Middle East & North Africa

15 May 2020; MEMO: Moving forwards with an Israeli plan to unilaterally annex West Bank land will destroy any chance for peace, warned church leaders in Jerusalem.

15 May 2020; MEMO: A team of researchers are believed to have discovered the earliest known evidence of a person being killed by a meteorite in what is today’s Iraq in the year 1888.

ISTANBUL, May 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Turkey’s coronavirus death toll topped 4,000 on Thursday, as the number of confirmed cases reached nearly 145,000.

In a tweet, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 55 more deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours while there were 1,635 new cases.

The total number of reported infections now stands at 144,749, making Turkey the ninth most COVID-19 affected country.

The 83-million strong country is gradually moving to a “new normal” as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the coronavirus pandemic is “under control”.

ISTANBUL, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg held a phone conversation over the developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Erdogan and Stoltenberg discussed cooperation opportunities in the fight against coronavirus and steps to be taken in the aftermath of the pandemic, Turkey's presidential office said in a written statement on Thursday.

Additionally, both leaders addressed regional issues, including issues of Syria and Libya, it added.

14 May 2020; MEMO: The General Director of the Syrian Grain Establishment, Youssef Qassem, said a tender has been issued for the import of 200,000 tonnes of wheat from Russia.

Qassem added that a ship carrying 26,000 tonnes of wheat coming from Russia had arrived at the port of Tartus; noting that the shipment is one of the contracts concluded last year while other shipments will arrive soon.

According to Qassem, the wheat is immediately moved from the port to the mills.

14 May 2020; MEMO: Israeli occupation forces raided and demolished livestock pens belonging to Palestinian bedouins in Al-Baqaa villages in the northern Jordan Valley of the occupied West Bank, reported Wafa news agency.

Local human rights activist Aref Daraghmeh said occupation forces invaded the Al-Baqaa area, before destroying and confiscating water pipelines owned by a local resident, identified as Mowaffaq Daraghma.

14 May 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has called on OPEC+ countries to respect their commitment to the agreed oil production cuts and to reduce production even further to help restore balance to global oil markets, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported yesterday.

A statement said the cabinet has decided to reduce oil production by an additional one million barrels per day in June, noting that the kingdom is coordinating with customers to reduce production in May, from the target level.

14 May 2020; MEMO: The Jordanian Constitutional Court has ruled that it is illegal to cancel the natural gas deal signed with Israel, RT Arabic reported yesterday.

The court said that it would be “completely inconsistent” with obligations stipulated in the peace agreement between the two countries.

In a statement, the court said that the Jordanian Constitution stipulates that only the king can declare war or ratify treaties and agreements.

14 May 2020; MEMO: A fuel tanker loaded at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas is making its way to Venezuela, according to vessel tracking data issued by Refinitiv Icon, in defiance of the US-imposed sanctions on both countries, including on their respective oil industries. Venezuela, which is already in a crisis, is currently suffering from a shortage of gasoline.

The Iranian-flagged tanker “Clafel” reportedly crossed the Suez Canal yesterday, having been loaded with fuel in Iran at the end of March.

NICOSIA, May 14. /TASS/: A plane delivering medical equipment from China to Cyprus, which had to land for refueling in Moscow after Turkey refused to allow it to fly through its airspace, has successfully arrived to Larnaca on Wednesday night, Cyprus’s Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Yiannis Karousos said in a Twitter post.