Middle East & North Africa

24 Sep 2022; MEMO: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of killing Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and urged the US to prosecute her killers.

Abbas announced before the United Nations (UN) General Assembly that Israel is killing the Palestinian people without accountability, as it did with Shireen Abu Akleh: "Who was killed by a sniper's bullet intended to kill her, and Israel admitted that the sniper did indeed kill her."

25 Sep 2022; MEMO: Turkiye and Qatar have decided to activate a joint military agreement to deploy 36 Qatari fighters and 250 military personnel for training in Turkiye, TRT reported on Thursday.

According to TRT, the Technical Regulation on the Deployment of Qatar Military Aircraft Personnel in Turkiye was signed in March 2021.

Qatari fighter pilots will receive training in Turkiye, and Qatar will keep 250 military personnel and 36 warplanes in the country for training purposes.

25 Sep 2022; MEMO: Israel assassinated Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on 11 May while she was covering the occupation army's storming of Jenin refugee camp. The 51-year-old was wearing a flak jacket clearly displaying the word "Press" and had a helmet on, but was still shot in the head by an Israeli sniper.

RAMALLAH, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian was killed and three others injured on Sunday by Israeli soldiers in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.

Palestinian security sources and local eyewitnesses said a 25-year-old man was shot dead by Israeli soldiers when they opened fire at a motorcycle and a car in Nablus.

Another three Palestinians, who were in the attacked vehicle, were injured, including one in serious condition. Local medical sources said the three were taken to the city hospital.

TEHRAN, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani on Saturday expressed regret for the decision of the Ukrainian government to downgrade diplomatic relations with the Islamic republic.

On Friday, Ukraine announced to downgrade ties with Iran and remove the Iranian ambassador's accreditation over what it called Tehran's "unfriendly" decision to supply Russia with drones "used against its forces and citizens," the Iranian Foreign Ministry website reported.

SANAA, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- The protracted war in Yemen not only brings physical suffering to millions of children but also inflicts a kind of pain that last longer -- psychological trauma.

"Many children displayed aphasia or other symptoms of PTSD after they went through heavy bombings. They were overwhelmed by horror and fear," said Suad Al-Haimi, the director of the Al-Tahadi Association for the Disabled in the capital Sanaa.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Stores are selling winter clothes from last season in the middle of summer. Repair shops lack spare parts for appliances. There’s a waiting list to buy a new car.

Egypt, a country of more than 103 million people, is running low on foreign currency needed to buy essentials like grain and fuel. To keep U.S. dollars in the country, the government has tightened imports, meaning fewer new cars and summer dresses.

BAGHDAD, Sept 24 (NNN-NINA) – Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, said yesterday that, his government is interested in developing relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, at all levels, according to a statement by the ministry.

Hussein made the remarks, when meeting with GCC Secretary-General, Nayef bin Falah Al-Hajraf, on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, where “the two sides discussed ways to enhance cooperation,” the ministry said in the statement.

RAMALLAH, Sept 24 (NNN-WAFA) – Dozens of Palestinian protesters were injured, during clashes with Israeli soldiers, in several West Bank cities and villages yesterday, Palestinian medics and eyewitnesses said.

Among the injured were three, shot by live ammunition and nine by rubber-coated steel bullets, while the others inhaled teargas, fired by the Israeli soldiers, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a statement.

DUBAI, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Iran on Saturday criticised a U.S. move to make exceptions to sanctions in order to help provide internet to Iranians during nationwide protests, state media reported. 

It said this was in line with Washington's hostile stance towards Tehran. 

"By reducing the severity of a number of communications sanctions - while maintaining maximum pressure - the U.S. is seeking to advance its goals against Iran," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani was quoted by state media as saying.