Middle East & North Africa

DAMASCUS, Oct 9 (NNN-SANA) – The Syrian Foreign Ministry, yesterday, demanded the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria.

In a statement, the ministry said, the U.S. presence in Syria was illegal and demanded an end to the U.S. support to the Kurdish-led militias, which the ministry said, served the U.S. interests in Syria.

RAMALLAH, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- An escalation of tension in the West Bank would fuel an atmosphere of fear, hatred and anger between Israelis and Palestinians, a senior UN official warned on Saturday.

"It is necessary to reduce tensions immediately to open the way for decisive initiatives aimed at creating a viable political horizon between the two sides," UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland said in a press statement sent to Xinhua.

ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- An official of Yemen's pro-government security forces and four soldiers were killed in an explosion that struck their vehicle in the country's southern province of Abyan on Sunday, a military official told Xinhua.

"The explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device targeting a patrol of the pro-government southern security forces in Mudiyah district of Abyan Province," the local military source said on condition of anonymity.

The explosion also injured three security personnel, the source confirmed to Xinhua.

JERUSALEM, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli police arrested on Sunday six Palestinians for their suspected links to a deadly shooting attack in East Jerusalem on Saturday, as the search for the shooter is still underway.

The gunman opened fire at a military checkpoint near Shuafat, a Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem, killing Noa Lazar, an 18-year-old female sergeant with the military police, the military said in a statement.

TEHRAN, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian government spokesman said 480 thalassemia patients have died in Iran over the past four years because of the U.S. sanctions which impede Iran's import of medicine for rare diseases.

Because of the sanctions, 70 thalassemia patients lost their lives in 2018, 90 in 2019, 140 in 2020, and 180 in 2021, Ali Bahadori Jahromi said in a late Saturday tweet.

SULIMANIYAH, Iraq (AP) — Growing up under a repressive system, Sharo, a 35-year-old university graduate, never thought she would hear words of open rebellion spoken out loud. Now she herself chants slogans like “Death to the Dictator!” with a fury she didn’t know she had, as she joins protests calling for toppling the country’s rulers.

New Delhi, Oct 8 (PTI) A newborn baby girl with her umbilical cord attached was rescued from a garbage dump in southwest Delhi, a statement issued by a hospital said on Saturday.

The baby was out in the rain.

The girl was extremely weak and in a hypothermic state. She is currently undergoing treatment, according to the doctors at Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj.

Tehran, IRNA – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian underscored that certain rioters aided and abetted by foreign TV networks have destroyed public properties and have attacked people and police that are not acceptable anywhere in the globe.

Tehran, IRNA – The Islamic Republic of Iran is facing hybrid threats from the foes in different arenas, so the country is getting ready to stand against the menace, said the chief of staff for the Armed Forces of Iran on Saturday.

Chief of Staff for the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran Major General Mohammad Bagheri made the remarks in the 13th edition of Malek Ashtar Festival in Tehran, referring to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s emphasis on the need for upgrading the might of the armed forces.

Tehran, IRNA – Heads of the three branches of the Iranian government said on Saturday that the enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran consider the unified and powerful Iran as a threat to their interests.

President Ebrahim Raisi, Judiciary Chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie, and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf held a meeting at the presidential palace on Saturday evening.