Middle East & North Africa

15 Feb 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has been selected to host the 2023 Club World Cup in December, FIFA announced yesterday.

The FIFA Council unanimously voted for the Saudi Arabian Football Federation to stage the event, which includes the six continental champions plus the host's national champions, Reuters reports.

The tournament will take place from 12-22 December.

15 Feb 2023; MEMO: Israel has reportedly "bought an island" from Bahrain, prompting criticism from activists opposed to the on-going normalisation between the two countries.

News of the purchase was initially announced by TV7 Israel News, before being removed after it was broadcasted, according to Al-Mayadeen. However, several social media users managed to screenshot the report before it was erased.

15 Feb 2023; MEMO: Jordan's Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, arrived in Damascus on Wednesday in the first such visit since the Syrian conflict between the two neighbours who have long been at odds over regional issues, officials said, Reuters reports.

15 Feb 2023; MEMO: We have sent 80 tons of aid to Turkiye so far, Ankara's Ambassador to Moscow, Mehmet Samsar, said on Wednesday, as deliveries of humanitarian aid continue to the quake-hit country, Anadolu News Agency reports.

14 Feb 2023; MEMO: A rally of local and international organisations and charities was held in Gaza on Monday in support of Jerusalem, warning of a "potential explosion" due to continuous Israeli violence in Jerusalem and attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque, Anadolu has reported. At least 70 organisations took part in the rally, including the Palestinian Ministry of Religious Endowments (Awqaf), the International Union of Muslim Scholars, the Committee of Palestine Scholars and the Preachers' Forum.

15 Feb 2023; MEMO: Iran is reported to have killed two Israeli officers in retaliation for the sabotage attack that targeted a military facility in Isfahan, Iranian media have reported.

15 Feb 2023; MEMO: Israel is hurtling towards fascism, Holocaust historian Daniel Blatman has said in an interview with Haaretz. Blatman is a professor at the Institute for Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University. His fields of interest are the Holocaust, Nazism, fascism, genocide and East European Jewry during the Holocaust. He is currently involved in establishing the Warsaw Ghetto Museum, which is scheduled to open in 2025.

14 Feb 2023; MEMO: Israel's Finance Minister has announced that the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu will lift all restrictions on the construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank and Palestinian territories, in a move which blatantly defies international law and Washington's displeasure.

14 Feb 2023; MEMO: Qatar said it has mobilised all capabilities to help the victims of last week's twin deadly earthquakes that struck Turkiye and Syria.

"Qatar has put all its capabilities at the disposal of the brothers in Turkiye to support them after the earthquake disaster," Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told Anadolu.

"The world faces a major humanitarian catastrophe in Turkiye and Syria. This is a real test for all humanity," he added.

14 Feb 2023; MEMO: Miracles continue as more survivors are pulled alive from the rubble nine days after strong earthquakes hit southern Turkiye, reports Anadolu Agency.

Two brothers, Baki Yeninar, 21, and Muhammed Enes Yeninar, 17, were rescued in the province of Kahramanmaras, where the quakes were centered, almost 200 hours later.

Baki said he held onto life by drinking protein powder.