Middle East & North Africa

ANKARA, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Six grain vessels left Ukrainian ports on Thursday after Russia resumed its participation in the UN-brokered deal which allows grain exports through the Black Sea, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said.

The number of ships leaving Ukraine's ports reached 426, and the amount of grain transported exceeded 9.7 million tons, Akar said in a statement.

"We will intensify our efforts on the extension of the grain initiative, which will expire on Nov. 19," he added.

TEHRAN, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Wednesday Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are working toward the achievement of a "good and robust" agreement.

Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a phone call with the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli election officials were tallying the final votes from national elections on Thursday, with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looking likely to reclaim the premiership with a comfortable majority backed by far-right allies.

SINIYAH ISLAND, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An ancient Christian monastery possibly dating as far back as the years before Islam spread across the Arabian Peninsula has been discovered on an island off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, officials announced Thursday.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The apparent comeback of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the dramatic rise of his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies in Israel’s general election this week have prompted little more than shrugs from many Palestinians.

“It’s all the same to me,” Said Issawiy, a vendor hawking nectarines in the main al-Manara Square of Ramallah, said of Netanyahu replacing centrist Yair Lapid and poised to head the most right-wing government in Israel’s history.

02 Nov 2022; MEMO: A 47-year-old man has died in prison in Egypt after starting a hunger strike to protest the conditions of his detention, according to the Egyptian Network for Human Rights.

Alaa Al-Salami's family were only informed that he had died three days after he passed away.

Al-Salami was sentenced to life imprisonment on 30 April 2019 by the Cairo Criminal Court and detained first in the maximum-security Scorpion Prison and then transferred to Badr 3 Prison.

02 Nov 2022; MEMO: Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Wednesday said that US guarantees would protect a maritime border deal with Israel should Israel's conservative former premier, Benjamin Netanyahu, win a majority in elections Reuters reports.

02 Nov 2022; MEMO: Britain's ruling Conservative Party has reportedly quietly dropped moving towards accepting an official definition of Islamophobia, as it remains heavily criticised over its lack of action to tackle the issue and combat Islamophobic attitudes within the Party and government.

02 Nov 2022; MEMO: NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, is due to arrive in Turkiye on Thursday for a three-day visit, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has said, Anadolu News Agency reports.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Ministry said Stoltenberg will be received by Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The NATO Chief will also meet Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu and National Defence Minister, Hulusi Akar.

02 Nov 2022; MEMO: The Netherlands has announced its plans to repatriate 12 women and 28 children back to their home country, in the latest move by a European State to do so.

According to a statement by the Dutch government yesterday, the women – who are suspected of committing terror offences due to their travel to join Daesh – "will be arrested after their arrival in the Netherlands and will be tried". Neither the identity of the women, the children, nor their location were revealed.