Middle East & North Africa

ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has congratulated the people and government of South Sudan on the successful formation of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) on Saturday.

The South Sudan agreement known as the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) was signed on Sept. 12, 2018, and the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGONU) was scheduled to be formed on Feb. 22, 2020.

ANKARA, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday evening said the Turkish military had "martyrs" in Libya, while Turkish-backed forces killed 100 "rival fighters" in the country.

"Of course we have a few martyrs," Erdogan said speaking in western Izmir province.

But in return, Turkey have "neutralized" close to 100 rival members there, he said, referring to the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar against the internationally recognized government based in Tripoli.

CAIRO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian court acquitted on Saturday Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, the sons of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Hosni Mubarak, in a corruption case, state-run Ahram Online news website reported.

According to Ahram Online, the Cairo Criminal Court acquitted Alaa and Gamal, and others, in the case known in the media as "manipulating the stock exchange."

The defendants faced charges of violating the rules of Egypt's stock exchange market and the Central Bank of Egypt.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Officials in Iran haven’t announced the voter turnout from parliamentary elections two days ago, but on Sunday the country’s supreme leader accused enemy “propaganda” of trying to dissuade people from voting by amplifying the threat of the coronavirus.

A low turnout could signal widespread dissatisfaction with Iran’s clerical rulers and the system they preside over. Iranian officials usually release turnout figures a day after elections.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Seven people were killed in Turkey in a magnitude 5.7 earthquake that struck western Iran early Sunday morning, Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu said.

The quake centered on the Iranian city of Khoy and affected villages in the Turkish province of Van.

Soylu told a news conference in Ankara that three children and four adults were killed in Turkey’s Baskule district. Five injured people had been taken to hospital while others remained trapped under the debris of fallen buildings, he added.

DAMASCUS, Feb 23 (NNN-SANA) – As many as 2,700 Turkish military vehicles have been sent into Syria, over the past 19 days, as part of the Turkish tactic, to send military equipment to Idlib province, in northwestern Syria and the northern province of Aleppo.

A Turkish convoy of 80 vehicles entered Idlib on Saturday alone, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Additionally, over 7,400 Turkish soldiers have been deployed in Idlib and Aleppo, in the same period, said the Observatory.

CAIRO, Feb 23 (NNN-MENA) – An Egyptian court acquitted Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, sons of ousted Egyptian president, Mohamed Hosni Mubarak, in a corruption case, state-run Ahram Online news website reported.

According to Ahram Online, the Cairo Criminal Court acquitted Alaa and Gamal, and others, in the case known in the media as “manipulating the stock exchange.”

The defendants faced charges of violating the rules of Egypt’s stock exchange market and the Central Bank of Egypt.

HADRAMAUT, Feb 23 (NNN-WAM) – The UAE, through its humanitarian arm, the Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, continued dispatching new food convoys to Arrayda and Qusay’ir districts, in Hadramaut Governorate, as part of its humanitarian response programme, to ease the suffering of Yemeni families and bringing life back to normalcy.

The ERC distributed 700 food parcels weighing more 56.5 tonnes to 3,500 people, who are members of poor and needy families, in addition to more than 24.2 tonnes to 1,500 people in Qusay’ir district.

(AP) --- Yemen’s Houthi rebels have blocked half of the United Nations’ aid delivery programs in the war-torn country — a strong-arm tactic to force the agency to give them greater control over the massive humanitarian campaign, along with a cut of billions of dollars in foreign assistance, according to aid officials and internal documents obtained by The Associated Press.

22 Feb 2020; MEMO: The world’s largest oil producer, Saudi Aramco, is set to gain unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $69 billion buy of a 70% stake in petrochemicals group Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), people familiar with the matter said to Reuters on Friday.