Middle East & North Africa

RAMALLAH/GAZA, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Palestinians on Thursday staged demonstrations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip against U.S. President Joe Biden's first visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, slamming his biased stance on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

In the coastal enclave of Gaza Strip, ruled by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), hundreds of Palestinians waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans at the square of the Unknown Soldier in western Gaza city to condemn Biden's visit which started on Wednesday.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Whether Joe Biden’s first trip to the Middle East as president ends a success or a failure may hinge on what happens when the American leader first locks eyes with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

The world will be watching the highly anticipated meeting Friday to see if the gaffe-prone U.S. president and notoriously vengeful Saudi prince can begin repairing a rift between the two strategic partners, with the ebb and flow of the world’s oil supply hanging in the balance.

15 July 2022; MEMO: Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned yesterday that the draft constitution proposed by Tunisian President Kais Saied gives him broader powers than the current charter, which provides for a hybrid presidential-parliamentary system.

14 July 2022; MEMO: Several companies complicit in destroying and pillaging water resources in occupied Palestine have been warned that they are violating Palestinians' right to self-determination and international law.

15 July 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, more than doubled the amount of Russian fuel oil it imported in the second quarter to feed power stations to meet summer cooling demand and free up the Kingdom's own crude for export, data showed and traders said, Reuters reports.

Russia has been selling fuel at discounted prices after international sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine left it with fewer buyers. Moscow calls the war in Ukraine a "special military operation".

14 July 2022; MEMO: Turkiye, Russia, and Ukraine have agreed on the establishment of a coordination centre in the city of Istanbul to facilitate grain exports from Ukraine to international markets, as the global food crisis looms ever closer.

14 July 2022; MEMO: The Turkish and the United Arab Emirates Space Agencies signed a memorandum of cooperation on the "peaceful use of space, space science, technology and applications, Anadolu News Agency reports.

According to the report, the signing ceremony was attended by Turkish Industry and Technology Minister, Mustafa Varank and his Emirati counterpart, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, as well as several other high-level officials.

14 July 2022; MEMO: Emirates Airline said, on Thursday, it had rejected demands by London's Heathrow Airport to cut capacity despite being threatened with legal action, and that it would continue to operate to schedule, Reuters reports.

Britain's busiest airport this week asked airlines to stop selling tickets for summer flights, capping the number of daily passengers flying from the hub to 100,000 to ease pressure on operations that have resulted in delayed and cancelled flights.

14 July 2022; MEMO: Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, said on Thursday that the Islamic Republic will have a "harsh and regrettable response" to any "mistake" committed by Washington or its allies, Reuters reports.

US President, Joe Biden, and Israeli Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, signed a joint pledge on Thursday to deny Iran nuclear arms, a show of unity by allies long divided over diplomacy with Tehran.

15 July 2022; MEMO: Palestinian factions have categorically rejected the Jerusalem Declaration signed by US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, saying it represents "an aggression" against Palestinian people and their rights.