Middle East & North Africa

ANKARA, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree to raise the tariffs on some U.S. imports including cars, alcohol and tobacco, an official report said on Wednesday.

According to the decree published in the official gazette, Turkey has imposed an extra 60-percent of tariffs on passenger cars, 70 percent on alcohol and 30 percent on tobacco. Tariffs on cosmetics, rice and coal were also increased.

The move was a response to Washington's "economic attack" on Turkey, the country's Vice President Fuat Oktay tweeted.

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine; 14 Aug 2018; AA: Israeli forces have rounded up 16 Palestinians in raids carried out across the occupied West Bank, according to local residents on Tuesday.

An Israeli force raided a number of homes in the West Bank city of Hebron and arrested two women, including the wife of Hamas lawmaker Mohamed Maher Badr, local residents said.

Four Palestinians were also arrested by Israeli forces in northern Hebron late Monday, according to the official Wafa news agency.

By Cansu Dikme and Merve Aydogan

ANKARA, 14 Aug 2018; AA: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday announced Turkey will boycott American electronic products.

The announcement came in his address to a symposium organized by the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) on the 17th foundation anniversary of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party.

“We will boycott America's electronic products,” Erdogan said mentioning that Turkey would produce the better of every product bought with foreign currencies and export them.

MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/. The Iranian Defense Ministry has unveiled a next-generation Fateh Mubeen ballistic missile capable of evading radars and hitting targets with pinpointed accuracy, the news agency Tasnim reported on Monday.

The presentation ceremony was attended by Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami who congratulated the army and military designers with the completion of the work on the new missile.

GAZA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- More than 95 percent of the industrial factories in the Gaza Strip have stopped production due to the closure of the commercial crossing point of Kerem Shalom between Israel and the coastal enclave, officials said Monday.

Ali Hayek, chairman of The Palestinian Businessmen Association in Gaza said in an emailed press statement that after most of the industrial factories stopped its production, "around 75,000 workers and labours remained unemployed."

ANKARA, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The plunge of Turkish lira is "a plot against Turkey" and the country will seek new partners and markets if the United States does not back down on its hostile policy, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.

Talking in a meeting in the Black Sea city of Trabzon, Erdogan said the current fluctuations in the exchange rate could not be explained by logic.

"I here declare that we have seen your plot and we are challenging it," said Erdogan, apparently referring to the United States.

AL-WASIT /Syria/, August 10. /TASS/. The Russian military police will create eight outposts near the demilitarized zone at the Golan Heights on the Syrian-Israeli border, a deputy commander of the Russian forces in Syria in charge of of military police, Viktor Zaytsev, said.

According to the official, the first permanent observation post of the Russian military police has already been set up.

"Seven more will be created in the future. They will serve as a security guarantee for civilians of the Quneitra governorate," he said.

10 Aug 2018; AFP: An attack on a bus at a market in rebel-held northern Yemen killed at least 29 children Thursday, the Red Cross said, as the Saudi-led coalition faced a growing outcry over the strike.

The coalition said it had carried out a "legitimate military action", targeting a bus in response to a deadly missile attack on Saudi Arabia on Wednesday by Huthi rebels.

8 Aug 2018; AFP: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Wednesday it was hard to imagine new talks with the US after it lost the trust of the world with its erratic decision-making.

"Imagine negotiating now -- how can we trust them?" Zarif told reporters on state broadcaster IRINN. "America has zig-zagged constantly, so now no one trusts them."

Zarif was speaking a day after Washington reimposed a first tranche of harsh sanctions following its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal.

A pregnant mother and her baby were killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza overnight Wednesday.

Enas Khammash, 23, and her 18-month daughter Bayan and a Hamas fighter were killed by Israeli air strikes in Jafarawi. 12 others have been injured.