Middle East & North Africa

BAGHDAD, Apr 9 (NNN-NINA) – The Iraqi Kurdish and some Sunni political blocs, on Wednesday, pushed to support the nomination of intelligence chief, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, to replace the current Prime Minister-designate, Adnan al-Zurfi, to form a new government.

The Iraqi Forces Coalition, a major Sunni political bloc, headed by Parliament Speaker, Mohammed al-Halbousi, announced in a statement its support to nominate al-Kadhimi to be the prime minister-designate.

BEIRUT, Apr 9 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, said that, Lebanon will not accept that the United Nations remains silent, on repeated Israeli violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty.

“The United Nations should expose this behaviour publicly by all means,” Diab said, during his meeting with Stefano Del Col, head of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), at the Grand Serail.

Diab insisted that the exchange of messages about these violations was not sufficient to put an end to Israel’s violations.

JERUSALEM, Apr 9 (NNN-MA’AN) – Israel on Wednesday reported two new deaths from COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 73.

The two victims included a 90-year-old woman and a 63-year-old man, both suffering from other serious diseases, the Shaare Zedek and Soroka medical centres said.

Of 9,404 patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Israel, 738 patients were treated in hospitals across the country, according to Israel’s Ministry of Health.

A total of 145 patients were in serious condition, of whom 120 were using ventilators, it said.

CAIRO (AP) — The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen announced Wednesday that its forces would begin a cease-fire starting Thursday, a step that could pave the way for the first direct peace talks between the two sides that have been at war for more than five years.

08 April 2020; MEMO: Al-Quds University in the Palestinian city of Jerusalem has succeeded in constructing a fully-computerised and low-cost medical ventilator to be used for patients infected with the coronavirus.

08 April 2020; MEMO: Around 73,000 Syrians have returned to the Syrian governorate of Idlib following the ceasefire agreement reached between Turkey and Russia in early March.

The Director of the Syrian Response Coordinators, Muhammad Hallaj, said that some of the displaced civilians returned to their homes immediately after the Syrian regime and its allies stopped their military operations in the area.

08 April 2020; MEMO: More than 600 Iranians have died from the consumption of high-concentrated alcohol believing it protects against the coronavirus.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted a spokesperson for the Iranian judiciary, Ghulam Hussein Ismaili, as saying that the number of deaths due to drinking neat alcohol had reached a disturbing figure, adding that more than 3,000 people had been poisoned after drinking toxic beverages in an effort to treat the disease.

TASS, April 8: Iran has welcomed the initiative put forward by Russia to create a ‘green corridor’ to replace economic sanctions imposed on certain states, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Wednesday via Twitter in Russian.

Iran welcomes the Russian idea to "create a green corridor instead of economic war and sanctions," he stressed. The minister noted, "various countries shut down their geographical borders to curb coronavirus spread but open them to provide assistance."

ANKARA, April 8. /TASS/: Russian and Turkish troops have conducted the third joint patrol in Syria’s Idlib, Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday.

"The third joint patrol with Russia in Idlib was conducted today. Patrols will continue," Anadolu Agency quotes him as saying.

The first joint Russian-Turkish patrol of the M4 highway section in the Idlib de-escalation zone took place on March 15.

SARAQIB, Syria, Apr 8 (NNN-SANA) – The Syrian Army discovered a large cache with militants’ ammunition, in the area of ​​the village of Khan al-Sabil, in Idlib Province.

The village is located next to the M5 highway, connecting Damascus and Aleppo.