DUBAI, Jul 24 (NNN-WAM) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE), yesterday, promised to contribute 100 million U.S. dollars, to support development projects in countries affected by irregular migration.

UAE President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, made the announcement at the International Conference on Development and Migration, which took place in Italy’s capital, Rome.

Focusing on the challenges presented by irregular migration, the meeting emphasised the urgent need for integrated solutions to address its root causes.

KYIV, July 24 (Reuters) - The Ukrainian military has retaken over 12 square km (4.6 square miles) of territory in southern Ukraine in the past week in their counteroffensive against Russian forces, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on Monday.

Maliar said the advances brought the territory recaptured since the counteroffensive began in early June to more than 192 square km in the southern sector.

HERMANUS, SOUTH AFRICA, July 24. /TASS/: Russia has proposed creating a dedicated specialized module for the Russian Orbital Station (ROS) to allow BRICS countries to conduct scientific research, Yury Borisov, CEO of Russian state space corporation Roscosmos, said on Monday.

23 July 2023; AA: Former Russian military commander Igor Girkin, who served as a commander in Russian-controlled areas of Donbas in eastern Ukraine in 2014, has been arrested in Moscow on charges of extremism.

Girkin, who uses the pseudonym Strelkov on social media platforms, was detained on Friday, according to his lawyer Aleksandr Molokhov and wife Miroslava Reginskaya.

21 July 2023; MEMO: Some 22 countries have "formally" asked to join the BRICS group, while an equal number has informally expressed interest in joining the bloc, South Africa announced yesterday.

BRICS, a bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is due to hold a summit from 22-24 August in South Africa and has previously hinted that it was open to expansion.

NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk said Sunday that he plans to change the logo of Twitter to an “X” from the famous blue bird, marking what would be the latest big change since he bought the social media platform for $44 billion last year.

In a series of posts on his Twitter account starting just after 12 a.m. ET, Twitter’s owner said that he’s looking to make the change worldwide as soon as Monday.

“And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds,” Musk wrote on his account.

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 Palestinian Authority (PA) on Friday welcomed the decision of the Portuguese Parliament to recognise the 1948 Palestinian Nakba, a statement announced.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the statement: "The PA welcomed the Portuguese Parliament's decision to recognise the Nakba that happened to the Palestinians in 1948, as well as its expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people."

20 July 2023; MEMO: Iran would retaliate against any oil company unloading Iranian oil from a seized tanker, a senior Commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Navy said on Thursday, amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington, Reuters reports.

DALLAS (AP) — As the Taliban swept back into power in Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, Fahima Sultani and her fellow university students tried for days to get into the Kabul airport, only to be turned away by gun-wielding extremists.

“No education, just go back home,” she recalled one shouting.

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.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Standing at an Alabama Statehouse microphone before lawmakers voted on new congressional districts, state Rep. Chris England said that change in the Deep South state has often happened only through federal court order.

The Democratic lawmaker accused Republicans of repeating history and flouting a judicial mandate to create a second majority-Black district in the state or “something quite close to it.”