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07 Oct 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia is planning to locally produce 70 per cent of the energy products it requires over the next ten years, the country's energy minister announced yesterday.

Abdulaziz Bin Salman told reporters in the Saudi city of Dammam that the move was part of the kingdom's efforts to "increase Saudis employment across various economic sectors."

07 Oct 2021; MEMO: The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, called on Wednesday for Arab and Muslim leaders to oppose further normalisation deals with Israel in return for "false promises", Anadolu has reported.

Responding to remarks made by Israel's Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid, the head of the Hamas Political Department Abroad, Sami Abu Zuhri, said that the movement is "extremely concerned" about Israel promoting more normalisation deals with Arab states.

07 Oct 2021; MEMO: The Israeli-based NSO Group ended its contract with the United Arab Emirates to use its powerful Pegasus state spyware tool because Dubai's ruler was using it to hack the phones of his estranged wife and that of her lawyers, her lawyers told England's High Court yesterday, Reuters reports.

06 Oct 2021; MEMO: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the bloc was unable to persuade Turkey to abandon the purchase of Russia's S-400 defence system and replace them with systems made by Western countries.

Speaking at a seminar in Washington yesterday, Stoltenberg said this is an important issue for NATO, there must be a possibility to integrate the S-400 air defence systems with the NATO air and missile defence system, adding that so far, this is not possible.

06 Oct 2021; MEMO: US President Joe Biden's administration prefers diplomatic rather than military efforts to revive the Iranian nuclear deal, news agencies reported.

During a meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Eyal Hulata, United States National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said: "This administration believes diplomacy is the best path to achieve that goal, while also noting that the president has made clear that if diplomacy fails, the United States is prepared to turn to other options."

06 Oct 2021; MEMO: Afghanistan and Iran yesterday concluded "important" bilateral economic and trade agreements, a spokesman for the Taliban said.

Zabihullah Mujahid, who is also acting deputy minister of information and culture in the interim Afghan government, said in a statement that a meeting was held between Afghan and Iranian officials "with the aim of strengthening economic ties and providing necessary facilities for trade issues between the two countries".

06 Oct 2021; MEMO: Hamas and Egypt agreed to strengthen the ongoing ceasefire between the Palestinian resistance and Israeli occupation, Anadolu reported yesterday.

The news service reported an informed source as saying that the two sides also agreed to accelerate the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which suffered massive destruction during the latest Israeli offensive in May.

New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) Cooking gas LPG price on Wednesday was hiked by Rs 15 per cylinder in line with a surge in international fuel prices.

Rates of both subsidised and non-subsidised LPG prices were hiked, oil company officials said.

New Delhi, Oct 5 (PTI) Petrol and diesel prices on Tuesday surged to all-time high levels as rates were increased again after international oil prices hit the highest mark since 2014.

Petrol price was hiked by 25 paise a litre and diesel by 30 paise, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.

This sent the petrol price in Delhi to its highest-ever level of Rs 102.64 a litre and to Rs 108.67 in Mumbai. Diesel rates too touched a record high of Rs 91.07 in Delhi and Rs 98.80 in Mumbai.

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.