Middle East & North Africa

TEHRAN, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Tuesday unveiled a domestically-developed hypersonic missile named Fattah (Conqueror) in a ceremony in the capital Tehran, the official news agency IRNA reported.

The opening ceremony was attended by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Chief Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami and Commander of the IRGC's Aerospace Division Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, the report said.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Voters in Kuwait cast their ballots Tuesday for a third time in as many years, with little hope of ending a prolonged gridlock between the ruling family and assertive lawmakers after the judiciary dissolved the legislature earlier this year.

Kuwait is alone among Gulf Arab countries in having a democratically elected assembly that exerts some checks on the ruling family. But in recent years, the political system has been paralyzed by infighting and unable to enact even basic reforms.

05 June 2023; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, ramped up threats to attack Iranian nuclear facilities on Sunday, convening a rare cabinet war drill after he accused UN inspectors of failing to confront Tehran, Reuters reports.

06 June 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has welcomed Venezuela's President to the Kingdom on an official visit, hosting yet another adversary of the West as it carves a more independent foreign policy path.

According to the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, arrived in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah late yesterday, greeted by Saudi officials.

06 June 2023; MEMO: Egypt's population growth has significantly declined, reaching 105 million on Saturday, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS).

Despite the significant decline, Egypt remains the most populous Arab country and the third in Africa after Nigeria and Ethiopia and 14th in the world.

Egyptian authorities have been working to reduce the population size in a bid to adjust to the government's development plans.

06 June 2023; MEMO: The United States has delivered $1 billion in funding to Israel to replenish Iron Dome stocks, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) summit yesterday.

06 June 2023; MEMO: Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday that Israel will face unprecedented challenges during any war with Iran and its proxies, including Hezbollah, local media have reported.

"If, God forbid, a war occurs, the Israeli home front is expected to face challenges the likes of which we have never known in our 75 years of existence," the Times of Israel reported Gallant as saying. "This requires us to be prepared in advance, with optimal preparation."

06 June 2023; MEMO: A US senator has called on US President Joe Biden and his administration to release its findings about the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian American journalist who was shot by an Israeli soldier while covering a military raid in the occupied West Bank on 11 May last year.

ANKARA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's annual inflation slowed to 39.59 in May, the lowest level since December 2021, official data showed on Monday.

The slowdown was driven by a temporary measure offering free gas to households, offsetting price rises in other goods, analysts said.

The country's annual inflation was 36.08 percent in December 2021, 48.69 percent in January 2022 and 43.68 percent in April 2023.

NEBI SALEH, West Bank (AP) — A Palestinian toddler who was shot by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank last week died of his wounds on Monday, Israeli hospital officials said.

Mohammed al-Tamimi was shot in the head last Thursday near his village of Nebi Saleh while riding in a car with his father. He was airlifted to Israel’s Sheba Hospital, which announced the 2-year-old boy’s death.

The Israeli military has said soldiers opened fire after gunmen in the area shot at a nearby Jewish settlement.