Middle East & North Africa

LAAYOUNE, Western Sahara (AP) — After the final whistle of every match Morocco won in its history-making World Cup run, crowds poured out of homes and cafes in the biggest city of Western Sahara, celebrating for hours.

The revelers included some Sahrawi people, members of an ethnic group that has sought independence for Western Sahara since Morocco annexed the disputed territory in 1975. Other Sahrawis rooted for Morocco’s defeat on the soccer field or refused to take part in the celebrations.

DOHA, December 13. /TASS/: A team of volunteers from Russia, serving at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, has organized a Day of Russian Culture for their colleagues representing other countries, Anatoly Savinov, one of the event’s organizers, told TASS.

"Some 2,000 foreign volunteers, serving at the World Cup, are accommodated in a single hotel," Savinov told a TASS correspondent. "They came here representing dozens of different countries. We wanted to treat them with a large-scale presentation of Russia and to organize a holiday."

TEHRAN, Dec 13 (NNN-IRNA) – The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, yesterday, slammed the U.S. claims of supporting Iranian women, saying, they have been equally impacted by Washington’s long-term unilateral sanctions on Tehran.

Women had not been excluded from the U.S. unilateral sanctions, imposed against Iran over the past decades, Nasser Kanaani was quoted as saying, during a press conference.

KHARTOUM, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Sudan on Tuesday signed a preliminary agreement with a group led by the UAE's AD Ports Group and Invictus Investment to build and operate the Abu Amama port and economic zone on the Red Sea with a $6-billion investment.

The project, located about 200 km (124 miles) north of Port Sudan, would include an economic zone, an airport and an agricultural zone of 400,000 feddans (415,000 acres).

13 Dec 2022; MEMO: The Israeli occupation government is in the process of determining the ownership of a church in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem at Russia's request, broadcaster Kan has revealed.

12 Dec 2022; MEMO: The number of tankers waiting to pass through Istanbul's Bosporus Strait on the way to the Mediterranean fell to 13 on Monday, from 17 a day earlier, the Tribeca Shipping Agency said, showing an easing of the recent build-up in traffic, Reuters reports.

A Turkish measure in force since the start of the month has caused shipping delays. It requires vessels to provide proof of insurance covering the duration of their transit through the Bosporus Strait or when calling at Turkish ports.

12 Dec 2022; MEMO: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states are predicted to make a total of $15 billion annually by the year 2030 as they introduce policies to implement new "metaverse" technology within their respective economies.

13 Dec 2022; MEMO: Israeli occupation forces have "executed" more than 52 children since the start of the year, Wafa news agency reported the Palestinian Authority (PA) saying.

This came in a report submitted by the PA Minister of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs, Riyad Al-Malki, to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba.

13 Dec 2022; MEMO: About 27.8 per cent of Israeli households – 2,627,000 Israelis – live in poverty, a report published by Latet NGO revealed yesterday.

Latet, which is Israel's largest anti-poverty NGO, found that at least 1,176,000 of the poor are children, adding that a total of 830,000 households are reported to be in economic distress – 131,000 more families than before the Covid pandemic.

13 Dec 2022; MEMO: Jordan's Chief of Staff Yousef Huneiti met the Turkish Ambassador to the kingdom, Ismail Aramaz, yesterday to discuss military cooperation between the two countries.

The kingdom's army said in an official statement that the officials discussed "cooperation and coordination, and ways to enhance bilateral relations to serve the interests of the armed forces of the two countries."

The meeting was attended by a "number of senior Jordanian military officers," it added in its statement.