Middle East & North Africa

12 Sep 2021; AA: Turkey’s Communications Directorate on Saturday organized a training program on Turkish media law for foreign journalists.

Held in the capital Ankara, the training aimed at informing members of the foreign press, accredited in Turkey, on issues such as Turkish media law, freedom of communication in Turkey, and its regulation and limitations.

During the program, the participants were informed about Turkey's regimes and regulations of press, radio, television, and internet.

12 Sep 2021; MEMO: Tunisia's powerful labour union and the biggest party in its parliament on Saturday both signalled their opposition to any attempt by the president to suspend the constitution and offer his own version unilaterally, reported Reuters.

President Kais Saied seized governing powers on July 25, citing an emergency clause in the constitution to dismiss the prime minister and suspend parliament, moves his political critics call a coup.

12 Sep 2021; MEMO: A drone attack hit near US forces stationed at Erbil International Airport in northern Iraq on Saturday, Iraqi Kurdish security officials said, reported Reuters.

The internal security service for Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, of which Erbil is the capital, initially said three rockets had hit near the airport.

A second statement by the Kurdish counter-terrorism force said the attack had been carried out by explosive-laden drones.

11 Sep 2021; MEMO: Palestinian doctor Hazem Al-Joulani, 50, on Friday evening succumbed to wounds sustained earlier in the day in Jerusalem's Old City, Quds Press reported.

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO)'s Committee of Prisoners and Freed Prisoners confirmed that Al-Joulani succumbed to his wounds after being admitted to an Israeli hospital.

11 Sep 2021; MEMO: A number of Israeli settlers opened fire on Friday evening on Palestinian homes and vehicles in the Old City of Hebron, south of the occupied West Bank, Anadolu Agency reported.

Journalist Jamal Es'efan disclosed that the Israeli settlers smashed three vehicles owned by the Al-Razm family as they carried out a provocative tour around Wadi Al-Hussein in the Old City.

11 Sep 2021; MEMO: Two additional Palestinian prisoners who escaped from Gilboa Prison last week have been found in Jabal Al-Tur, east of Nazareth, and were rearrested in the early hours of Saturday morning, Israeli media reported.

10 Sep 2021; MEMO: The UAE's Barakah nuclear power station began operating its second reactor, the Abu Dhabi government media office said today, after the first reactor started commercial operations in April.

When completed Barakah, which is being built by a consortium led by Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO), will have four reactors with a total capacity of 5,600 megawatts (MW), equivalent to about 25 per cent of the UAE's peak demand.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. has removed its most advanced missile defense system and Patriot batteries from Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, even as the kingdom faced continued air attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show.

The redeployment of the defenses from Prince Sultan Air Base outside of Riyadh came as America’s Gulf Arab allies nervously watched the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, including their last-minute evacuations from Kabul’s besieged international airport.

Libyan warlord and rogue commander Khalifa Haftar has hired former politicians to lobby for him in the United States, documents from the Justice Department outlined by the Wall Street Journal have revealed.

According to the filings from the Foreign Agents Registration Act dated 3 September, Haftar has agreed to pay a total of around $960,000 over a period of six months to hire the lobbying services of former politicians in Washington, DC.

11 Sep 2021; MEMO: Qatar's envoy to Gaza Mohammed Al-Emadi announced on Friday that efforts to send his country's aid to the Gaza Strip have failed after the Palestinian Authority (PA) backed out of an earlier deal that would have seen it play a role in transferring the funds.