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21 July 2023; MEMO: Iran's Oil Ministry said the oil cargo of an Iranian-flagged super-tanker seized by Indonesia last week does not belong to Tehran, Iranian state media reported on Friday, Reuters reports.

An Oil Ministry statement, reported by the country's state media, did not identify the owner of the cargo of "MT Arman 114", an Iranian-flagged super-tanker suspected of involvement in the illegal trans-shipment of crude oil, which Indonesia's coast guard said on 11 July it had seized.

21 July 2023; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will travel to Turkiye on 28 July to hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, both leaders' offices said late Thursday, Al Jazeera reports.

According to the report, Netanyahu will be received a few days after Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, who is expected on 25 July, the Turkish presidency said.

22 July 2023; MEMO: The governments of Tunisia and Saudi Arabia signed a soft loan agreement worth $400 million and a financial grant of $100 million offered by Riyadh to help mitigate Tunis' budget deficit.

This came at a time when Tunisia is facing a budget deficit crisis and a decline in foreign investments.

21 July 2023; MEMO: Iraq renewed its agreement to provide Lebanon with up to 2 million tons of crude oil for a year, Lebanese Energy Ministry said in a statement on Friday, Reuters reports.

The two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Iraq providing Lebanon with fuel oil and crude oil, the Iraqi state news agency, INA, also reported on Friday, without elaborating.

22 July 2023; MEMO: Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced on Friday that his country had submitted a request to be a shareholder in the BRICS group to the amount of $1.5 billion.

President Tebboune revealed, for the first time, the value of the contribution in an interview with China Central Television broadcast on Friday.

22 July 2023; MEMO: Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil announced on Friday that his country is looking forward to raising the value of trade with Turkiye to $3 billion, Anadolu Agency reported.

During a press conference in Istanbul with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, Gil highlighted the significant investment and cooperation policies developed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Latin America.

Washington, Jul 20 (PTI) The US is working with India on proposals to co-produce extended-range artillery and infantry vehicles to meet its operational requirements along its border with China and address its "coercion and harassment", a top Pentagon official said on Thursday.

The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over-three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh.

19 July 2023; MEMO: US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on Tuesday signed a new national security waiver letting Iraq pay Iran for electricity that, for the first time, allows such payments to go to accounts at non-Iraqi banks, a US official told Reuters.

20 July 2023; MEMO: Tunisia has borrowed $87.1 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to support the country's grain production, Anadolu has reported. The loan agreement was signed by Economy and Planning Minister Samir Saied and AfDB Deputy Director General for North Africa Region, Malinne Blomberg.

19 July 2023; MEMO: Russia warned that, from Thursday, any ships travelling to Ukraine's Black Sea ports will be seen as possibly carrying military cargoes after Ukraine said it was setting up a temporary shipping route to try and continue its grain exports, Reuters reports.