Middle East & North Africa

15 July 2020; MEMO: Sudan’s Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources said Tuesday that it submitted a “balanced and fair” draft agreement on the Nile dam to the African Union, reports Anadolu Agency.

“Sudan delivered its final report on the course of the Hidase Dam negotiations to the African Union’s current president, South Africa,” the ministry statement said, referring to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile.

Tehran, Jul (AP/PTI) Iran has executed a former employee of the defense ministry who was convicted of spying on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency, the country's judiciary said Tuesday. It was the second such execution in the past month.

The report said Reza Asgari was executed last week. Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said Asgari had worked in the airspace department of the ministry and retired in 2016.

BEIRUT (AP) — Facing a worsening economic crisis and with little chance of Western or oil-rich Arab countries providing assistance without substantial reforms, Lebanon’s cash-strapped government is looking east, hoping to secure investments from China that could bring relief.

But help from Beijing risks alienating the United States, which has suggested such a move could come at the cost of Lebanese-U.S. ties.

TADMOR/Syria/, July 14. /TASS/: Three militants of Maghawir al-Thawra group detained by the Syrian military in the outskirts of Tadmor, near Palmyra, had been trained to spy by US instructors, one of neutralized extremists Abdallah al-Mishuat said.

TEHRAN, July 14 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran’s Airport Company announced that, during the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year, the country’s air traffic experienced a significant decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 44,918 takeoffs and landings, during the first quarter of the current Iranian year registered a 51 percent decrease, compared with the similar period last year, Financial Tribune daily reported on Monday.

During the time span under review, more than 4.04 million passengers were transported, indicating a 64 percent decline year-on-year.

RIYADH, July 14 (NNN-SPA) – The Red Sea Project, Saudi Arabia’s flagship international tourism project, awarded the contract for construction of the airport infrastructure to a joint venture between Saudi contractors Nesma & Partners Contracting Co. Ltd and Almabani General Contractors.

This is the biggest contract in terms of value that has been awarded by the flagship project to date, said the Red Sea Development Company, the developer behind the high-profile tourism project, in a statement.

14 July 2020; MEMO: Bahrain will add around 177 million dinars ($470 million) to its 2020 state budget in emergency spending on fighting the new coronavirus pandemic, state news agency BNA said on Monday, reporting a royal decree.

To this end, $450 million will be taken as a one-time deduction from the Future Generations Fund (FGF), a fund set up in 2006 to reinvest hydrocarbon revenues, and allocated to this year’s state budget, another new decree said.

14 July 2020; MEMO: The former in the Lebanese Ministry of Finance, Bifani said Monday that Lebanese bankers have smuggled nearly $6 billion out of the country since October despite financial regulations imposed to save the country from the worst financial crisis in 30 years, a former Ministry of Finance official revealed yesterday.

14 July 2020; MEMO: Houthi drones have been used to bomb Saudi military installations in Jizan, Najran, Asir, Khamis Mushayt and Abha, the group’s spokesperson said yesterday.

Yahya Sarea said the bombs came in response to the crimes committed by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen; the latest of which has been the massacre committed in Hajjah governorate and the ongoing blockade.

JERUSALEM, July 13 (NNN-MA’AN) – Bank of Israel Governor, Amir Yaron, warned that, the state’s annual budget deficit may reach 13 percent of GDP by the end of the year.

Israel’s annual budget deficit recently reached a record 88.4 billion new shekels (25.6 billion U.S. dollars), according to a report issued by the Ministry of Finance earlier in July.

The deficit figure, between July, 2019 and June, 2020, accounted for 6.4 percent of Israel’s GDP, way above the government target of three percent.