Middle East & North Africa

Saudi Arabia: 2022 Global AI Summit Kicked Off In Riyadh

RIYADH, Sept 14 (NNN-SPA) – Under the patronage of Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), the second Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit, organised by SDAIA, kicked off yesterday, under the theme “Artificial Intelligence for the Good of Humanity,” with the participation of more than 10,000 policymakers, specialists and concerned figures with AI.

Turkey's Erdogan: Armenian attitude towards Azerbaijan will have consequences

ANKARA, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Armenia's attitude towards Azerbaijan was unacceptable and would have consequences, after days of clashes between the two neighbours.

"We find the situation that has occurred due to Armenia's violation of the agreement - reached after the (2020) war that resulted in the victory of Azerbaijan - to be unacceptable," Erdogan told a rally in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Lebanon: Woman with toy gun grabs trapped savings from Beirut bank

BEIRUT (AP) — A woman accompanied by activists and brandishing what she said was a toy pistol broke into a Beirut bank branch on Wednesday, taking $13,000 from her trapped savings.

Sali Hafez told the local Al-Jadeed TV that she needed the money to fund her sister’s cancer treatment. She said she had repeatedly visited the bank to ask for her money and was told she could only receive $200 a month in Lebanese pounds. Hafez said the toy pistol belonged to her nephew.

At least 10 still trapped in Jordan building collapse

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordanian teams on Wednesday rescued one person alive and worked to save other survivors of a building collapse in the capital Amman, officials said. State media said at least five people have been killed and at least 10 others remain missing.

Amer Sartawi, a security spokesman, said eight people also have been injured and one survivor had been rescued Wednesday from the rubble of the residential building.

The four-story structure collapsed on Tuesday for reasons that remain unclear. The country’s prime minister has ordered an investigation.

Israel: campaign to stop Iran nuclear deal 'successful': Lapid

13 Sep 2022; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid has said that the political campaign to prevent an agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme has succeeded. Lapid made his comment after France, Germany and Britain issued a joint statement on Saturday accusing Iran of undermining efforts to revive the nuclear deal.

Turkish exports to Egypt break record in 2022

14 Sep 2022; MEMO: Turkish exports to Egypt reached an all-time high of $2.8 billion from January through August, Anadolu reported yesterday, citing data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM).

According to the report, the volume of Turkish exports to Egypt grew 17 per cent from January through August compared to the same period last year.

Israel concerned about possible fall of Egypt President Sisi: Report

14 Sep 2022; MEMO: Israeli political and security circles are concerned about the possible fall of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi amid the ongoing internal crises that Cairo has been facing, an Israeli newspaper reported.

In an editorial written by journalist and expert on Arab affairs, Smadar Peri, Yedioth Aharonoth's Hebrew site said: "Sisi's speech last Thursday was one of the harshest, most horrific and ugliest speeches during the past eight years of his rule."

PA calls on Norway to pressure Israel to protect two-state solution

14 Sep 2022; MEMO: Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh yesterday called on Norwegian MPs to pressure their government to protect the two-state solution.

During a meeting held in Ramallah with a delegation of 15 Norwegian MPs, headed by Ine Eriksen Søreide, Shtayyeh stressed the need to work internationally to protect the "eroding" two-state solution.

Israel notifies 15 Palestinian families to leave their Jerusalem homes

14 Sep 2022; MEMO: Israeli occupation authorities yesterday notified Bedouin residents of Arab Al Kaabneh, located between the towns of Bir Nabala and Beit Hanina, to evacuate their homes.

The supervisor of the Al-Baydar Organisation for the Defence of Bedouin Rights, Hassan Mleihat, said in a statement that Israeli occupation forces stormed the area where the Kaabneh Bedouin tribe live and handed 15 families evacuation notices.

Iran hackers 'access database' with records of 9.5m Israelis

14 Sep 2022; MEMO: Israeli media reported yesterday that an Iranian group of hackers said that they had seized the data of millions of Israelis, including Prime Minister Yair Lapid and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, and taken down the website of the Israeli broadcaster Kan.

According to the news website Walla, the Iranian hacker group war_dark said it managed to hack a database containing the details of about 9.5 million Israeli residents, including Lapid and Netanyahu.

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