Middle East & North Africa

BAGHDAD, Nov 1 (NNN-NINA) – Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, arrived in Baghdad on an official visit on Saturday, to hold talks with Iraqi leaders and sign a number of memorandums of understanding, to enhance cooperation between Baghdad and Cairo.

Madbouly, heading a high-level delegation, arrived in Baghdad around noon and was received by his Iraqi counterpart, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, according to a statement by al-Kadhimi’s media office.

AMMAN, Nov 2 (NNN-PETRA) – In order to curb the surge in COVID-19 cases, Jordan’s Prime Minister, Bisher Khasawneh, announced that a five-day nationwide lockdown would be imposed from Nov 11, a day after the country’s parliamentary elections.

According to the Jordanian Health Ministry, Jordan registered 3,259 new cases yesterday, bringing the overall tally to 75,866. The kingdom also reported 37 new deaths, with the current toll standing at 866.

BEIRUT, Nov 2 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanon’s Caretaker Interior Minister, Mohammad Fahmi, issued a statement on Sunday, ordering complete lockdown in 115 villages and towns in the country, along with a nationwide curfew, due to the increase in COVID-19 cases.

The curfew starts from 9.00 p.m. to 5.00 a.m. local time, every day.

The minister also prevented public and private gatherings on all Lebanese territories, while ordering all pubs and night clubs to remain closed until further notice.

IZMIR (Reuters) - A three-year-old girl was rescued from a collapsed building in the western Turkish city of Izmir on Monday, nearly three days after a powerful earthquake in the Aegean Sea that has killed at least 85 people.

Rescuers pulled the girl, Elif, out of the rubble, then took her on a stretcher to an ambulance as emergency crews searched for survivors in eight other buildings.

Elif’s two sisters and brother were found alive in the wreckage along with their mother on Saturday, but one of the children later died.

HEBRON, West Bank (Reuters) - Jewish settler leaders prayed on Monday for U.S. President Donald Trump’s re-election, citing his support for Israel, during a ceremony at a biblical tomb in the occupied West Bank that has been a flashpoint of conflict with the Palestinians.

“We have come to bless President Trump, both for the past, to thank him, but also for the future, that he succeeds in the coming election,” Yishai Fleisher, spokesman for the Hebron settlers, said at the Cave of the Patriarchs burial site.

02 Nov 2020; MEMO: The cabinet of the United Arab Emirates approved a smaller federal budget for 2021 in a sign that the country is curbing expenditure amid the coronavirus crisis and lower oil prices, reports Reuters.

The budget for next year was set at 58 billion dirhams ($15.8 billion), state news agency WAM reported on Sunday, down from this year’s 61.35 billion dirhams, which was the largest budget since the establishment of the country.

02 Nov 2020; MEMO: A three-year-old girl was rescued from a collapsed building in the western Turkish city of Izmir on Monday, officials said, nearly three days after a powerful earthquake in the Aegean Sea region which has killed 81 people,  Reuters reports.

Rescue efforts were continuing in eight buildings in Izmir where 79 people were killed, making Friday’s earthquake the deadliest in Turkey for nearly a decade. Two teenagers died on the Greek island of Samos, authorities said.

02 Nov 2020; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to pay taxes and maintenance expenses for his private home in Caesarea, Israeli media revealed yesterday.

According to a report by Israel’s Channel 13, Netanyahu claimed that the expenses were related to fulfilling his duty as a prime minister so he should be exempt from paying taxes on them.

02 Nov 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has allowed international pilgrims to perform Umrah after a seven-month hiatus due to the coronavirus outbreak, reported Anadolu Agency.

The move was part of gradual Saudi measures to ease restrictions imposed to stem the spread of the virus in the kingdom.

02 Nov 2020; MEMO: Yemen’s former Minister of Transport, Saleh Al-Jabwani, on Saturday accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of bribing a “high-ranking” Yemeni official to approve the bombing of pro-government forces in the city of Aden in August 2019 in what later became known as the Al- Alam massacre.