Middle East & North Africa

ISTANBUL, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish police have seized about 850 kg of methamphetamine and detained 14 suspects in a recent anti-narcotics operation in Istanbul, police sources said Monday.

The operation was carried out between June 11 and July 18 in nine districts of Istanbul.

The seized drugs were exhibited at the main police headquarters.

In June, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya vowed to eliminate any passage to drug dealers "who poison our youth and threaten our future."

BAGHDAD, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Iraq on Sunday confirmed its full support for the national dialogue in Yemen to achieve security and stability in the war-torn country.

During a meeting with visiting Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rasheed expressed his country's "full support for the national dialogue to achieve security and stability in Yemen, in a way that guarantees the peace for the people who have suffered greatly because of the conflict," according to a statement issued by the president's office.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian authorities have shut down one of the offices of the country’s biggest e-commerce company and launched judicial procedures after it published pictures online showing female employees not wearing the mandatory Islamic headscarf, semi-official media reported.

The move appears to be part of a new campaign launched last week to impose the Islamic dress code nearly a year after the morality police largely melted away in the face of widespread protests.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was released from the hospital Monday after an emergency heart procedure and now faces an unprecedented national crisis ahead of parliament’s vote on the first major piece of legislation to remake the country’s justice system.

Demonstrators, many of whom feel the very foundations of their country are being eroded by the government’s plan, stepped up their opposition, blocking a road leading up to parliament. Businesses shuttered their doors to protest the vote.

Tehran, IRNA – Iran’s foreign minister says regional countries can ensure the security of the Persian Gulf region without the interference of extra-regional forces.

“The security of the Persian Gulf region is important to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the countries of the region can ensure the security of this region without foreign interference,” Hossein Amirabdollahian said during a phone conversation with his counterpart from the United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan late on Saturday.

Tehran, IRNA -- Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali-Akbar Ahmadian has participated in the National Security Advisors (NSA) meeting of the BRICS group of emerging economies in South Africa.

Ahmadian, who arrived in Pretoria in South Africa on Monday is also planned to hold talks with some of his counterparts on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting.

The 13th NSA meeting of BRICS opened in South Africa on Monday for three days.

23 July 2023; AA: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday postponed his trips to Türkiye and the Greek Cypriot administration of Southern Cyprus due to health concerns following the implantation of a pacemaker, local media reported.

Netanyahu was scheduled to have a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday.

The meeting would have been the first by an Israeli prime minister to Ankara since Ehud Olmert met Erdogan in 2008.

23 July 2023; AA: The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have announced that negotiations with Saudi Arabia to resolve the region's crisis have stalled due to a disagreement over the source of funds to be paid to civil servants as salaries.

Mumbai, Jul 24 (PTI) One should behave with a sense of responsibility while communicating something to others via their WhatsApp status, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has said while refusing to quash a case against a man for posting content allegedly spreading hatred against a religious group.

A division bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes in its order on July 12 said the purpose of WhatsApp status nowadays is to convey something to your contacts.

Jerusalem, Jul 24 (PTI) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was discharged from hospital on Monday after undergoing a successful procedure to implant a pacemaker, just ahead of a critical vote in the Knesset on a controversial bill that could curb existing judicial powers.

Netanyahu, 73, underwent surgery on Sunday at Sheba Medical Centre in Ramat Gan, almost a week after he was hospitalised for dehydration and had a heart monitoring device implanted.