October 14, 2022

*) Palestine's Fatah, Hamas sign 'historic' reconciliation deal in Algeria Palestinian factions have signed an agreement in Algiers aimed at resolving 15 years of discord by holding elections within a year after months of talks mediated by Algeria. The deal aims to end a rift between President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement and Hamas that has split Palestinian governance in besieged Gaza from the occupied West Bank. It also stipulates elections for the Palestinian National Council, a parliament for Palestinians including the millions-strong diaspora. *) Lebanon endorses maritime border deal with Israel Lebanon has approved a US-brokered maritime border deal with Israel, unlocking significant offshore gas production for the eastern Mediterranean neighbours. Announcing the approval of the deal, Lebanese President Michel Aoun described it as a "historic achievement". He said Lebanon was able to recover a disputed area of 860 square kilometres under the agreement. *) Iraq gets new president, PM after months of political gridlock Iraq now has a new president and prime minister after a year of political gridlock and violence in the war-scarred nation. Abdul Latif Rashid, 78, replaces Barham Saleh as head of state after the two-round vote in parliament on Thursday, winning more than 160 votes against 99 for Saleh. After the vote, Iraq's newly elected president named Mohammed Shia al Sudani as prime minister-designate. *) Residents in 'annexed' Kherson begin fleeing to Russia Evacuees from Ukraine's southern Kherson region are expected to begin arriving in Russia after a Moscow-installed official suggested residents should leave for safety. The development is seen as a sign of Moscow's weakening hold on territory it claims to have annexed. The first civilians fleeing from Kherson were due to arrive in Russia's Rostov region on Friday, according to the TASS news agency. And finally… *) More than 600,000 tickets sold for T20 World Cup More than 600,000 tickets have been sold for the Twenty20 World Cup in