20 September 2023; MEMO: Morocco plans to spend at least 120 billion dirhams ($11.7 billion) in a post-earthquake reconstruction plan over the next five years, the royal palace said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck on 8 September, killing more than 2,900 people, mostly in the hard-to-reach villages of the High Atlas Mountains.

TEHRAN, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Aerospace Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Friday displayed for the first time four of its domestically-developed Fattah hypersonic ballistic missiles, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

The missiles were showcased in the presence of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and senior military officials in a parade staged by the Iranian armed forces in the capital Tehran on the occasion of the Sacred Defense Week, which marks the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war during 1980-88, the report said.

TEHRAN, Sept 22 (NNN-TASNIM) – Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, said yesterday that, he has brought back more than 3,500 clay tablets, dating back to the era of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia (550s-330s BC) from the United States.

He made the remarks in an address to reporters, upon his arrival in the Iranian capital, Tehran, from a trip to New York, where he took part in the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) held a politburo meeting on Wednesday, hailing the visit to Russia by Kim Jong Un, the DPRK's top leader, as a success with desired results attained, the country's state news agency reported Friday.

MOSCOW, September 22. /TASS/: Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki plans to pay a working visit to Moscow in the near future, so the parties are discussing dates, Palestinian Ambassador to Moscow Abdel Hafiz Nofal told TASS.

"The visit will take place indeed. We have agreed with the Russian Foreign Ministry that he should come to Moscow at the end of this month, but this will be further discussed after [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey] Lavrov comes back from New York," the diplomat said in response to a corresponding question.

20 September 2023; MEMO: The Swiss Parliament passed legislation on Wednesday making it illegal to cover one’s face, including wearing a niqab – a Muslim woman’s face veil – with a fine of 1,000 Swiss francs (approximately $1,114), Anadolu Agency reports.

The “burqa ban” law was approved by the upper chamber of parliament, known locally as Nationalrat, by a vote of 151 to 29, public broadcaster, SRF, reported.

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Azerbaijan said it was delivering food and other humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabakh on Friday, two days after the region’s ethnic Armenian separatist government called a cease-fire in a short but intense fight with Azerbaijani forces.

But the aid will be only a slight relief to the region that has endured severe food and medicine shortages since last December, an ordeal now aggravated by thousands who fled the recent fighting without being able to take food with them.

NEW YORK, Sept 22 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim Friday called for a concerted multilateral effort spearheaded by the United Nations to resolve all the conflicts and humanitarian crises in the world, citing the problems in Ukraine, Palestine, Afghanistan and Myanmar as some of these.

He said the world is deeply polarised where major power rivalry unfolds with consequences that would negatively impact nations, especially the smaller ones, in regions of conflict.

Sept 22 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said he does not care about allegations of "sportswashing" against the kingdom and that he will continue funding sport if it adds to the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

The allegation of "sportswashing" is levelled at countries perceived to be using sport to improve their tarnished image abroad.

"If sportswashing (is) going to increase my GDP by 1%, then we'll continue doing sportswashing," the crown prince told Fox News.

BATANGAS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - A small but restive volcano near the Philippine capital Manila spewed above average sulfur dioxide and volcanic smog on Friday, prompting authorities to close schools in dozens of cities and towns and to urge people to stay indoors.

The state volcanology and seismology institute said it observed upwelling of hot volcanic fluids in the Taal volcano's crater lake, resulting in the emission of volcanic gases. Heavy pollution also shrouded buildings in the capital region in haze.

MOSCOW, September 22. /TASS/: The Kiev regime launched a missile attack on Sevastopol in the afternoon, damaging the historic headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet, with the Russian Air Defense Troops downing five missiles, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"This afternoon, the Kiev regime launched a missile attack on the city of Sevastopol. In the course of repulsing the missile attack, the Air Defense Troops shot down five missiles. As a result of the attack, the historic headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet was damaged," the statement said.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday blasted the West's double standards in handling international relations.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, Vucic criticised U.S. President Joe Biden's double standards in his speech at the General Debate.