Middle East & North Africa

JERUSALEM, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Sunday called on Arab countries to form ties with Israel, sending a message to Saudi Arabia ahead of United States President Joe Biden's visit this week.

Noting Biden's planned trip to Israel, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia, Lapid told his cabinet ministers that Israel "extends its hand to all the countries of the region."

He called on Arab countries "to build ties with us, establish relations with us, and change history for our children."

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran announced Sunday that it has begun enriching uranium up to 20% using sophisticated centrifuges at its underground Fordo nuclear plant, state TV reported, an escalation that comes amid a standoff with the West over its tattered atomic deal.

That Tehran is enriching uranium up to 20% purity — a technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90% — with a new set of its most advanced centrifuges at a facility deep inside a mountain deals yet another blow to the already slim chances of reviving the accord.

09 July 2022; MEMO: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday it had held productive discussions during a staff visit to Egypt on economic policies and reforms to be supported by an extended fund facility, reports Reuters.

"In the period ahead, we are continuing our close engagement with the authorities towards reaching staff-level agreement," the IMF statement said.

The IMF announced that Egypt had made a request for a new programme in March as it came under new financial pressure from the war in Ukraine.

08 July 2022; MEMO: An additional month of financial support will be credited to the bank accounts of all those entitled to the cost of living allowance on Thursday, Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reports.

According to the report, the move follows the directives of His Majesty, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, to disburse an additional month of financial support to low-income families to mitigate the effects of rising global prices of goods.

09 July 2022; MEMO: The family of slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh has accused the United States of providing impunity for Israel over her killing and asked to meet President Joe Biden in person during his trip to Israel next week, reports Reuters.

DAMASCUS, Jul 9 (NNN-SANA) – Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, yesterday paid his first visit to the country’s economic and industrial hub, Aleppo, since the outbreak of the country’s war, 11 years ago.

Assad took part in the inauguration of a thermal plant and a water pumping plant in Aleppo, a major city in northern Syria, that the government army took back from rebel fighters in late 2016.

During his visit to the rehabilitated thermal plant, Assad blamed “western forces, led by the United States” for the devastation and destruction of the plant’s facilities.

TEHRAN, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday that passengers can only gain entry to Iran upon submission of negative COVID-19 test results and full compliance with Iranian health protocols, citing the recent increase in infections.

In his address to a meeting of the national anti-coronavirus task force, Raisi called for stricter compliance with the health regulations and instructions at all land, air and sea entries to Iran, according to the Iranian presidency's website.

MINA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Millions of Muslims across the globe — including in countries like Afghanistan, Libya, Egypt, Kenya and Yemen — were celebrating Eid al-Adha on Saturday, one of the biggest holidays of the Islamic calendar.

Known as the “Feast of Sacrifice,” the revered observance coincides with the final rites of the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia. It’s a joyous occasion, for which food is a hallmark. Much of Asia, including Indonesia, India and Pakistan, will observe the holiday on Sunday.

Kanpur: The theory of demand and supply gets blew up on the roadside sale of the dry leaves that the goats love to eat. Goats are abundant but fodder stock for goats are vanishing sooner.

The demand for green goolar leaves suddenly rises as the goat's purchasers needed the leaves for feeding the sacrificial animals.

It is for the first time there was glimpsed a different scene in the Jajmau area. The stock of the sellers soon vanished due to higher demand. 

ANKARA, July 8. /TASS/: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday said he had discussed grain exports from Ukrainian ports with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.