Middle East & North Africa

26 Aug 2020; MEMO: Divorce rates have increased by nearly 96.7 per cent during the lockdown imposed by Saudi Arabia to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Justice said.

According to the ministry’s monthly report, the number of divorce certificates issued in June reached 4,079; 53 per cent in the Riyadh and Makkah regions.

 26 Aug 2020; MEMO: Israel has been selling advanced military systems and equipment to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for more than eight years, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper revealed.

TASS, August 26: Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC) has announced suspension of negotiations on the so-called Riyadh agreement aimed at forming a united government in the country, Reuters reported, citing the council’s statement.

According to the agency, the STC named collapse of the government service system in south Yemen and escalation of military conflict by government forces among the reasons behind this decision.

TEHRAN, Aug 26 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said that, Iran is willing to keep cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “according to international regulations.”

“The Islamic Republic is willing to maintain cooperation with the Agency under normal circumstances, and within the framework of international regulations,” the top Iranian diplomat said.

Iran and the IAEA have always cooperated according to international commitments and in a “technical and professional framework,” Zarif noted.

TEHRAN, Aug 26 (NNN-TASNIM) – Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, criticised U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, for “violating his own country’s laws” and trying to “flood” the Middle East with weapons.

On a note on Twitter, Iran’s chief diplomat wrote that the U.S. Secretary of State “has no qualms about violating his own country’s laws.”

“Standing next to world’s #1 nuclear threat, he declares his desire to flood our region with even more US weapons”, the Iranian official posted.

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israeli aircraft struck posts belonging to the Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah early on Wednesday after shots were fired from Lebanon towards its troops, Israel’s military said.

No Israeli troops were wounded in the firing, the military said. Soldiers deployed illumination flares, smoke shells and live fire after the shots from the Lebanese side of the frontier, it said.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey is determined to do whatever is necessary to obtain its rights in the Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.

Speaking at an event commemorating the 11th century military victory by Seljuk Turks over the Byzantine empire at Malazgirt, Erdogan also called on Ankara’s counterparts to avoid mistakes that he said would bring their destruction.

“We will not compromise what is ours... We are determined to do whatever is necessary,” Erdogan said.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — In three decades of failed peace efforts, the Palestinians have never faced a more hostile U.S. administration, a more self-assured Israel or a more ambivalent international community.

But even as their hopes for statehood have never seemed so dim, there’s no indication their aging leadership will change course.

NICOSIA, August 25. /TASS/: Some categories of Russian citizens will be able to visit the Republic of Cyprus starting from August 28 provided that they self-isolate for 14 days, the country’s Health Ministry said in its new weekly list published on Monday.

For the first time since the start of the pandemic, Russia was officially included in this list as a Category C country.

TEHRAN, Aug 25 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran’s foreign minister, said that, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will not become more secure, through a recent normalisation deal with Israel, Press TV reported.

“The UAE turned to Israel to buy security, while Israel is unable to keep even itself secure,” Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying.

“You cannot be secure, if your neighbours are not secure,” Zarif said, adding that, the security of the region should be achieved through close work of the regional states.