Middle East & North Africa

DAMASCUS, Jul 27 (NNN-SANA) – Fire crews yesterday battled numerous blazes, amid a heatwave and have controlled most of them, in Syria’s north-western province of Latakia, said officials.

Amer Ismail Hilal, governor of Latakia, said that, firefighters have been trying to control new blazes in the area for two days, as flames have burned large swathes of agricultural and forest areas in Latakia.

About 70 percent of regional fires were controlled, the Civil Defence Commander in Latakia told local media.

RAMALLAH, Jul 26 (NNN-WAFA) – The Palestinian leadership is making efforts to create a broad international front, to resume the peace process with Israel, which has been stalled since 2014, said a senior Palestinian official, yesterday.

The resumption of the stalled peace talks with Israel “should be based on implementing the international resolutions and the Arab peace initiative,” Majdi Al-Khaldi, a diplomatic advisor to Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, told the radio station, Voice of Palestine.

Tunisian President Kais Saied said on Tuesday that there is "no turning back" on the reform plan he adopted to improve the situation in Tunisia.

This came during a visit to a local neighbourhood in the capital, Tunis, on the 66th Republic Day.

"We are moving forward and not going backwards," Saied told bystanders.

BEIRUT, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on Wednesday reiterated its strong and determined rejection of the desecration of the Islamic holy book of Quran, said a statement released by the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon.

"Following the recent acts by individuals in Europe that have offended many Muslims, the EU reiterates its strong and determined rejection of any form of incitement to religious hatred and intolerance," the statement said.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli military fire killed a 14-year-old Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said Thursday, as an extremist Israeli Cabinet minister visited a sensitive Jerusalem mosque that has been a frequent flashpoint for violence between Israel and the Palestinians.

ANKARA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday in the Turkish capital Ankara, the semi-official Anadolu Agency reported.

The closed-door meeting came after Erdogan held talks with Abbas in Türkiye a day earlier.

Türkiye will continue to back the Palestinian cause and support the prosperity of Palestinians, Erdogan said at the press conference, urging the Palestinian factions to unite for their cause.

TEHRAN, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi on Wednesday met with the new Turkish Ambassador to Iran Hicabi Kirlangic in Tehran to discuss expanding cross-border cooperation, the official news agency IRNA reported.

During the meeting, Vahidi called for setting up a working group to develop relations between Iranian and Turkish border provinces, said the report.

The Iranian minister also called for enhancing bilateral cooperation in managing foreign nationals' affairs, fighting organized crimes, and countering arms trafficking.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran said Wednesday it gave new details to the United Nations about two sites near Tehran that inspectors say bore traces of manmade uranium, part of a wider probe as tensions remain high over the Islamic Republic’s advancing program.

25 July 2023; MEMO: The Iranian Ministry of Security said yesterday it had disbanded a major network allegedly sponsored by Israel's Mossad spy agency that planned to carry out several acts of sabotage in the country.

Iranian TV quoted the ministry as saying that all the cell members had been arrested with 43 bombs in their possession.

25 July 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia is plotting the takeover of the iconic Selfridges department store in London's Oxford Street in an effort to increase its international influence and boost the development of its economy, the Telegraph has revealed. Riyadh is said to have emerged as the private financial backer of a $5.1 billion purchase of the luxury store. If the deal is completed, the acquisition will seal the Kingdom's third high profile takeover of famous British brands.