Middle East & North Africa

BEIRUT, Jan 14 (NNN-NNA) – Five people were injured on Monday, in clashes between protesters and the Lebanese army, during demonstrations in the southern city of Sidon.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in different areas of the country, including the capital Beirut and Tripoli, to insist on their demands “which were totally neglected by the political ruling class.”

People blocked roads while chanting slogans against politicians and the central bank, holding them responsible for the financial and economic deterioration in the country.

ANKARA, Jan 14 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Negotiations between Libya’s warring leaders in Moscow, are going positively, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Monday.

“We are trying to make the cease-fire in Libya permanent,” Erdogan said, at a press conference in Ankara, with visiting Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte.

Erdogan noted that, he will attend a meeting in Berlin on Jan 19, to discuss Libya’s peace process, along with Conte and Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

RAMALLAH, Palestine, Jan 14 (NNN-WAFA) – A senior Palestinian official, accused Israel of hindering the construction of industrial zones in the West Bank, through land confiscation, aimed at settlement expansion.

Israeli authorities are putting obstacles in the way of establishing the “Tarqumia industrial zone,” in the south of the West Bank, Palestinian Minister of Economy, Khaled al-Osaily, said.

The Palestinian government is pressing ahead with its plan for economic disengagement from Israel, by building several industrial zones throughout the West Bank.

ANKARA, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Negotiations between Libya's warring leaders in Moscow are going positively, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday.

"We are trying to make the cease-fire in Libya permanent," Erdogan said at a press conference in Ankara with visiting Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

Erdogan noted that he will attend a meeting in Berlin on Jan. 19 to discuss Libya's peace process, along with Conte and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We have supported the Berlin process in a constructive way and continue to support it," he stated.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Young Iraqis who drove mass protests demanding sweeping political reforms are worried that the conflict between the U.S. and Iran, which is playing out in part on Iraqi soil, is killing their momentum.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Popular anger swelled Monday in Iran over the accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian jetliner and the government’s attempt to conceal its role in the tragedy, as online videos appeared to show security forces firing live ammunition and tear gas to disperse protests in the streets.

AIN AL-ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AP) — American troops were informed of an impending missile barrage hours before their air base in Iraq was struck by Iran, U.S. military officials said Monday, days after the attack that marked a major escalation between the longtime foes.

13 Jan 2019; MEMO: American reports have revealed that intelligence from Israel helped confirm information that led to the killing of the Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, NBC News revealed on Friday.

13 Jan 2019; MEMO: The Labor-Gesher and Meretz parties announced today that they will merge and run on a joint slate in the Israeli elections scheduled for 2 March, reported the Times of Israel.

In a statement confirming the “significant” move, Labor leader Amir Peretz and Meretz head Nitzan Horowitz said the merger “will ensure the ability to form a government of change and hope”.

13 Jan 2019; MEMO: An Israeli military court has ordered the state to compensate five Palestinians whose plant nurseries were destroyed by the army almost 20 years ago, reported Haaretz.