Middle East & North Africa

12 August 2023; MEMO: The Israeli Air Force chief, on Friday, warned that reservist pilots protesting controversial plans to overhaul the judiciary are hurting the Force's readiness, Anadolu Agency reports.

Speaking to dozens of reservist pilots who say they will not show up for volunteer duty to protest the government's plans to overhaul the judiciary, Major- General Tomer Bar told them the readiness of the Force is "worsening", The Times of Israel daily reported.

12 August 2023; MEMO: The Algerian authorities announced on Friday a temporary suspension of all programmes broadcast on the Salam TV channel (private) on the grounds of "violations inconsistent with religion and morals."

This came in a statement by the state Audiovisual Regulatory Authority, which monitors state television content in Algeria.

ANKARA, August 11. /TASS/: Turkey may play host to the third round of consultations on resolving the Ukraine crisis following the last meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Turkish daily Hurriyet reported.

TEHRAN, August 11. /TASS/: Pretoria fully supports Iran’s accession to the BRICS, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said at a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian.

"South Africa is interested in Iran being accepted as a friendly country by the BRICS," Ramaphosa said as quoted by Mehr News.

The President of South Africa also expressed hope that during the official visit of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to the African country, a number of documents on cooperation between the two countries would be signed.

ALGIERS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Six people were killed and nine others injured after a truck collided with a bus in the northern Algerian province of Djelfa on Friday, Algeria's Civil Protection Authority said in a statement.

Ambulances and rescue teams rushed to the scene after the accident took place near the city of Ain Oussara, according to the emergency response service.

The injured people have been taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, it added, without elaborating on the cause of the accident.

TEHRAN, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- A senior Iranian official said on Friday the exchange of prisoners between Iran and the United States will take place "simultaneously" with the release of Iran's frozen assets in banks of the Republic of Korea (ROK).

CAIRO (AP) — The United Nations said Friday that five staff members who were kidnapped in Yemen 18 months ago have walked free.

In a brief statement, Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said all “available information suggests that all five colleagues are in good health.”

Haq named the freed men as Akm Sufiul Anam; Mazen Bawazir; Bakeel al-Mahdi; Mohammed al-Mulaiki; and Khaled Mokhtar Sheikh. All worked for the U.N. Department of Security and Safety, he said.

11 August 2023; AA: Türkiye's current account balance posted a net surplus of $674 million in June, the country's central bank announced on Friday.

Gold and energy excluded current account balance saw a net surplus of $5.58 billion in the month, the Turkish Central Bank said.

In June, the goods deficit was at $3.69 billion, while services posted a net surplus of $5.02 billion. Travel item, under services, recorded a net inflow of $4.2 billion.

11 August 2023; AA: Archeologists have discovered a 3,800-year-old cuneiform clay tablet in southern Türkiye during restoration work after the massive earthquakes in the region earlier this year.

Murat Akar, an archeology professor at Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, told Anadolu that a 25-member team found the clay tablet with cuneiform inscription in Akkadian language in nearly 4,000-year-old Accana tumulus in the southern Hatay province.

10 August 2023; MEMO: Lebanese Defence Minister, Maurice Selim, on Thursday survived an assassination attempt in the capital, Beirut, according to local media reports, Anadolu Agency reports.

The incident took place in the Jisr Al-Basha area, when unidentified gunmen opened fire on his car, hitting it several times.

Several media outlets reported that the Minister is "fine" and is in a safe place.

There is no official word from the government yet.