Middle East & North Africa

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranians called on social media on Wednesday for fresh demonstrations a week after the shooting down of a passenger plane, seeking to turn the aftermath of the crash into a sustained campaign against Iran’s leadership.

Protesters, with students at the forefront, have staged daily rallies in Tehran and other cities since Saturday, when after days of denials the authorities admitted bringing down a Ukrainian plane last week, killing all 176 aboard.

DAMASCUS, Jan 15 (NNN-SANA) – Israel launched airstrikes on the T-4 air base, in the central Syrian province of Homs, on Tuesday, but causing no major damages.

The Israeli warplanes fired several missiles on the base, most of which were intercepted by the Syrian air defence forces. Four missiles hit the base, the Syrian army said.

The attack was carried out from the direction of the al-Tanf area, in southeastern Syria, where a U.S. base is located, the statement added.

TEHRAN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the move by Britain, France and Germany (E3) to trigger dispute resolution mechanism in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran is "legally baseless," Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday.

Zarif criticized what he called the Europeans' failure to honor their commitments to pertaining to the Iranian nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

BEIRUT, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Protesters vowed on Tuesday to escalate their demonstrations if the newly appointed prime minister Hassan Diab fails to form a cabinet of independent ministers within 48 hours, MTV local TV Channel reported.

The protesters organized a march from Beirut's downtown to the house of Diab to voice their demands.

They vowed to force the prime minister to resign if the new cabinet is not formed within 48 hours.

14 Jan 2019; MEMO: On Monday a Jordanian court sentenced an Israeli, who illegally entered Jordan, to four months in prison and fined him 1,000 Jordanian Dinars ($1,450), Petra, the Jordanian official news agency, reported.

14 Jan 2019; MEMO: In an interview with France24 broadcast yesterday, Jordanian King Abdullah II has said that dialogue with Israel had been “on pause” for two years.

14 Jan 2019; MEMO: A detainee inside Egypt’s notorious Scorpion prison has attempted suicide due to the severe torture he endured and the harsh detention conditions, a leaked letter from inside the prison revealed.

Al Jazeera news channel reported the letter as saying that detainee, Ahmad Abdullah Dabaan, was taken to hospital for treatment before being returned to prison despite his critical condition, because the prison administration was afraid that the suicide attempt would be made public.

14 Jan 2019; MEMO: Three of the most prominent international human rights organisations decided on Monday to boycott a series of meetings for civil society organisations, scheduled to take place in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, as part of the G20 summit.

Ankara, Jan 14 (AP) Turkish authorities on Tuesday detained 115 soldiers suspected of links to the U.S.-based Muslim cleric blamed by Turkey for a failed coup attempt in 2016, the state-run news agency reported.

Anadolu Agency says the 115 are among a total of 176 soldiers that prosecutors ordered detained as part of an ongoing investigation into cleric Fethullah Gulen's network.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran will punish all those responsible for the accidental shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane, President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech on Tuesday, adding that the “tragic event” would be investigated thoroughly.

“It was an unforgivable error ... one person cannot be solely responsible for the plane crash,” he said.