Middle East & North Africa

DUBAI (Reuters) - An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 struck the province of Kermanshah in western Iran on Sunday, Iranian state TV reported.

It gave no immediate information on possible casualties or damage from the quake, which it said jolted the Gilan-e Gharb county in the province.

TRIPOLI, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Militarization of oil facilities and presence of mercenaries in those facilities can lead to disasters severer than the recent deadly explosions in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, warned the state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) of the UN-backed Libyan government on Sunday.

Two huge explosions rocked the Port of Beirut on Tuesday, leaving at least 158 people dead and 6,000 others wounded.

KHARTOUM, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Sudan's Foreign Ministry on Saturday expressed "reservation" toward a U.S. warning against travelling to Sudan for its citizens.

The U.S. State Department's travel warning issued on Thursday rests "on the claim that crimes such as kidnapping, armed robbery, home invasion and carjacking can occur," the ministry said in a statement.

"The warning contained a negative signal about the possibility that the police and other security forces may respond violently to the peaceful demonstrations," it added.

RAMALLAH, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Palestine said on Saturday that it had taken the issue of Israeli field executions against Palestinians to the International Criminal Court (ICC) after a 23-year-old Palestinian woman was shot and killed inside her home in the West Bank on Friday.

The international community should consider such field executions on a daily basis against Palestinians "war crimes that have reached unprecedented levels," Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization Saeb Erekat told reporters.

BEIRUT, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad resigned on Sunday following the huge explosions that rocked Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, killing at least 158 people and injuring 6,000, al-Jadeed local TV channel reported.

"I apologize to the Lebanese because we could not meet their demands. Since change in Lebanon remains elusive and the reality does not match our ambitions, and after the horrible explosions that hit the city, I resign from the government," Abdel Samad said.

BEIRUT, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- A Lebanese police officer was killed and 142 people were injured on Saturday in clashes during protests against the ruling class in downtown Beirut, days after massive explosions rocked the Lebanese capital that killed at least 158 and injured 6,000 others, LBCI TV channel reported.

Demanding an overhaul of the Lebanese political system, the protesters were trying to break into the parliament, prompting security forces to use tear gas to disperse them.

08 Aug 2020; MEMO: The political official from the Libyan National Struggle Front, Ahmed Gaddaf Al Dam, blamed NATO and UN Security Council over the political crisis and struggles in Libya, news agencies reported on Friday.

Speaking to Russia’s Sputnik News Agency, Gaddaf Al Dam, who is the cousin of the late Libyan dictator Muamar al Gadhafi, said that “what happened in Libya is based on a falsehood, and what is built on falsehood is void.”

08 Aug 2020; MEMO: Israeli President Reuven Rivlin is planning to resign in order to compete with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the prime minister position, Israeli newspaper Maariv revealed on Friday.

Quds Net News Agency reported that Maariv cited Israeli inside sources confirming this plan.

The sources noted that there is substantial hope that Rivlin would achieve an overwhelming majority against the Likud Party.

08 Aug 2020; MEMO: French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Lebanon on Thursday sparked controversy over the nature of the visit among social media users.

While some believed that this visit carried a message of support for Lebanon after the massive explosion that took place in the Port of Beirut, others believe that it was “not innocent”.

08 Aug 2020; MEMO: Yedioth Ahronoth revealed on Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to form a new right-wing party.