Middle East & North Africa

29 August 2023; MEMO: Algeria is proposing an initiative to resolve the political crisis in neighbouring Niger with a six-month transition period led by a civilian, Foreign Minister, Ahmed Attaf, said on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

Attaf, who recently toured West African states, said “most of the countries we have talked to are against military intervention to end the crisis”.

29 August 2023; MEMO: Egypt plans to drill 35 gas wells by mid-2025, according to the country’s Petroleum Minister on Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

“The drilling of the 35 wells will cost over $1.5 billion in investments, and aims to increase the country’s production and reserves,” Tarek El-Molla said in a statement.

The drilling of the new well is part of a plan worth $1.9 billion to explore for gas in the Mediterranean and the Delta.

30 August 2023; MEMO: Amnesty International has condemned Israel’s “punitive” demolition of Palestinian child detainee’s home, stressing he is being punished for a fault he did not commit.

29 August 2023; MEMO: Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi said yesterday that the Islamic Republic’s “enemy” has “failed” in its attempts to isolate it, stressing Tehran’s readiness to resume negotiations on its nuclear file.

“The enemy tried to follow two strategies of isolating Iran in the world and disappointing the people inside, which it failed in both,” Raisi told a press conference in Tehran, referring to the Western sanctions imposed on Iran.

SANAA, Aug 29 (NNN-SABA) – A huge fire has destroyed 70 tents, in a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), in Yemen’s central province of Marib, local authorities said, yesterday.

The fire occurred Sunday evening in the Al-Faw camp, which is situated in the eastern sector of the province’s eponymous capital.

The fire lasted till night, before the civil defence teams managed to put it out. There were no casualties as the displaced managed to flee the fire, according to local authorities.

DAMASCUS, Aug 29 (NNN-SANA) – Aleppo International Airport, in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo, went out of service, as a result of an Israeli attack targeting the airport, early yesterday, the Syrian army said in a statement.

The air attack was carried out at about 4:30 a.m. (0130 GMT), from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the north-western Syrian province of Latakia, according to the statement.

The attack caused material damage to the airport runway, and put it out of service, the statement said without providing further details.

ADEN, Aug 29 (NNN-SABA) – Unknown gunmen kidnapped two foreigners working with the international charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), in Yemen’s central province of Marib yesterday, a security official said.

The local security official, who asked to remain anonymous, said, the foreigners held captive by the unknown gunmen are identified as nationals from Germany and Myanmar, both serving under the MSF banner.

JERUSALEM, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Saudi authorities on Tuesday for taking care of Israeli passengers whose flight had to make an emergency landing in Jeddah.

Due to a technical malfunction, Air Seychelles HM022, destined for Tel Aviv and carrying 128 Israeli passengers, was forced to land on Monday night in the kingdom, with which Israel doesn't have official ties.

Later, a replacement flight was arranged to fly the passengers to their destination, said the Israeli foreign ministry in a statement.

RAMALLAH, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye on Monday called on the international community to take necessary measures to stop Israeli violations against the Palestinians in the West Bank.

Ishtaye made the appeal during the weekly meeting of the Palestinian Authority cabinet held in the West Bank city of Ramallah in response to remarks of the far-right Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, according to an official statement.

JERUSALEM, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday urged the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to act to calm tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border to prevent a possible escalation.

The two met at the UN Headquarters in New York, according to a statement issued by the Israeli Defense Ministry.