Middle East & North Africa

15 Feb 2023; MEMO: More than seven million children have been affected by the devastating earthquakes that hit uürkiye and Syria last week, the United Nations said yesterday, expressing fears that thousands may have died.

"In Turkiye, the total number of children living in the 10 provinces hit by the earthquakes was 4.6 million. In Syria, 2.5 million children are affected," UNICEF spokesman James Elder told reporters in Geneva.

15 Feb 2023; MEMO: The European Union and the Arab League have agreed to create a joint working group to revive peace efforts in the Middle East "based on the Arab Peace Initiative, United Nations resolutions and established international peace parameters," according to a joint statement published on the European Union External Action's official website.

15 Feb 2023; MEMO: Israel has decided to reinforce the Border Guards in occupied Jerusalem by deploying three army reserve companies in order to speed up the demolition of Palestinian homes, Quds Net News has reported. According to Israeli public broadcaster KAN, the decision in this regard is expected to be approved in the coming days.

TEHRAN, February 14. /TASS/: Tehran greatly appreciates China’s role in Iran’s accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and hopes for Beijing’s backing for its BRICS (an association of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) membership bid, the ISNA news agency said on Tuesday, commenting on Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to China.

RAMALLAH, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian teenager on Tuesday died of critical wounds sustained in clashes with Israeli soldiers that broke out in the Far'a refugee camp near the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The ministry said that Mahmoud Al-Aydi, 17, died of his wounds after being shot in the head by Israeli soldiers.

Local sources and eyewitnesses said that an Israeli army force stormed the refugee camp to arrest Palestinians allegedly involved in attacks against the Israeli army in the West Bank.

ATAREB, Syria (AP) — Draped in a heavy wool shawl against the cold, Ayesha dragged her feet, her toddler granddaughter trailing behind her, as they made the 15-minute walk from her tent to the nearest bathroom in a nearby building, the only place they have to wash.

Seven days after the earthquake leveled their home in the northwest Syrian town of Atareb, the 43-year-old still has no access to water, electricity or heat for her and 12 family members, all crammed into a single tent.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Hackers said they had taken down the websites of Bahrain’s international airport and state news agency on Tuesday to mark the 12-year anniversary of an Arab Spring uprising in the small Gulf country.

A statement posted online by a group calling itself Al-Toufan, or “The Flood” in Arabic, claimed to have hacked the airport website, which was unavailable for at least a half hour in the middle of the day. It also claimed to have taken down the website of the state-run Bahrain News Agency, which was sporadically unavailable.

13 Feb 2023; MEMO: The United Nations has said that the death toll from last week's earthquakes in northwest Syria and southern Turkiye is likely to be over 56,000.

The most current death toll is over 36,000, with at least 4,614 people dead in regime-held and opposition-held parts of Syria and at least 31,643 dead in Turkey.

13 Feb 2023; MEMO: Algeria accused Morocco and Israel yesterday of launching a cyberattack on the website of the official Algerian News Agency. According to Algerian state television, the website was subjected to a series of serious cyberattacks for hours as hackers tried to get into the site.

13 Feb 2023; MEMO: A former Palestinian prisoner has accused Israeli soldiers of stealing large amounts of cash along with some valuable belongings during a recent raid of his home in the town of Issawiya in occupied East Jerusalem.

According to Wafa news agency, the soldier stole $1,500 and several goods including perfumes and electronic gadgets belonging to former prisoner Ibrahim Dirbas.