Middle East & North Africa

JERUSALEM, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday made an official visit to Egyptian capital Cairo to meet the country's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi in a bid to strengthen bilateral ties.

"Strengthening Israel-Egypt relations is a very important interest of Israel," Lapid said in a statement issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Lapid's one-day visit also includes a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, the statement added.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince is in Qatar on Thursday for the first time since the kingdom rallied other Arab states to end their yearslong rift and embargo on the small Gulf state.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Qatar marks his third stop in the region this week as the Saudi heir to the throne tours the six U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council. His meetings with Arab rulers are aimed at fortifying the kingdom’s alliances as rival Iran resumes nuclear negotiations with world powers.

09 Dec 2021; MEMO: Israeli Air Force (IAF) is going to hold a massive military drill over the Mediterranean this coming spring, using dozens of aircraft simulating strike on Iran, Israeli media revealed on Wednesday evening.

Unsourced report published by Israel's Kan broadcaster stated that the drill is going to be one of the largest ever held by the IAF.

09 Dec 2021; MEMO: The head of Tunisia's Ennahda Movement Rached Ghannouchi yesterday met with the French Ambassador to Tunis André Parant and discussed the latest developments in the country.

A statement posted on Ghannouchi's official Facebook page said he and Parant discussed "the most important developments in the Tunisian arena and emphasised the importance of supporting the relationship between Tunisia and France to serve the interests of both countries."

Ennahda has the largest parliamentary bloc with 53 deputies out of 217.

09 Dec 2021; MEMO: Dozens of camels have been disqualified from a beauty contest in Saudi Arabia after Botox injections and other artificial touch-ups were used to enhance their looks, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) yesterday.

09 Dec 2021; MEMO: The Saudi man arrested at a Paris airport yesterday over suspected links to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was released today after officials concluded it was a case of mistaken identity, Paris prosecutors said, Reuters reports.

French law enforcement sources named the man Khaled Aedh Al-Otaibi, the same name as a former member of the Saudi Royal Guard listed in US and British sanctions documents and a UN-commissioned report as having been involved in Khashoggi's killing in Turkey.

09 Dec 2021; MEMO: An Iran official yesterday slammed the US' decision to impose new sanctions on it on Tuesday.

Some 12 Iranian entities and officials were blacklisted for allegedly committing "gross violations of human rights".

"Even amid Vienna talks, the US cannot stop imposing sanctions against Iran," spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Twitter.

09 Dec 2021; MEMO: Jordan yesterday banned the screening of a film which producers hoped would be the country's entry to the Oscars.

The move came after widespread criticism of 'Amira', which the Palestinian Authority described as "unequivocably offends the history and struggles of the Palestinian prisoners."

TEHRAN, Dec 8 (NNN-IRNA) – Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, yesterday accused the United States of seeking “a new crisis” in the region, after the fall of the Daesh militant group, state TV reported.

“The United States is very angry about the collapse of Daesh in Syria and Iraq, as well as, the victory of the resistance front … and is looking for a new crisis,” Shamkhani said, at a meeting with visiting Syrian Foreign Minister, Faisal Mekdad.

TUNIS, Dec 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Tunisia Tuesday on an official visit at the invitation of his Tunisian counterpart Kais Saied, the Tunisian presidency announced in a statement.

Abbas was greeted at Tunis-Carthage International Airport by the Tunisian president, in the presence of senior Tunisian leaders and the officials from the Palestinian Embassy in Tunis.

Tunisia is the second stop of the Palestinian president’s North African tour, which began with a visit to Algeria.