Middle East & North Africa

JERUSALEM, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced Saturday that Israel will file a complaint to the United Nations Security Council following an incident on its border with Lebanon the day before.

"Israel thoroughly condemns these attempts to breach the border fence, and expects the Lebanese government to fulfil its responsibility to prevent these kinds of threats against the security of Israel, and of the region as a whole." Katz said in a statement.

ISTANBUL, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday inspected the construction zones of two COVID-19 hospitals in Istanbul from the air by a helicopter.

Turkey has been building the hospitals for COVID-19 patients in the Ataturk Airport area on the European side of the city and the Sancaktepe district on the Asian side.

On April 6, Erdogan said that construction on both sites were expected to be completed in 45 days.

ANKARA, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's COVID-19 cases surged to 82,329 after 3,783 new cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Saturday.

The coronavirus death toll surpassed 1,890 with 121 new deaths in the country, the minister tweeted.

Koca said that 10,453 patients have recovered from COVID-19 so far, noting that 1,894 cases are being treated at the intensive care units and 1,054 being intubated.

18 April 2020; MEMO: Sami Abu Shehadeh, a member of the National Democratic Assembly in the Joint List, called for the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the discussion of a proposal to tighten control over citizens and their personal lives in the pretext of the

18 April 2020; MEMO: Israel has been witnessing an escalating crisis due to the failure to form a new government and the increasing likelihood of heading towards the fourth elections to the Knesset.

DAMASCUS, Apr 18 (NNN-SANA) – A group of U.S.-backed Syrian rebels, surrendered to Syrian government troops on Friday, in Palmyra city, in central Syria, it was reported.

A total of 28 rebels and six drivers surrendered themselves and their weapons to the army, following preparations that have lasted for four months, the report said.

It said, after “precise” operation, the armed men were secured after leaving the al-Tanf area and reaching Palmyra.

TEHRAN, Apr 18 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran and Qatar on Friday, agreed to increase energy cooperation despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Iranian state TV reported.

In a video conference, Iranian Energy Minister, Reza Ardakanian and Qatari Minister of Commerce and Industry, Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, discussed joint investments in energy projects.

The meeting had originally been planned for early Apr, in Iran’s central city of Isfahan, but was delayed because of the COVID-19 epidemic.

RIYADH, Apr 18 (NNN-WAM) – The Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and President of the Council of Senior Scholars and General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Al-Sheikh, stated that, if it is impossible to perform Taraweh and Eid prayers in the mosques, because of the precautionary measures taken by the Saudi competent authorities, to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, then people will pray at their homes.

DUBAI (Reuters) - The Iranian armed forces have acquired three bomb-carrying drones with a range of 1,500 kilometers (932 miles), Defense Minister Amir Hatami said on state television on Saturday.

The drones could monitor “enemy movements from a considerable distance” and were capable of combat missions, he said at the delivery ceremony in Tehran broadcast on TV.

The aircraft were equipped with bombs and missiles, and they can fly at an altitude of up to 45,000 feet (13,716 meters), he said, without indicating the name of the new drones.

CAIRO, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Iran said on Friday that it is closer to the containment of the COVID-19 outbreak in most of the country. Meanwhile, Turkey is poised to overtake Iran as the hardest-hit country in the Middle East due to rapid growth of new cases.

Iran on Friday reported 1,499 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 79,494, including 4,958 deaths.

Iranian Minister of Health and Medical Education Saeed Namaki said that the Islamic republic is closer to containing the pandemic in most of its provinces.