure the safe return of Syrian refugees, saying that the Mediterranean state can no longer afford to host them.

23 Sep 2020; MEMO: Israeli occupation forces demolished a wedding hall, which also served as a residential apartment, inside a village based in the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm.

Ihsan Awad, head of the Jubara Village Council, told Wafa news agency that the local community was shocked after Israeli occupation forces forced through the village of Jubara in three bulldozers.

23 Sep 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia will gradually lift a coronavirus related ban for Umrah pilgrimage starting early next month, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported early today.

According to the report, Saudi Arabia will gradually resume the year-round umrah pilgrimage from 4 October.