Middle East & North Africa

09 August 2022; MEMO: A Palestinian security official was shot dead late yesterday in a refugee camp in southern Lebanon, three Palestinian security officials said, just hours after a truce between Israel and Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza, Reuters reports.

Said Alaadin was shot in the head by unknown assailants and later died of his wounds, the sources told the news wire.

09 August 2022; MEMO: The head of Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, today warned against any Israeli attempts to expand their targeting of Palestinian resistance members to Lebanon, Reuters reported.

"Any attack on any human being will not go unpunished or unanswered," Nasrallah said in a televised address marking Ashura, a commemoration for Shia Muslims of the killing of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)'s grandson Hussein.

09 August 2022; MEMO: Dubai's biggest bank Emirates NBD ENBD.DU has given most employees a pay rise of up to 8% to help cushion against rising costs of living driven by inflation, two sources familiar with the matter said, reports Reuters.

The increases varied according to seniority and were part of a mid-cycle salary adjustment for inflation, with top executives receiving smaller or no increases, the sources said.

09 August 2022; MEMO: Palestinians from the Israeli-occupied West Bank will be offered special flights from Ramon Airport, near the Red Sea resort city of Eilat, to destinations in Turkey, Israel's Airports Authority said on Tuesday, reports Reuters.

The move is Israel's latest gesture to Palestinians, following pressure from the United States to ease travel for Palestinians as prospects for reviving long-stalled peace talks and establishing an independent Palestinian state appeared dim.

09 August 2022; MEMO: Turkey resumed its hydrocarbon drilling operations in the eastern Mediterranean on Tuesday after a two year hiatus, though President Tayyip Erdogan said its new drill ship would operate outside waters also claimed by Cyprus, reports Reuters.

The Abdulhamid Han, Turkey's fourth drill ship, will operate 55 kilometres off the Gazipasa region in the southern coastal province of Antalya, Erdogan said.

09 August 2022; MEMO: Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday about Russia's attempt to ban the world's biggest Jewish non-profit group, which helps Jews move to Israel, reports Reuters.

Russia's justice ministry is seeking to liquidate the Russian branch of the Jewish Agency for alleged breaches of privacy laws.

AMMAN, Aug 9 (NNN-PETRA) – Jordan and Yemen, yesterday, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), to strengthen bilateral relations and set a political consultation mechanism between the two foreign ministries.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, met with his visiting Yemeni counterpart, Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak, in Amman, reviewing efforts to end the Yemeni crisis and restore security and stability in Yemen, according to a statement from the Jordanian ministry.

BEIRUT, Aug 9 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanese President, Michel Aoun, yesterday agreed with his ministers, on the initial criteria and steps to be adopted for the implementation of the strategy to return Syrian refugees to their homeland, Lebanon’s Presidency said in a statement.

ISTANBUL, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Turkey resumed its hydrocarbon drilling operations in the eastern Mediterranean on Tuesday after a two year hiatus, though President Tayyip Erdogan said its new drill ship would operate outside waters also claimed by Cyprus.

The Abdulhamid Han, Turkey's fourth drill ship, will operate 55 kilometres off the Gazipasa region in the southern coastal province of Antalya, Erdogan said.

CAIRO, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Egypt-China Friendship Association held a seminar on Sunday here to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

The seminar was attended by Egyptian experts on Chinese affairs, writers, diplomats, and professors of Chinese studies at Egyptian universities.