Middle East & North Africa

22 Jan 2023; MEMO: Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Saturday against a planned judicial reform by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reports Anadolu Agency.

According to Israeli public broadcaster KAN, nearly 40,000 Israelis joined the anti-government rally in Tel Aviv's Kaplan Street area.

Another protest attended by nearly 10,000 demonstrators took place at Habima Square in Tel Aviv, KAN said.

Kanpur: Partly sunny weather with 37% cloud cover on Monday does not save the residents from cold. 

The condition of low temperatures and rain reportedly continue up to the next three or more days.

Moderate to heavy rainfall is anticipated to lessen by then. After that, the residents would feel relief from the biting cold.

The first fortnight of the ongoing month has seen temperatures in Kanpur drop below 7°C along with icy winds in Kanpur. 

ANKARA, January 22. /TASS/: Presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey will be held on May 14, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.

"I call on our youth who will take part in the elections for the first time to make a right choice during the voting, which will take place on May 14," he said at a meeting with the youth in the country’s northwestern Bursa Province, which was aired by the TRT television channel.

Initially, presidential polls in Turkey were scheduled for June 18.

BAGHDAD, Jan 22 (NNN-NINA) – The Iraqi military said, it killed, yesterday, two Daesh militants, in an airstrike in Salahudin Province, north of Baghdad.

According to a statement from the Joint Operations Command’s media office, the militants were spotted by Iraqi forces, in a rocky area near the town of Tuz Khurmato, which is located in eastern Salahudin. They were killed when Iraqi airplanes attacked their position with an airstrike.

BEIRUT, Jan 22 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanon said, it will immediately pay its dues to the UN operating budget to preserve the country’s voting rights in the UN General Assembly (UNGA).

“We have completed all the steps to pay the required amount to the UN. After contacting the prime minister and finance minister, it was found that the final payment process will be completed directly, in a way that preserves Lebanon’s voting rights in the UNGA,” Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

RAMALLAH, Jan 22 (NNN-WAFA) – Another Palestinian was killed yesterday, by Israeli soldiers, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement that, it was informed, Tariq Maali, 42, was killed, north-west of the city, and that his body is being held by the Israeli security.

The statement did not give more details about the incident.

TEHRAN, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iranian foreign minister said on Sunday that any retaliatory measure, including a pullout of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), by Iran will be possible if Europe does not change its anti-Tehran positions.

CAIRO, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Ahead of the upcoming Chinese New Year, Egypt received the first Chinese tourist group on Friday since the outbreak of COVID-19 three years ago.

During a welcoming ceremony for the Chinese tourist group at Cairo International Airport, Egyptian Vice Minister for Tourism and Antiquities Ghada Shalaby welcomed the Chinese tourists, expressing aspiration to see more Chinese tourist groups.

ISTANBUL (AP) — Outrage over a Quran-burning protest in Sweden produced a second day of protests in Turkey, reflecting tensions between the two countries.

Some 250 people gathered outside the Swedish Consulate in Istanbul, where a photo of Danish anti-Islam activist Rasmus Paludan was set on fire. Paludan burned Islam’s holy book outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Saturday, sparking protests in Istanbul and Ankara that night.

BEIRUT (AP) — A building collapsed in a neighborhood in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo early Sunday, killing at least 16 people, including one child, and injuring four others, state media reported.

The five-story building housing about 30 people is in the Sheikh Maksoud neighborhood under the control of the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. It collapsed overnight, according to the report, after water leakages weakened the structure’s foundation.