Middle East & North Africa

28 Apr 2021; MEMO: Turkey signed an agreement to receive 50 million doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine over six months starting in May, the country's health minister said Wednesday, Anadolu reports.

Fahrettin Koca told a press conference that the vaccine supply was getting harder to reach out to for the next two months but that they expect an abundance of vaccines afterward.

28 Apr 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia plans to sell a one per cent stake in state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco to a "leading global energy company" within the context of its Vision 2030 plan to diversify the kingdom's economy, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman announced in an interview yesterday.

29 Apr 2021; MEMO: The Israeli army said Wednesday that one of its drones fell in northern Gaza during a routine operation in the area, Anadolu reports.

Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), confirmed the news in a statement on Twitter, adding there are "no concerns of leaked information" from the drone.

29 Apr 2021; MEMO: The Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced yesterday that it had arrested the commander of the 5th Border Guard Force Battalion west of the country, along with two other security chiefs, following an attack launched by Daesh fighters.

29 Apr 2021; MEMO: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said on Tuesday that Riyadh is ready to support the Houthis in Yemen if the movement expresses readiness to stop attacking the kingdom.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia proposes an offer, including economic support and whatever they need in exchange for ceasing fire and sitting at the negotiating table," Bin Salman said in an interview.

28 Apr 2021; MEMO: The Israeli army said it shot down a drone belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah group that crossed into northern Israel yesterday.

"Our troops downed a Hezbollah drone that crossed from Lebanon into Israel today. In addition, we located another Hezbollah drone that we downed a few weeks ago," the army posted on Twitter.

The drone was closely surveilled the entire time and there were no reports of injuries or damage, it claimed.

28 Apr 2021; MEMO: In line with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, the kingdom has introduced the ancient Indian epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata into the school curriculum.

A tweet which has gone viral by Nouf Al-Marwaai, the first Saudi yoga instructor and founder of the Arab Yoga Foundation, included a screenshot of her son's social studies exam with questions on Hinduism and Buddhism.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Islamic militant group Hamas has rejected the idea of postponing Palestinian elections ahead of a leadership meeting Thursday in which President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party is expected to push for a delay, citing a dispute with Israel over voting in east Jerusalem.

Hamas is expected to perform well in the May 22 parliamentary elections because of widening divisions within Fatah. Seizing on the sensitive issue of voting in east Jerusalem could offer a pretext for Abbas to call off the first Palestinians elections in 15 years.

RAMALLAH, Apr 28 (NNN-WAFA) – Palestine said yesterday that, it is seeking more international pressure on Israel, to allow its upcoming elections held in East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian leadership will “hold a meeting tomorrow, to determine the fate of the elections and reach a unified position,” Palestinian presidential spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said.

Rudeineh reiterated the determination of the Palestinian leadership, particularly President Mahmoud Abbas, that the elections will not take place without East Jerusalem.

TEHRAN, Apr 28 (NNN-IRNA) – Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, said, the process of talks aimed at reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is “on the right track,” yet there are still important challenges to address, Iranian media reported.

Araqchi, head of the Iranian delegation, made the remarks after he and negotiators from Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany met within the framework of the JCPOA Joint Commission, in the Austrian capital Vienna yesterday.