Middle East & North Africa

JERUSALEM, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of world leaders gathered on Thursday in Jerusalem to commemorate 75 years for the liberation of the Auschwitz camp and called on to combat the resurgence of modern-day anti-Semitism.

More than 40 royalties, presidents, and prime ministers took part in the 5th World Holocaust Forum, held this year in Jerusalem.

The gathering culminated in a ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, where the leaders made speeches pledging to remember the Holocaust and to take measures against the rising of anti-Semitism.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Thousands of supporters of an influential, radical Shiite cleric gathered Friday in central Baghdad for a rally to demand that American troops leave the country amid heightened anti-US sentiment after a drone strike ordered by Washington earlier this month killed a top Iranian general in the Iraqi capital.

Since mid-morning on the Muslim day of prayers, loudspeakers blasted “No, no America!” at a central square in the Iraqi capital. A child held up a poster reading, “Death to America. Death to Israel.”

JERUSALEM (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he’ll likely release his long-awaited Mideast peace plan before his meeting early next week at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main political rival Benny Gantz.

“It’s a great plan. It’s a plan that really would work,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One en route to a Republican Party meeting in Florida.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Cybersecurity experts said Thursday there were still many unanswered questions from an investigation commissioned by Jeff Bezos that concluded the billionaire’s cell phone was hacked, apparently after receiving a video file with malicious spyware from the WhatsApp account of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince.

The experts said the evidence in the privately commissioned report does not show with certainty that Bezos’ phone was actually hacked, much less how it was compromised or what kind of malware was used.

TEL AVIV, January 23. /TASS/: Israel has informed Russia that it had begun the legal process of handing over the Alexander Courtyard in Jerusalem’s Old City to the Russian Orthodox Church, Environmental Protection Minister Zeev Elkin, who is also a co-chair of the Russian-Israeli Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, told TASS.

CAIRO, January 23. /TASS/: The Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar announced that the Mitiga International Airport in the Libyan capital was closed for both military and civilian aircraft and vowed that any aircraft trying to use it will be downed.

LNA spokesman, Gen. Ahmed Al-Mismari said during a press conference that the army has been putting into practice its plane to introduce a no-fly zone from the city of Garyan in the country’s northwest to the Tripoli coast, including the airport and the nearby airbase.

JERUSALEM, January 23. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin said at his meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin that Moscow appreciates Israel’s efforts on preserving the memory about World War II.

"For me, my colleagues it is very important today to be in Israel. We see your efforts, the efforts of the entire Israeli leadership on preserving the memory about tragic events of World War II," Putin said.

23 Jan 2019; MEMO: Forces loyal to Libya’s renegade commander Khalifa Haftar Wednesday declared Libya’s capital of Tripoli and its surrounding areas as a “no-fly zone” and threatened to hit civilian planes, Anadolu reports.

23 Jan 2019; MEMO: A report issued by the Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, revealed on Tuesday that the army of eastern Libya, led by Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar, carried out 850 airstrikes with drones, in addition to 170 jet strikes, including 60 precision-guided raids by foreign fighter aircrafts.

23 Jan 2019; MEMO: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he did not consider the brain injuries suffered by 11 US service members in Iran’s recent attack on a base in Iraq to be serious, as the American military moved more troops out of the region for potential injuries, Reuters reports.