Middle East & North Africa

ANKARA, February 11. /TASS/: Militants of the so-called Syrian armed opposition have shot down a helicopter belonging to the Syrian forces, TRT television reported on Tuesday.

According to Turkiye newspaper, the helicopter was shot down near Saraqib, a city in northwestern Syria’s Idlib Governorate.

Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense reported on Monday that Turkey had attacked 115 targets of the Syrian army in response to the previous attacks on its military in the Idlib Governorate. Three tanks, two artillery positions and one helicopter were destroyed, it stated.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Security forces fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters in Beirut on Tuesday as the Lebanese parliament convened to hold a vote of confidence on the new government led by Prime Minister Hassan Diab.

MPs are set to vote on the government’s policy statement which says “painful steps” are needed to address a financial crisis that has weakened the currency and pushed banks to severely curb access to deposits.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday the Syrian government will pay a “very heavy price” for attacking Turkish troops in northwest Syria’s Idlib region, where 13 soldiers have been killed in just over a week, prompting a retaliation.

“We gave the necessary responses to the Syrian side at the highest level. Especially in Idlib, they got what they deserved. But this is not enough, it will continue,” he said in a speech, adding he would announce on Wednesday a detailed plan on how to handle developments in Idlib.

DAMASCUS, Feb 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russian air strikes killed at least five civilians in the last major opposition bastion in northwestern Syria bringing the death toll to 25 in less than 24 hours, a monitor said.

The early Monday morning raids hit a populous village in Aleppo province where battles between Russia-backed government forces and their opponents have raged for weeks, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The victims include at least one child and a number of internally displaced Syrians, the Britain-based monitor said.

BAGHDAD, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- At a villa in an upscale neighborhood in central Baghdad, an old Iraqi female novelist was anxious to offer an initiative aimed at boosting the cultural movement in Iraq after decades of wars in the war-shattered country.

Safira Jamil Hafiz, 89, took advantage of the quiet location of her villa in Karrada neighborhood and devoted the upstairs of her two-story building to be a public library for book readers, including student, to enjoy reading without noise.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey said it retaliated Monday after “intense” shelling by Syrian forces killed five of its soldiers and wounded five others in Syria’s northern Idlib province, a marked escalation a week after a similarly deadly clash between the two sides.

The exchange of fire came as a Russian delegation held a second round of talks in the Turkish capital of Ankara to discuss the fighting in Idlib province, which has uprooted more than a half-million people in the past two months. No statement was issued at the end of the talks.

10 Feb 2020; MEMO: Israeli police arrested Rabbi Eliezer Berland in Jerusalem on Sunday on charges of involvement in magic, sex offences, money laundering, misuse of charity funds and tax evasion, Israeli media reported.

Along with his wife and a number of the senior members of his ultra-orthodox sect, Berland, 82, was arrested amidst protests by his followers.

10 Feb 2020; MEMO: The Syrian crisis has so far cost Lebanon $25 billion, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said.

In an interview with French Valeurs actuelles magazine, the Lebanese president said the Syrian crisis has had major repercussions on his country.

KUWAIT, Feb 10 (NNN-XINHUA) – Kuwait launched, on Sunday, the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Festival, to promote scientific awareness in Kuwait.

At the opening ceremony, Salam Al-Ablani, scientific culture director, of the Kuwaiti Foundation for Advancement of Science (KFAS), said that, the festival aims at boosting the scientific culture in smart industries, and aiding the youth develop their skills, in line with Kuwait’s future aspirations.

RABAT, Feb 10 (NNN-MAP) – Thousands of Moroccans, on Sunday, marched in the capital Rabat, to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people and their rejection of the recently released U.S. peace plan for the Middle East.

Protesters chanted, while carrying pro-Palestinian placards, with words such as: “No Trump’s Deal of the Century,” “Full solidarity with the Palestinian people,” “Free Palestine.”

Carrying Palestinian flags and big placards, the protesters marched for hours.