Middle East & North Africa

04 Oct 2021; MEMO: Egypt has been selected as a nominee to host the COP27 UN climate conference 2022 set to be held in Glasgow in November.

The summit works towards actioning the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and is hosted by a different country each year representing a different region in the world.

04 Oct 2021; MEMO: The United Arab Emirates is trying to manage long-running rivalries with Iran and Turkey through dialogue to avoid any new confrontations in the region as the Gulf state hones in on its economy post-COVID-19, a senior official said, reports Reuters.

Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, told a conference on Saturday there was uncertainty about the United States' commitment to the region and concern about a "looming cold war" between Washington and Beijing.

04 Oct 2021; MEMO: Sources have told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that plans are underway to improve a secret cooperation agreement between Egypt and Italy in which Cairo will continue to accept returned refugees attempting to reach Europe in exchange for military and security incentives from the European country.

04 Oct 2021; MEMO: Hamas has not signed a prisoner swap deal with Israel, a Hamas official announced yesterday.

Al-Arabiya yesterday reported that there was "significant progress" in negotiations between Israel and Hamas regarding a potential prisoner exchange deal.

Safa quoted Zaher Jabarin as saying that rumours would "never succeed in pressuring the resistance's leadership."

04 Oct 2021; MEMO: Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan yesterday confirmed that his country had held talks with regional rival Iran last month; the first since President Ibrahim Raisi took office.

"The fourth round of talks took place on September 21," Bin Farhan said in Riyadh during a joint press conference with the European Union foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell.

"These discussions are still in the exploratory phase, and we hope that they lay the foundation to address issues between the two sides," he added.

04 Oct 2021; MEMO: Palestinian Authority (PA) officials have said that the US is to reopen its consulate in occupied East Jerusalem in a few weeks, Haaretz reported yesterday.

According to the Israeli newspaper, the PA officials told Haaretz that senior US officials had revealed this information to them.

The American consulate in occupied East Jerusalem served Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

04 Oct 2021; MEMO: Palestinian farmers in the Gaza Strip are facing hardships and working at a loss as a result of the terms set out for exports by the Israeli occupation authorities.

Holding a protest yesterday, farmers said rules – which include the transport of goods to their intended buyer without lids – mean they are damaged and do not reach their intended markets in a good condition, leaving the farmers out of pocket as they do not subsequently get paid for them.

04 Oct 2021; MEMO: Tunisia's President Kais Saied has signed four contracts with French oil and gas companies within a week, a parliamentarian announced yesterday.

Safi Saïd told local media that the pacts were signed "discreetly", noting that Saied was "bias to the French stance in its dispute with the United States over wealth and interests in Tunisia."

The lawmaker accused France of being behind the Tunisian crisis, and of "sponsoring several coups in Africa."

04 Oct 2021; MEMO: The Palestinian Authority (PA) called on states worldwide to enlist members of settlement organisations and groups on terror lists, a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry said.

Settlement groups and their armed members should be added to terror lists as a result of their "aggression on Palestinians citizens," the statement said, reiterating that they should be prosecuted and prevented from travelling freely.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The death toll from Cyclone Shaheen rose to five Monday while other fishermen from Iran remained missing as the storm moved further inland into Oman and weakened.

Authorities in Oman said they found the body of a man who disappeared when floodwaters swept him away from his vehicle. On Sunday as the storm made landfall, they said a child similarly drowned and two foreigners from Asia died in a landslide.