Middle East & North Africa

DAMASCUS, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- When the Syrian army is preparing for the last major battle against the last major rebel stronghold in the northwestern province of Idlib, the United States, its western allies and Turkey oppose it. Why?

Various rebel groups are located in Idlib, but not all of them are on the same page.

The striking force among all rebel factions is the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, otherwise known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Arabic for the Levant Liberation Committee (LLC).

RAMALLAH, Sept 14 (NNN-Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinian people are still committed to making just peace with Israel.

Abbas made the remarks during a Thursday meeting at his headquarters in Ramallah with the leaders of three main religions, Islam, Christianity and Judaism, in the Palestinian territories.

He stressed on the necessity of making peace with Israel based on international resolutions related to the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

MOSCOW, September 14. /TASS/. Turkey has not backed out of purchasing Russia’s S-400 anti-aircraft missile defense systems despite threats from the US, and Russia will fulfil the contract in 2019, according to schedule, said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov.

The US Department of State earlier reported that it might launch sanctions against any country that purchases S-400s from Russia.

ANKARA, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Qatari emir has given Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a Boeing 747-8 aircraft as a gift, reportedly the world's largest and most expensive private jet, a local newspaper reported Thursday.

The luxurious jet, worth about 367 million U.S. dollars, landed in Istanbul's Sahiba Gokcen International Airport from France, Daily Yeni Safak reported.

SANAA, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- At least 15 people were killed on Wednesday in airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition warplanes fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, a hospital source said.

"Fifteen people, including five civilians and 10 rebel fighters were killed in the airstrikes that targeted several rebel sites and rebel-controlled checkpoints near and around Kilo 16 road linking the capital Sanaa," the source said on condition of anonymity.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has kicked off the final phase of its campaign against the Islamic State (IS) militants, said the Pentagon on Tuesday.

The SDF, with the help of the U.S.-led coalition, initiated ground operations for Phase Three of Operation Roundup on Monday, aiming to clear the remaining IS forces in Iraq and Syria from northeastern Syria, said the Pentagon in a statement.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Feridun Sinirlioglu on Tuesday voiced opposition to the looming offensive on Idlib, Syria, the last rebel-held stronghold in the war-torn country.

Whether to launch an offensive on Idlib was a major point of divergence at a summit last week involving Russia, Iran and Turkey. Russia and Iran proposed the military option while Turkey, which backs some of the opposition groups in Idlib, opposed it.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that it is "absolutely essential" to avoid a full-scale attack on Syria's Idlib, the last major rebel stronghold in the country.

"This (A full-scale attack) would unleash a humanitarian nightmare unlike any seen in the blood-soaked Syrian conflict," said the UN chief in a press encounter at UN Headquarters in New York.

WASHINGTON; 11 Sep 2018; (AP) — The Latest on the Trump administration and the Palestinians (all times local):

The Palestinian Authority says it will not abandon its principles following the U.S. decision to close the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s office in Washington.

The spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rdeneh, says the Palestinian Authority will maintain its “commitment to the resolutions of international legitimacy,” according to a written statement released Monday.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki re-opened the two countries' common border on Tuesday, more than 20 years after it was shut with the outbreak of bloody war between the two nations.

In a joint ceremony, Ahmed and Afwerki opened the key Bure-Debay-Sima border crossing and are expected later Tuesday to witness the re-opening of Zalambessa border crossing, Yemane Gebremeskel, Eritrean Minister of Information said in a twitter post.