Middle East & North Africa

07 Feb 2020; MEMO: Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri said on Wednesday that the owners of five large banks have transferred “personal money” amounting to $2.3 billion abroad.

Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper said the figure disclosed by Berri during a meeting of the Development and Liberation Bloc in parliament is close to the figure revealed by the Chairman of the Banking Control Commission of Lebanon (BCCL), Samir Hammoud, in his letter to the Attorney General, Ghassan Owaidat.

07 Feb 2020; MEMO: Leader of the Sudanese National Umma Party, Sadiq Al-Mahdi, renewed his party’s rejection of any kind of normalisation with Israel, stressing that the ideas that Tel Aviv can help lift US sanctions on Khartoum is a “big illusion”.

Al-Mahdi said in a press conference held at his party’s headquarters in the city of Omdurman: “We reject normalisation with Israel, as it is harmful to Arab, Muslim and Palestinian interests,” reported Sudanese website Ahdath Al-Yom.

07 Feb 2020; MEMO: Syrian regime jets targeted the Taftanaz military airport in Idlib on Thursday morning, just hours after the Turkish army set up a military base there.

A statement from the Foreign Ministry in Ankara made it clear that Turkey expects Russia to stop the Syrian regime’s attacks in Idlib. A Russian delegation will visit Turkey to discuss the situation in Idlib, it added; Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin will meet after that if it is deemed necessary.

BEIRUT, Feb 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Israeli air strikes killed 23 Syrian and foreign fighters in Syria Thursday, a monitor said, the latest in a spate of raids Israel has said targeted an Iranian presence on its doorstep.

Israel has pledged to prevent its main enemy from entrenching itself militarily in Syria, where it is backing President Bashar al-Assad’s government alongside Russia and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

BAGHDAD, Feb 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least five people have been killed and dozens of others wounded in clashes between anti-government protesters and supporters of Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr in southern Iraq.

The violence broke out on Wednesday at a protest camp in the holy city of Najaf after al-Sadr’s supporters attempted to forcibly remove demonstrators from the site, where they were holding a sit-in.

JERUSALEM, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Israeli border police officers shot dead a Palestinian gunman after he shot and wounded an Israeli policeman in Jerusalem on Thursday, Israeli authorities said.

According to the police, the suspect opened fire at a patrol of Border Police officers near the Lions' Gate in east Jerusalem's Old City, slightly injuring an officer in his hand. "Other officers quickly responded with fire at the assailant and neutralized him," read the statement.

A later statement said he was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity was not immediately clear.

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian government troops entered a strategic town in the country’s last rebel stronghold Thursday after fierce clashes with opposition fighters, even as Turkey sent reinforcements seeking to curtail the offensive, Syrian state media reported.

06 Feb 2020; MEMO: Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways has decided to sell 38 aircrafts for $1 billion in a bid to reduce losses incurred by the national carrier.

The company said in a statement on Tuesday that the aircrafts include 16 Boeing 777-300ERs and 22 Airbus A330s which have been sold to KKR investment firm and commercial aviation finance company Altavair AirFinance.

06 Feb 2020; MEMO: Libyan Government Forces said on yesterday that militias affiliate with renegade General Khalifa Haftar had struck the University of Tripoli, Anadolu reported.

“In a new and dangerous violation of the ceasefire, an arbitrary projectile landed near the faculties of agriculture and pharmacy in the University of Tripoli,” a statement issued by the media centre of “Operation Volcano of Rage” said.

06 Feb 2020; MEMO: Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune yesterday issued a presidential amnesty for 3,471 prisoners.

The Algerian presidency said in a statement that Tebboune signed a presidential decree that included amnesty measures in favour of the first batch of 3,471 prisoners, who have been imprisoned for a period equal to or less than six months.