Middle East & North Africa

ALGIERS, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The 10th OPEC and non-OPEC Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) in Algiers wrapped up on Sunday by maintaining the current oil output level, amid calls from the U.S. to raise oil production in a bid to curb mounting prices.

In fact, OPEC and non-OPEC members in Algiers snubbed the calls of the U.S. President Donald Trump. A couple of days ago, Trump accused OPEC of monopolizing the oil market, and called the cartel to raise production in a bid to reduce prices.

By Aziz Aslan 

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey; 20 Sep 2018; AA: A Turkish lawyer on Thursday filed a criminal complaint against several Myanmar officials on charges of committing genocide against Rohingya Muslims and crimes against humanity in Myanmar's Rakhine State.  

Lawyer Hasan Bozdas submitted the complaint against 22 high-ranking officials of the southeast Asian nation to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, also accusing them of other crimes to be revealed after investigations.  

BEIRUT, September 19. /TASS/. Agreements that the Russian and Turkish Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reached in Sochi over Idlib "allowed preserving Syria’s territorial integrity and averting the West’s aggression," Nidal Sabi, a Lebanese political analyst, told TASS on Wednesday.

Sabi, who is said to be an expert in the Syria crisis, said that "the decision approved in Sochi to set up a demilitarized zone provides a chance to disarm the Ankara-backed illegal armed groups in northwest Syria without any fighting or losses."

DUBAI, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Abu Dhabi has been named the safest city in the world for the second year by Numbeo, a website for crowd-sourced global data, Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism said Wednesday.

Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), surpassed more than 300 cities across the world, including Tokyo, Japan, Basel, Munich, and Vienna, to be graded the world's most secure city, according to Numbeo.

The index ranked 338 cities globally by estimating their overall safety levels.

DAMASCUS, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- The former U.S.-backed Liwa Shuhada al-Qaryatayn rebels will evacuate from southern Syria to positions of the Turkey-backed rebels in northern Syria under a deal with the Russians, a pro-government newspaper reported on Thursday.

Citing opposition activists, the al-Watan newspaper said around 5,000 rebels and their families will evacuate in the coming days their positions near the U.S.-run base in the al-Tanf area toward areas controlled by Syrian Democratic Force (SDF) in Aleppo province.

JERUSALEM, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Tuesday Russian President Vladimir Putin to convey Israel's condolences to the death of Russian aircrew shot down by Syrian forces during an Israeli airstrike.

The phone talk came after Syrian air defense missiles shot down a 15-crew Russian plane amidst an Israeli air raid on the Syrian city of Latakia, according to Israeli and Russian officials.

US government has expelled Palestinian Ambassador to the United States, Husam Zomlot, from the country, and frozen all the bank accounts of the family. New step followed closer of the PLO embassy in Washington

All American bank accounts affiliated with the PLO have also been frozen.

MOSCOW, September 18. /TASS/. France is partly to blame for the crash of Russia’s Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft in Syria and the death of Russian military servicemen, military expert Mikhail Khodaryonok told reporters.

"The French Navy's frigate, The Auvergne, did not make the best contribution to the air situation, creating additional difficulties for Syrian air defense teams," he said, adding that "the French frigate was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

DAMASCUS, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Syria's air defenses were triggered Monday evening by an Israeli missile attack on the coastal city of Latakia, which lasted for an hour and a half, state TV reported.

The state media reports said the air defenses intercepted many missiles before reaching their targets, airing footages showing the air defense missiles beaming in the sky over Latakia and the nearby city of Tartus.

The footages also showed areas that had been struck by the missile attack, which the TV said was carried out from the sea.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- The United States believed that the Russian aircraft that went missing on Monday over the Mediterranean had been mistakenly shot down by Syrian forces, U.S. media reported on Monday citing a U.S. official with knowledge of the incident.

A Russian aircraft with 14 servicemen on board went off radar near the Hmeymim airbase in Syria Monday evening and the Hmeymim airbase has launched a search and rescue operation for the missing aircraft, said the Russian Defense Ministry in a statement.