Middle East & North Africa

TEHRAN, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Two pilots survived a trainer aircraft crash Saturday morning in the northern Iranian province of Alborz, Iran's IRIB news agency reported.

The accident caused no property damage as the aircraft crashed into a non-residential area that is home to farmlands, the report said.

Investigators blamed "technical malfunction in the aircraft's engine" for the accident, it added.

BAGHDAD, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- An Iraqi sculptor seeks to inspire his countrymen to rebuild their lives through his creative and emotional artworks.

Working in his studio in a calm rural area at the northern edge of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Hadi Hamza, 68, a retired professor of sculpture, was busy finishing one of his artworks with two apprentices.

Some of Hamza's artworks deal with themes of ancient Mesopotamia and carry the pearls of wisdom that reached us through time.

BEIJING (AP) — China on Saturday reported nearly 60,000 deaths in people who had COVID-19 since early December following complaints it was failing to release data, and said the “emergency peak” of its latest surge appears to have passed.

The toll included 5,503 deaths due to respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 and 54,435 fatalities from other ailments combined with COVID-19 since Dec. 8, the National Health Commission announced. It said those “deaths related to COVID” occurred in hospitals, which left open the possibility more people also might have died at home.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran said Saturday it executed a former high-ranking defense ministry official and dual Iranian-British national, despite international warnings not to carry out the death sentence. The execution further escalated tensions with the West amid the nationwide anti-government protests shaking the Islamic Republic.

13 Jan 2023; MEMO: Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune yesterday inaugurated the Nelson Mandela Stadium in the capital in the presence of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football, and Mandla Mandela, the grandson of the South African leader.

13 Jan 2023; MEMO: Jewish extremists have written racist slurs in Hebrew on the wall of the Armenian Church in Occupied East Jerusalem, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The incident took place late Thursday, the High Presidency Committee of Churches of the Palestinian Authority said.

READ: Settlers vandalise Christian cemetery in Jerusalem

13 Jan 2023; MEMO: American rights group, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), has asked the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a federal district court's dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and several US citizens who live in Israel.

13 Jan 2023; MEMO: A court on the Greek island of Lesvos today suspended proceedings against 24 aid workers accused of espionage, ending a controversial trial that was criticised by the UN and rights groups for condemning volunteers who were helping refugees in danger.

The court in Mytilini, the largest city of the island in the Aegean Sea, announced that it made the decision due to procedural flaws.

13 Jan 2023; MEMO: Italy fully supports Turkiye's mediation efforts between Russia and Ukraine, said Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, AA reports.

"Thanks to its geostrategic position and relations with all sides, Turkiye plays a key role in the start of peace talks," Tajani told Anadolu Agency (AA), ahead of his one-on-one meeting with Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, in Ankara on Friday.

13 Jan 2023; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, defended on Friday a proposed shake-up of the Judiciary, but also indicated changes could be made to draft legislation that critics say would damage democracy and the independence of courts, Reuters reports.

The 73-year-old political veteran, who is on trial for corruption charges that he denies, returned to power in December at the head of a nationalist, religious government.