Middle East & North Africa

14 Dec 2022; MEMO: Iran was ousted from a United Nations women's body on Wednesday for policies contrary to the rights of women and girls, a move proposed by the United States after Tehran's brutal crackdown on protests sparked by the death of a young woman in custody.

The 54-member U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution to "remove with immediate effect the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term."

14 Dec 2022; MEMO: Recent resolutions by the EU General Affairs Council that contains parts on Turkiye shows the narrow-mindedness and prejudice of the bloc, Ankara said on Wednesday.

"The section on our country in the resolutions adopted by the European Union (EU) at the General Affairs Council once again reveals the narrow-minded and prejudiced view of the EU towards Turkiye," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement a day after the EU Council released the conclusions on enlargement, stabilisation and association.

15 Dec 2022; MEMO: Saudi's Water and Electricity Holding Company (Badeel) and energy company ACWA Power have signed power purchase agreements to develop the largest solar energy plant in the Middle East, Reuters reports.

The 2,060 megawatt solar facility will be built in Al-Shuaibah, in the Makkah province, and is expected to become operational by the fourth quarter of 2025.

TEHRAN, Dec 14 (NNN-IRNA) – The Iranian Space Agency (ISA), and Russia’s state space corporation, Roscosmos, will start a new round of talks on cooperating in the space sector.

High-ranking officials of the ISA and Roscosmos will hold negotiations on the sidelines of the 11th Kish International Aerospace Exhibition, which kicked off yesterday on the Kish Island, in southern Iran, according to the report.

The joint training workshops of Iran and Russia will also be held in the fields of satellite design and manufacturing, as well as, satellite data processing.

BEIRUT, Dec 14 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, yesterday said that, as one of the countries suffering the most from terrorist acts, Lebanon called for collective cooperation and intensive coordination to fight terrorism.

He made the appeal in a speech, delivered at a symposium on “Coordination Mechanisms in Combating Terrorism” organised by the Lebanese government, in cooperation with the “Advanced Counter Terrorism Project for Lebanon Security,” which is funded by the European Union.

KHARTOUM, Dec 14 (NNN-NEWVISION) — Sudan signed Tuesday an initial $6b (sh22 trillion) deal led by United Arab Emirates’ AD Ports Group and Invictus Investment to build a vast new Red Sea port and economic zone.

“The massive project, which is estimated to cost around $6b, will give a strong boost to the national economy and will bring countless benefits for the whole country,” said Sudan’s Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim during the signing ceremony.

RABAT, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Morocco's national airline said it was cancelling all flights it had scheduled for Wednesday to carry fans to Doha for the World Cup semi-final, citing what it said was a decision by Qatari authorities.

"Following the latest restrictions imposed by the Qatari authorities, Royal Air Maroc regrets to inform customers of the cancellation of their flights operated by Qatar Airways," the airline said in an emailed statement.

The Qatari government's international media office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Juba, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- At least 166 civilians have been killed and 237 others injured in the last four months in clashes in South Sudan's Upper Nile State, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on Wednesday.

"These killings, along with reports of gender-based violence, abductions, destruction of property and looting, are severe human rights violations and abuses and must stop," Turk said in a statement.

CAIRO (AP) — One of Libya’s rival prime ministers called Tuesday for the release of the former Libyan intelligence officer accused of making the bomb that downed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing all onboard, after he surfaced in U.S. custody earlier this week.

American authorities said Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimihad been arrested and would face trial in the United States. On Monday, he appeared in a Washington, D.C., federal court, where he was charged with an act of international terrorism.

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Hind Sabouni bristles with pride as she recalls her country’s history-making World Cup run as it eliminated one European soccer powerhouse and former colonial power after another — Belgium, Spain and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal — to become the first African and Arab nation to reach the semifinals.