Middle East & North Africa

30 April 2022; MEMO: Sudan braces for protests on Saturday to mark the third anniversary of a deadly sit-in dispersal, in which dozens of protesters were killed, Anadolu Agency reports.

More than 60 protesters were killed when security forces violently dispersed a protest camp outside the army headquarters in the capital Khartoum on June 29, 2019. The day coincided with the 29th day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Opposition groups, however, say more than 128 people were killed in the dispersal.

MAKKAH MUKARMA, April 30 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Saturday affirmed his government’s commitment to promoting the interests of Muslim Ummah as a corner-stone of Pakistan’s foreign policy.

The prime minister was talking to OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha, who called on him.

The prime minister thanked the Secretary General for OIC’s consistent and unequivocal support to the Kashmir cause.

RAMALLAH, Apr 30 (NNN-WAFA) – A 27-year-old Palestinian was killed and three others were injured late last night, by Israeli soldiers, in clashes near the West Bank city of Qalqilya, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

Yahia Odwan was killed during clashes that broke out in the village of Azoon, east of the northern West Bank city of Qalqilya, the ministry said in a short press statement.

Israeli authorities have not given any immediate comment on the incidents.

AMMAN, Apr 30 (NNN-PETRA) – Jordan’s Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, and United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, yesterday called for efforts to end the tension and restore calm at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

During a phone conversation, Safadi underlined the need for Israel to respect the legal and historical status quo in Jerusalem, while removing all obstacles that impede worshippers’ freedom to pray, according to a statement released by Jordan’s Foreign Ministry.

ANKARA, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned the German ambassador to Turkey in a row with Berlin over the sentencing of Turkish businessman and activist Osman Kavala to life in prison, state-run TRT broadcaster reported.

The move came after Germany summoned Turkey's ambassador in Berlin on Friday to protest the verdict for the Turkish activist.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military on Saturday launched a manhunt in the northern West Bank as it searched for a pair of Palestinian attackers who shot and killed a security guard at the entrance of a Jewish settlement.

The fresh attack, combined with the death of a Palestinian man elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, could further fuel tensions that have soared over the past two months. A string of Palestinian attacks in Israel and the West Bank have left 15 Israelis dead, while at least 27 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces in recent weeks.

29 April 2022; MEMO: The General Arab Conference "United Against Normalisation" of Morocco yesterday called to end normalisation deals with Israel.

The conference stressed, in a statement on International Quds Day, that "resisting normalisation and boycotting the [Israeli] enemy is the task of the honourable people of the nation and the free people of the world."

29 April 2022; MEMO: Jordanian Crown Prince, Prince Al-Hussein Bin Abdullah II, was sworn in yesterday as deputy king.

Al-Mamlaka quoted local sources as saying that the prince had taken the constitutional oath "in the presence of the ministry body" to cover the duties of the king during his absence from the kingdom.

The sources added that the Jordanian king had left "on a private visit with his wife, Queen Rania," adding that they would later head on a "working visit to the United States."

30 April 2022; MEMO: Around 500 Palestinian administrative detainees, detained without trial or charge, have been boycotting Israeli military courts for the 113th consecutive day, the Palestinian Prisoners Club announced on Friday.

The administrative detainees are taking the measure to underscore the need to end this cruel, unjust practice that helps maintain Israel's apartheid system against Palestinians.

29 April 2022; MEMO: Pakistan's new Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, is visiting Saudi Araba this week in a bid to strengthen ties with the Kingdom and possibly gain more financial support, in what is his first foreign trip since assuming office earlier this month.