Middle East & North Africa

06 Nov 2021; MEMO: The Turkish Coast Guard units, on Friday, rescued dozens of irregular migrants off western Izmir province after they were pushed back into Turkey's territorial waters.

According to a statement by the Coast Guard on its website, a total of 75 irregular migrants were saved amid three separate operations conducted off the districts of Cesme, Menderes, and Dikili.

They were later referred to the provincial migration office for official procedures.

06 Nov 2021; MEMO: Russian military vehicles have unloaded large numbers of anti-personnel and anti-tank mines in northern Syria's countryside of Tal Rifaat, which is controlled by the YPG/PKK, Anadolu Agency reported on Friday.

06 Nov 2021; MEMO: The Egyptian government has decided to ban the import of tuk-tuks following a government initiative to replace them with safer means of transportation, Egyptian media reported on Friday.

06 Nov 2021; MEMO: Libya will not participate in the Paris conference on Libya if the occupation state of Israel attends, Spokesperson for the National Unity Government (GNU) Mohamed Hammouda revealed earlier this week.

"The government is steadfast in its position and the position of all Libyans and is committed to the Palestinian cause," The Libyan Observer reported Hammouda stating on Tuesday.

Mashhad, IRNA – The governor of Sarakhs County in northeast Iran said that recent agreements reached by Iranian and Turkmen officials has led to exports from the county to Turkmenistan to triple.

Mohammad-Reza Rajabi told IRNA on Thursday that border interactions and trade traffic have increased between Iran and Turkmenistan in light of prioritizing relations with neighbors in this administration.

05 Nov 2021; AA: Turkey’s first choice is to be in the US F-35 fighter jet program, and its exclusion from the program due to CAATSA sanctions is an unfair and unlawful practice, the country’s presidential spokesperson said Thursday.

Speaking to reporters following the opening ceremony of a fine arts university, Ibrahim Kalin touched on the decisions reached at the recent G20 summit meeting between US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

05 Nov 2021; AA: Since his elderly owner passed away last week, a loyal dog in Turkey's Black Sea region has been regularly visiting his master’s gravesite.

Omer Guven, who was 92 when he died, adopted Fero 11 years ago when he was a stray dog.

The owner’s daughter-in-law, Fatma Guven, said that  the old man and the former stray enjoyed a very close bond with each other.

05 Nov 2021; MEMO: Lebanese civil servants yesterday launched a strike against a recent salary reduction as the country's economic crisis worsens.

The standoff, which was organised by the local Association of Public Administration Employees, came after public wages were reported to have lost almost 95 per cent of their purchasing value.

05 Nov 2021; MEMO: Lebanese Minister of Information, George Kordahi, will resign if the Gulf countries provide guarantees that this will change their position towards Lebanon, Anadolu news agency reported.

The agency quoted sources close to Kordahi as saying "he will not resign", adding that he is waiting to meet with the Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, to discover if his removal from office would change the relationship with the Gulf.

Kanpur: Sorghum (jowar) can be a wonder crop not only for all those related to the sugar industry but to a common man also in the comprehensive fight against the deadly virus of coronavirus.

The National Sugar Institute, Kanpur in collaboration with ICAR-IIMR, Hyderabad has been conducting studies to assess the potential of the crop for the last two years at the institute farm.

Five sweet sorghum varieties (CSH 22S, SSV 84, SSV 74, Phlue Vasundhara and ICSSH 28) deemed suitable for sub-tropical region are being cultivated and tested.