Middle East & North Africa

09 Feb 2020; MEMO: Israel’s prime minister said his government has begun editing West Bank maps to include areas his country plans to annex, reports Anadolu Agency.  

The move comes after US President Donald Trump released a “deal” to end the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Benjamin Netanyahu said lands that will be part of Israel are at the mapping stage and sovereignty will be applied to all land covered by the map, according to daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

DAMASCUS, Feb 9 (NNN-SANA) – The Syrian government forces captured a strategic town in the south of Aleppo province in northern Syria on Saturday, a war monitor reported.

The army forces captured the town of al-Eis, one of the important areas in the army’s quest, to fully secure the Damascus-Aleppo highway, according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights.

TRIPOLI, Feb 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Libya’s rival parties are keen to maintain truce in and around the capital and expressed this attitude during the first round of talks of the Libyan 5+5 Joint Military Commission in Geneva, said the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), on Saturday.

“UNSMIL takes note of the existing consensus around the importance of maintaining the truce, that had been announced on Jan 12, of the necessity to respect it and refrain from violating it,” UNSMIL said in a statement.

TEHRAN, Feb 9 (NNN-IRNA) – Iranian Petroleum Ministry, awarded a deal worth 1.4 billion U.S. dollars, to an Iranian energy enterprise, to develop two oilfields located at the southeast of the country, state TV reported.

The deal was signed between Iranian Petroleum Ministry and MAPNA Group, which operates in the area of construction and development of thermal power plants, under EPC scheme, independent power plants (IPP), oil and gas, as well as, rail traction projects.

RAMALLAH, Palestine, Feb 9 (NNN-WAFA) – A senior Palestinian official stated that, the U.S. peace plan, also known as the “Deal of the Century,” includes 300 violations of international law.

Ahmad Majdalani, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Executive Committee, said that, President Mahmoud Abbas will present the violations next week, before the United Nations Security Council.

AMMAN, Feb 9 (NNN-PETRA) – The Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (APU), voiced its rejection of the U.S. Middle East peace plan, announced by U.S. President, Donald Trump.

The remarks were made during the 30th emergency session of the APU, which convened representatives of 20 Arab countries in Amman, capital of Jordan.

At the meeting, Jordan’s Lower House Speaker, Atef Tarawneh, said, the Palestinian issue is facing its most difficult conditions, especially as the Israeli occupation is protected by the biased U.S. government.

TEHRAN, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Petroleum Ministry on Saturday awarded a deal worth 1.4 billion U.S. dollars to an Iranian energy enterprise to develop two oilfields located at southeast of the country, state TV reported.

The deal was signed between Iranian Petroleum Ministry and MAPNA Group which operates in the area of construction and development of thermal power plants under EPC scheme, independent power plants (IPP), oil and gas as well as rail traction projects.

ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua)-- Around 239 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are suffering from hunger and malnutrition, a senior official of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Saturday.

ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Saturday called for intensified international efforts to deal with a locust outbreak that has affected large parts of the African continent.

"The UN has issued an urgent appeal for assistance. I ask the international community to respond with speed and generosity to ensure an effective response and control the infestation while we still have the chance," Guterres said on the sidelines of the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the AU in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian government forces captured new areas from insurgents in their efforts to control a key highway in the northwest Saturday, as Turkey sent more reinforcements into the war-torn country, state media and opposition activists said.

The weekslong government offensive has created a humanitarian crisis with about 600,000 people fleeing their homes in Syria’s last rebel stronghold since the beginning of December, according to the United Nations.