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☆ Morocco has not applied to join BRICS - state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Wu Hong/Pool/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsRABAT, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Morocco has not made a formal request to join the BRICS grouping and will not attend its summit in South Africa, state news agency MAP said on Saturday. Citing an unnamed diplomatic source, MAP denied a statement by South Africa's foreign minister Anil Sooklal who said earlier this month Morocco was among the nations seeking to join the bloc. "South Africa allowed itself to speak about Morocco's ties with the BRICS without prior consultation," it said. Morocco would not attend the BRICS meeting in South Africa, MAP said, adding: "South Africa has in fact always shown a primary hostility towards Morocco and has systematically taken negative and dogmatic positions on the Moroccan Sahara issue." Morocco is attached to a non-divisive multilateralism and has good ties with the rest of BRICS member states, it said.

Persons: Wu Hong, Anil Sooklal, Ahmed Eljechtimi, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center, REUTERS, South, Polisario, Thomson Locations: Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa, India, Xiamen, Fujian Province, Morocco, Africa, Algeria, Western Sahara, Moroccan

☆ Dubai's DEWA selects Abu Dhabi's Masdar to construct solar park
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Saeed Al Tayer, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony of the 4th phase of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, south of Dubai, United Arab Emirates March 19, 2018. Picture taken March 19, 2018. REUTERS/Satish Kumar/ File PhotoCompanies Dubai Electricity and Water Authority PJSC FollowDUBAI, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Dubai Electricity And Water Authority (DEWA) selected state-owned renewable energy firm Masdar to construct and manage the 1,800 MW sixth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park with an estimated cost of up to 5.51 billion Emirati Dirhams, the Dubai media office said on Sunday. Reporting by Ahmed Elimam; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Saeed Al Tayer, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Satish Kumar, Ahmed Elimam, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Dubai Electricity, Water Authority, United Arab Emirates, REUTERS, Companies Dubai Electricity, Water, Thomson Locations: DEWA, Dubai, United Arab, DUBAI

☆ Riyadh Air, Spain's Atlético de Madrid announce multi-year partnership
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A Riyadh Air Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is displayed at the 54th International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, June 20, 2023. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File PhotoDUBAI, Aug 10 (Reuters) - New Saudi Arabian airline Riyadh Air and Spanish soccer club Atlético de Madrid announced a multi-year sponsorship agreement in a joint statement on Thursday. As part of the deal, Riyadh Air will become the main sponsor of the Spanish club. "This partnership means a great opportunity to offer better experiences to our fans around the world and I am confident that this alliance with Riyadh Air will take our club to new heights," Atlético de Madrid CEO Miguel Ángel Gil said in the statement. Riyadh Air, which will start flights in 2025, is owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Miguel Ángel Gil, Tony Douglas, Ahmed Elimam, David Evans Organizations: Riyadh Air Boeing, International Paris Air, Le, REUTERS, Riyadh Air, Atlético de, Madrid, Public Investment Fund, Thomson Locations: Le Bourget, Paris, France, DUBAI, Saudi Arabian, Spanish, Atlético de Madrid, Riyadh, Saudi

The kingdom's sovereign wealth fund reported an AUM of 1.98 trillion riyals for 2021. The PIF said it generated a total shareholders' return of 8% and established 25 companies in 2022, and locally deployed 120 billion riyals in that year in strategic sectors. The PIF said 23% of its AUM were international investments, while 68% were local investments and the remainder were treasury. PIF is the chosen vehicle of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, to drive an economic agenda aimed at cutting reliance on oil. The fund raised $5.5 billion in February from a green bond sale, following its inaugural green bond that raised $3 billion in October.

Persons: Yasir Othman Al, Mohammed Abdullah Al Jadaan, Ahmed Aqeel Al Khateeb, Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Majid Abdullah Al Qasabi, Khalid Abdulaziz Al Falih, PIF, Ahmed Elimam, Alex Richardson Organizations: Saudi Public Investment, Saudi Finance, Tourism, Investment, Read, Saudi, Public Investment Fund, Sunday, Aramco, Sanabil Investments, Thomson Locations: Saudi, DUBAI, London , New York, Hong Kong, Saudi Aramco

General view of Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah/File PhotoSummary Saudi Arabia flags possibility of 'deepening' cut in the futureRussia announces 300,000 bpd export cut in Sept.OPEC+ panel to meet FridayDUBAI, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will extend a voluntary oil output cut of one million barrels per day for another month to include September, it said on Thursday, adding it could be extended beyond that or deepened. The cut may be "extended, or extended and deepened", he added, flagging the possibility of further market tightening. Russia will also cut oil exports by 300,000 bpd in September, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said shortly after the Saudi announcement. Oil rose on Thursday, rebounding from an earlier decline after the Saudi announcement, with Brent crude futures up 42 cents to $83.62 a barrel by 1328 GMT.

Persons: Ahmed Jadallah, Alexander Novak, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Ahmed Elimam, El, Alex Lawler, Jane Merriman, Jan Harvey Organizations: REUTERS, Friday DUBAI, OPEC, Organization of, Petroleum, Ministerial, Brent, Saudi Energy, Thomson Locations: Saudi, Saudi Arabia, Russia, OPEC, Vienna, Riyadh, El Dahan, Dubai, London

Branding is displayed for Vodafone at one of its stores in London, Britain, June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File PhotoDUBAI, Aug 2 (Reuters) - UAE's e& (EAND.AD) has submitted an offer to increase its stake in Vodafone (VOD.L) by 20%, e&'s CEO Hatem Dowidar told CNBC Arabia on Wednesday. The company formerly known as Etisalat, e& has been gradually building up its stake in the British telecoms company ever since it took a 9.8% stake for $4.4 billion in May 2022. The UAE operator's cooperation with Vodafone is awaiting regulatory approvals in countries where the British company operates, which "include an agreement to regulate relations between the two companies, and also the possibility of increasing our stake to 20%," Dowidar said. Reporting by Jana Choukeir, Writing by Clauda Tanios, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Toby Melville, Hatem Dowidar, Dowidar, Jana Choukeir, Clauda Tanios, Louise Heavens Organizations: Vodafone, REUTERS, CNBC Arabia, Etisalat, SEC, British, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, DUBAI, British, UAE

☆ Morocco wants normal ties with Algeria, king says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

RABAT, July 29 (Reuters) - King Mohammed VI said on Saturday Morocco hopes for a return to normality and open borders with Algeria amid severed diplomatic ties. Algeria unilaterally cut ties with Morocco in 2021 and halted the flow of a gas pipeline to Spain via Morocco. The Western Sahara dispute has been at the heart of worsening ties between the two countries. Morocco considers the territory its own, but the Algerian-backed Polisario front wants to establish an independent state there. "I should like to tell the leaders and people of our sister nation, Algeria, that no evil will ever be done to them, nor will any harm ever come to them from Morocco," king Mohammed said.

Persons: King Mohammed VI, Mohammed said, Abdelmedjid Tebboune, Ahmed Eljechtimi, Alistair Bell Organizations: Morocco, Moroccan, Polisario, Thomson Locations: RABAT, Algeria, Maghreb, Morocco, Spain, Algerian, Western Sahara, Rabat, Tel Aviv

But she said more needed to be done to prevent migrants trying to make the perilous Mediterranean crossing via unauthorised means. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen echoed Meloni's point about offering legal routes into the 27-nation European Union (EU). Europe has pledged 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in aid to help Tunisia with its battered economy, with 100 million euros speficially earmarked for tackling illegal migration. The EU could work with countries such as Tunisia in expanding their production of renewable energy to the benefit of all, she added. Conference host Italy is struggling to cope with the number of unauthorised migrants arriving in centres such as its far southern island of Lampedusa.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Ursula von der Leyen, von der Leyen, Mohamed al, POPE, Peter's, Pope Francis, COVID, Antonio Tajani, Ahmed Elumami, Foo Yun Chee, Conor Humphries Organizations: European Union, Presidential, Conference, EU, Thomson Locations: Italian, Rome, Europe, Italy, EU, Tunisia, St, Africa, Lampedusa, Tripoli, Brussels

But the lure for OCI and others of making ammonia with a smaller carbon footprint is a business with potential beyond the farm. is the question, and I think it's a good question," OCI CEO Ahmed El-Hoshy told Reuters, when asked why his company is betting on producing so-called "blue ammonia." But even with U.S. support, blue ammonia economics hinge on further government incentives. If utility premiums don't emerge, OCI plans to use its Texas blue ammonia to make fertilizer in The Netherlands, where the company has under-utilized its plants due to high natural gas prices. OCI's Texas plant, to start production in 2025, will produce 1.1 million metric tons annually.

Persons: Ahmed El, Hoshy, Alexander Derricott, TD Cowen, JERA, Yara, Stephan Werner, Werner, Katrine Petersen, Petersen, Chris Bohn, Oystein Kalleklev, Harald Fotland, Fotland, Rod Nickel, Yuka Obayashi, Anna Driver Organizations: Reuters, OCI, REUTERS, Group, CF Industries, Gulf, CF, Yara, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Nutrien, Investors, Germany's DWS, International Maritime Organization, Flex LNG, Avance, Victoria Klesty, Thomson Locations: Beaumont , Texas, U.S, Texas, Japan, South Korea, Netherlands, United States, El, OCI's Texas, Gulf Coast, Winnipeg , Manitoba, Oslo, Tokyo, Bengaluru

☆ Rocket launch at Israel from Lebanon draws Israeli cross-border shelling
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Two rockets fired from southern Lebanon towards IsraelIsrael responds with cross-border strikesIncident follows large Israeli incursion in West BankBEIRUT/JERUSALEM, July 6 (Reuters) - Two rockets were fired from southern Lebanon toward Israel on Thursday, prompting cross-border strikes by the Israeli military, sources on both sides said. Three security sources in Lebanon said two rockets were fired toward Israel, one of them landing in Lebanese territory and the second near a disputed area at the border. After initially saying it had no indications of any unusual incidents on its side of the border, the Israeli military said a projectile had exploded there. One resident of Wazzani, the village in southern Lebanon where one of the rockets fell, said artillery fire had hit there from the direction of Israel. Israel blamed the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas for firing rockets into Israel from Lebanon in April during another flare-up in Israeli-Palestinian violence.

Persons: Israel Israel, Najib Mikati, Israel, Laila Bassam, Aziz Taher, Maya Gebeily, Dan Williams, Ahmed Elimam, Gebeily, Tom Perry, Gareth Jones, Ros Russell Organizations: West Bank, IDF, Israel Defence Forces, Lebanon's National News Agency, Caretaker, Lebanese, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Lebanon, Israel, West Bank BEIRUT, JERUSALEM, Jenin, Palestinian, Wazzani, Ghajar, Syria, Iran, Jerusalem

☆ IMF working on global central bank digital currency platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Ahmed Eljechtimi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

RABAT, June 19 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is working on a platform for central bank digital currencies (CDBCs) to enable transactions between countries, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday. "For this reason at the IMF, we are working on the concept of a global CBDC platform," she said. The IMF wants central banks to agree on a common regulatory framework for digital currencies that will allow global interoperability. A CBDC is a digital currency controlled by the central bank, while cryptocurrencies are nearly always decentralised. Already 114 central banks are at some stage of CBDC exploration, "with about 10 already crossing the finish line", she said.

Persons: Kristalina Georgieva, Georgieva, CBDCs, Ahmed Eljechtimi, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Monetary Fund, IMF, Thomson Locations: RABAT, African, Rabat, Morocco

☆ Sudan factions agree day's truce designed to 'break cycle of violence'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The conflict has displaced more than 1.9 million people, some 400,000 of whom have crossed into neighbouring countries. "There are heavy strikes near us and bullets from every direction in Al-Thawra neighbourhood in Omdurman," said Sanaa Ahmed, a 24-year-old resident. The army confirmed in a statement that it had agreed to the 24-hour ceasefire while asserting "its right to respond to any violations". The conflict in Sudan derailed the launch of a transition towards civilian rule four years after a popular uprising ousted strongman President Omar al-Bashir. Sudan's army and the RSF fell out over the chain of command and military restructuring plans under the transition.

Persons: Sanaa Ahmed, Omar al, Bashir, Sudan's, Khalid Abdelaziz Ahmed Elimam, Jana Choukeir, Adam Makary, Aidan Lewis, Jon Boyle, Nick Zieminski, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Artillery, Rapid Support Forces, Medical, MSF, U.S, U.S . State Department's Bureau, African Affairs, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Food, El Obeid, DUBAI, Saudi, Sudan's, Khartoum, Darfur, Omdurman, Bahri, Al, Thawra, El, North Kordofan State, Saudi Arabia, U.S, Jeddah ., Jeddah, Sudan, U.S ., Dubai, Cairo

☆ Israel to recognise Moroccan sovereignty over W.Sahara soon -official
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

RABAT, June 8 (Reuters) - Israel will soon announce its support for Morocco's claim of sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, Israeli parliament speaker Amir Ohana said on Thursday during a visit to Rabat. The Algerian-backed Polisario Front demands an independent state in Western Sahara. "I am fully aware of the importance of the recognition of the Moroccan Sahara ... Israel should move towards the goal of recognising the Moroccan Sahara just as our closest ally the U.S. did," Ohana told reporters after talks with his Moroccan counterpart. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Israel was considering backing Morocco on Western Sahara and that the issue was being discussed within the Israeli National Security Council (NSC). A diplomatic source told Reuters that Israeli recognition of Moroccan rule over Western Sahara could lead to a full upgrade of Israeli-Moroccan ties.

Persons: Amir Ohana, Donald Trump, Ohana, Benjamin, Netanyahu, Israel, Ahmed Eljechtimi, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Polisario Front, Moroccan, Reuters, Israeli National Security Council, . Security, Thomson Locations: RABAT, Israel, Sahara, Rabat, Algerian, Western Sahara, Moroccan, Moroccan Sahara, U.S, Morocco, Western, Polisario, Spain

Morocco considers Western Sahara its own, but the Algeria-backed Polisario front demands an independent state there. The NSC's head, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, met Moroccan foreign minister Nasser Bourita on Wednesday, Morocco's foreign ministry said without offering further details. At that meeting, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said: "I hope we will meet very soon in a different desert but with the same spirit." Moroccan media reported a possible plan to reconvene in the Western Sahara town of Dakhla. Holding it in coastal Dakhla could pose a challenge for Washington, which has never followed through on Trump's pledge to open a U.S. consulate in Western Sahara.

Persons: Yair Lapid inaugurates, Moroccan Foreign Ministry Mohcine, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Donald Trump, Tzachi Hanegbi, Nasser Bourita, Eli Cohen, Israel's, Abraham, Dan Williams, Ahmed Eljechtimi, Christina Fincher, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Moroccan Foreign Ministry, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, REUTERS, Wednesday, Western, Reuters, National Security Council, National Security, Israeli, Abraham Accords, Moroccan, Washington, Thomson Locations: Rabat, Morocco, REUTERS JERUSALEM, RABAT, Sahara, Western Sahara, Algeria, Polisario, Israel, statecraft, Moroccan, Spain, NEGEV, Abraham, Dakhla, U.S, Laayoune, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain

☆ Egypt's Sisi and Israel's Netanyahu discuss border shooting, emphasise joint investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, June 6 (Reuters) - Egypt's President Abdelfattah al-Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed Saturday's rare border shooting in which three Israeli soldiers and an Egyptian security officer were killed, the leaders said in separate statements on Tuesday. Sisi and Netanyahu emphasised the importance of coordination on investigating the incident, Egypt's presidency said. "Egypt's President Sisi expressed his deep condolences over the incident on the Egyptian border. The Prime Minister thanked the Egyptian president, as well as for his commitment to a thorough and joint investigation into the incident," the statement from Netanyahu's office said, adding that the leaders pledged to continue strengthening peace and security cooperation. Reporting by Ahmed Elimam and Henriette Chacar; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Abdelfattah, Benjamin Netanyahu, Sisi, Netanyahu, Egypt's, Ahmed Elimam, Henriette Chacar, Alex Richardson Organizations: Thomson Locations: CAIRO

☆ Egypt's Sisi, Turkey's Erdogan agree on reinstating ambassadors -Egypt's presidency
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

CAIRO, May 29 (Reuters) - Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed on "the immediate start of upgrading diplomatic relations, exchanging ambassadors," Egypt's presidency said in a statement on Monday. Sisi spoke with Erdogan in a phone call to congratulate him on his presidential win. Egypt's foreign minister Sameh Shoukry visited Turkey in April and met his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, the two parties agreed then on specific time frame to raise the level of diplomatic relations and to prepare for a summit between the two presidents. The presidents may meet in person again after Turkey's May 14 election, Cavusoglu said in April. Reporting by Mohamed Hendawy, Writing by Ahmed Elimam, Editing by Chris Reese and Nick ZieminskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ronaldo's Saudi title hopes revived after leaders lose
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Al-Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates Saudi Arabia's Founding Day wearing local traditional clothes at Al-Nassr Football Club in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 22, 2023. Al-Nassr FC/Handout via REUTERSMay 4 (Reuters) - Cristiano Ronaldo's hopes of winning the Saudi league title with Al-Nassr were given a shot in the arm on Wednesday when leaders Ittihad lost 2-1 to Al-Taawoun. Ittihad are still in the driver's seat on 59 points, three ahead of Al Nassr, with five games left to play. Ronaldo, who has scored 12 league goals since joining Al-Nassr in January, posted a photo on Twitter with Al-Nassr's motto "ANA AALAMY" in Arabic in the early hours on Thursday. reporting by Ahmed El Khashab, writing by Shady Amir; Editing by Peter RutherfordOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kuwait again dissolves reinstated parliament by decree
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, May 1 (Reuters) - Kuwait's parliament was dissolved by royal decree on Monday, state news agency KUNA said, having only been reinstated in March based on a Constitutional Court ruling after a previous dissolution. The Gulf Arab state, an OPEC member, has seen prolonged bickering between the government and the elected parliament that has hampered fiscal reforms. Sheikh Meshal, who signed Monday's Emiri decree, was handed most of the duties of the ruling emir, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, in late 2021. The cabinet had submitted the decree to Sheikh Meshal earlier in the day, according to a previous statement by KUNA. Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf al-Sabah, the emir's son, had in January submitted his government's resignation due to friction with the parliament elected in 2020.

☆ Saudi Arabia, Iran to reopen embassies 'within days'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, April 28 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Iran will reopen embassies in each other's capitals "within days," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Friday in a sign of warming relations after the two countries closed their missions seven years ago. "During the last phone call between the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia on Eid al-Fitr, we agreed to work in the next coming days on the reopening of the Iranian and Saudi embassies in Tehran and Riyadh," Amirabdollahian said, according to an official Arabic translation. Their relationship started deteriorating in 2015 following the intervention of Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the Yemen war, after the Iran-aligned Houthi movement toppled the Saudi-backed government and seized control of the capital Sanaa. The Iranian foreign minister confirmed President Ebrahim Raisi would visit Syria in "the near future" without providing details. The visit would be the first by an Iranian president to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since war broke out in Syria in 2011.

☆ Iran foreign minister says embassies in S.Arabia, Iran to open 'within days'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, April 28 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Iran will open embassies in each other's capitals "within days," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Friday as the relationship between the two regional rivals warms up after years of hostility. The Iranian and Saudi embassies in the respective countries have been closed since 2016. Saudi Arabia accused Iran of providing weapons to the Houthis who attacked Saudi cities with armed drones and ballistic missiles. Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed last month to end their diplomatic raw and restore diplomatic missions under a deal brokered by China. The visit will be the first by an Iranian president to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since war broke out in Syria in 2011.

☆ US and France evacuate diplomats from Sudan as battles rage on
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"The belligerent parties must implement an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and respect the will of the people of Sudan," Biden said in a statement. It pits Sudan's army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who jointly staged a coup in 2021 but fell out during negotiations over a plan to form a civilian government and integrate the RSF into the armed forces. Saudi Arabia has already evacuated Gulf citizens from Port Sudan on the Red Sea, 650 km (400 miles) from Khartoum. Egypt, which has more than 10,000 citizens in Sudan, urged its nationals outside Khartoum to head to its consulate in Port Sudan, and to a consular office in Wadi Halfa on the border with Egypt, in preparation for their evacuation. It encouraged those in Khartoum to shelter in place and wait for the situation to improve.

☆ 'This is madness': Libya's bitter divisions split Eid holiday
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People attend an Eid al-Fitr prayer, marking the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan at a public square, in Benghazi, Libya April 21, 2023. Religious authorities in east Libya, aligned with the parliament which is based there, said they had sighted the crescent moon on Thursday, making it the last day of fasting and setting Friday as Eid. "This is madness and I pray it ends here," said Ahmed Mesbah, 50, in Tripoli, who has chosen to celebrate Eid on Friday. The country split in 2014 between warring factions in east and west, a rift that remains despite comparative peace since 2020. "The split between east and west on such a happy occasion is hurtful and makes me sad.

☆ Sudan's paramilitary RSF agrees to 24-hour ceasefire
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

KHARTOUM, April 19 (Reuters) - Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces agreed on Wednesday to a 24-hour ceasefire starting at 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) following a days-long power struggle and bloody clashes with the army. "We confirm our full commitment to a complete ceasefire, and we hope the other party will abide by the ceasefire according to the announced time," the RSF added in a statement. It was not immediately clear whether the army would announce its own commitment to the ceasefire. The rivals announced their commitment to a 24 hour ceasefire on Tuesday, but a Reuters reporter in Khartoum said he heard tanks firing after the ceasefire was due to begin. Reporting by Ahmed Elimam in Dubai; Editing by Nadine Awadalla and Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ramadan soccer league brings a bit of joy to Gaza refugee camp
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Young Palestinian men play football during the holy month of Ramadan, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu MustafaRAFAH, Gaza Strip, April 5 (Reuters) - Soccer fans in the Gaza Strip gather to watch the specially organised Ramadan Popular League, a competition held every year in the Rafah refugee camp which is home to over 120,000 people in the southern part of the coastal enclave. "Every year during Ramadan month we come to watch this league, it brings us joy and happiness," said Issa Shaloula. "As players of clubs we come to these popular fields to please the crowds," said Ahmed El-Loulahy, who plays for Khadamat Rafah Club. "This ground is more popular than many other stadiums, it is a playground for refugees.

☆ Syria port authority shuts all ports due to bad weather
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Waves crash during high winds in the Syrian port city of Banias, Syria, March 29, 2023. SANA/Handout via REUTERSDAMASCUS, March 29 (Reuters) - Syria's port authority has shut down all the country's sea ports including Tartous due to poor weather and high winds, state media reported on Wednesday. The port of Tartous had initially been exempt from the closure but the country's ports authority later said it was shutting down as conditions worsened. "There are winds and high waves in bursts and we cannot risk opening the ports at this time," Brigadier General Samer Kobrosli, the director general of the authority, told Reuters. The war-ravaged country operates seven sea ports through which it brings in basic needs including food and petroleum products.

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