Middle East & North Africa

CAIRO, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League urged on Sunday the international community to exert immediate pressure on Israel to halt the demolition of Al-Khan Al-Ahmar Bedouin village east of Jerusalem.

Israel should also be pressured to halt the systematic settlement activities meant to isolate East Jerusalem, the Arab League's Palestine and the occupied Arab territories sector said in a statement.

Such moves will divide the West Bank and eliminate any chances to reach a peaceful settlement based on the two-state solution, the pan-Arab group noted.

RIYADH, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali signed on Sunday the Jeddah Peace Accord in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, Al Arabiya reported.

The deal was sponsored by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and attended by the United Nation's Secretary General Antonio Guterres, and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation of the United Arab Emirates.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea were in Saudi Arabia on Sunday ahead of a meeting described as the signing of a peace accord between the two East African nations.

Terms of the agreement to be signed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki in the Red Sea port city of Jiddah remain unclear.

KHARTOUM, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Ministers of Sudan's new government on Saturday took the constitutional oath before Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

"There are priorities for this new government in improving the livelihood of the people, addressing the economic situation and achieving peace and stability," Bushara Juma'a Aror, Sudan's new information minister, told reporters following the oath-taking ceremony.

Interior Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman reiterated that the current economic crisis represents the main challenge for the new government.

TEHRAN, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Iran would increase uranium enrichment if the European Union (EU) fails to implement its obligations following the U.S. withdrawal from the Iranian landmark nuclear deal, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Saturday.

"The Europeans and the other signatories must act in order to compensate for the effects of the U.S. sanctions," Zarif was quoted as saying by Press TV.

Damascus, 15 Sep 2018; SANA – The Syrian Arab Army’s air defenses confronted an Israeli missile attack on Damascus International Airport, a military source said on Saturday evening.

The source said that the air defenses managed to shoot down a number of the enemy missiles.

ANKARA, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Turkey will review and freeze the new government investment projects as part of efforts to keep budget balance and fight against double-digit inflation, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

"We are not considering any fresh investments right now," Erdogan told his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) provincial heads in Ankara.

One day earlier, Erdogan said in another speech that Turkey "will not start any projects which have barely been kicked off or which have not even been tendered yet."

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.