Middle East & North Africa

RABAT, June 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Morocco will delay a summit it is hosting between Israel and Arab states that have signed “Abraham Accords” peace pacts, its foreign minister said on Friday, amid rising strife in the West Bank.

The decision to postpone the summit until after the summer comes after Israel decided to expand settlement-building in the occupied West Bank and after an Israeli raid on Jenin in which five people were killed.

ANKARA, June 24 (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday and urged him to act with common sense, the Turkish presidency said, after Russian mercenary fighters began an armed mutiny overnight.

Putin, who described the Wagner Group's actions as "treason" in an emergency televised address, said anyone who had taken up arms against the Russian military would be punished.

Erdogan was among the first leaders to hold a phone call with Putin after his speech on Saturday.

BEIRUT, June 23 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) has allocated 3.7 million euros (4 million U.S. dollars) to fund 2Circular, a project implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to support the green and circular economy in Lebanon.

A statement released by UNIDO on Friday said that "the 2Circular project aims to partner with over 50 food and beverage companies to create momentum for green and circular production in Lebanon."

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The sleek, polished dark blue 1978 Cadillac Seville eased slowly out of a showroom near Iran’s capital, its driver carefully inserting the 8-track tape that came with it to blast the sounds of a time long since past.

The Sevilles, once assembled in Iran, represented the height of luxury in the country just before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. General Motors had partnered with an Iranian firm to build the sedans, selling them for two-and-a-half times the price in America at the zenith of the country’s oil wealth.

JERUSALEM (AP) — A Palestinian assailant opened fire at an Israeli military checkpoint in the West Bank on Saturday before being shot and killed, Israeli police said. Elsewhere in the occupied territory, settlers rampaged through a Palestinian village, hurling stones, spraying bullets and setting fire to homes, the latest in a series of settler attacks this week.

The Palestinian gunman approached Israeli troops stationed at the Qalandiya checkpoint outside Jerusalem early in the morning, pulled out an M16 rifle and opened fire, the Israeli police said.

TEHRAN, Jun 23 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), yesterday, highlighted the necessity to strengthen mutual coordination, and elevate the level of bilateral cooperation, particularly in the trade and economic sectors.

During their meeting in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, visiting Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and UAE President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, discussed bilateral ties, as well as, regional and global developments, according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

ADEN, Jun 23 (NNN-SABA) – Two Yemeni military staff were killed yesterday, in a bombing attack, carried out by the militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaeda branch, in the country’s southern province of Abyan, a security official said.

The incident occurred when the al-Qaeda militants planted an improvised explosive device, targeting a military ambulance of the government forces, in Abyan’s district of Mudiyah, causing a large explosion, the local security official said.

NICOSIA, June 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Cypriot emergency services rescued 45 Syrian migrants from two boats after receiving information that they were in distress near a coastal tourist resort, authorities said Friday.

The eastern Mediterranean island’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre said it had brought ashore 29 men, five women and 11 children who had been afloat off Cape Greco on Thursday evening.

Police said they were in good health and had been transferred to a migrant reception centre on the outskirts of the capital Nicosia.

ISTANBUL, June 23 (Xinhua) -- The number of foreign tourists to Türkiye surged to 4.5 million in May, amounting to a 16.2-percent year-on-year increase, the Culture and Tourism Ministry said Friday.

The Mediterranean resort of Antalya topped the list of most popular destinations by hosting 1.51 million visitors, slightly leading Istanbul with 1.5 million visitors, followed by the Aegean province of Mugla and the northwestern province of Edirne, hosting 380,899 and 349,123 foreigners respectively, according to the ministry figures.

TEHRAN, June 23 (Xinhua) -- A top Iranian commander said on Friday that any ship seeking to pass through the Strait of Hormuz must inform Iran of its name, nationality and cargo in Persian language, official news agency IRNA reported.

Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri made the remarks at a commemoration ceremony held in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, warning that if a passing vessel refrains from providing the required information, Iranian naval forces will take necessary action against it.