Middle East & North Africa

TUNIS, Jan 2 (NNN-TAP) – Tunisian Prime Minister-designate, Habib Jemli, said on Wednesday that, he had offered the lineup of his new government to President Kais Saied.

“The names of the government ministers will be announced to the public on Thursday (today),” Jemli said, during a press conference in the capital city of Tunis.

The government will be submitted to parliament for a vote of confidence. It has to obtain a majority of 109 out of a total of 217 possible votes.

CAIRO (AP) — Two Sudanese sisters, Seham and Ekhlas Bashir, were walking their children home from elementary school in a Cairo neighborhood when a group of Egyptian teenagers crowded around them. The boys taunted them, calling them “slave” and other slurs. Then they tried to rip off Ekhlas’ clothes.

An onlooker intervened, scolding the young harassers, and the sisters and their three children managed to escape. But they were shaken.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday he would seek immunity from corruption charges, likely delaying any trial until after March elections, when he hopes to have a majority coalition that will shield him from prosecution.

Netanyahu was indicted in November on charges of accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust. After failing to assemble a governing majority following back-to-back elections last year, he will get a third shot at remaining in office in March.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iran-backed militiamen withdrew from the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Wednesday after two days of clashes with American security forces, but U.S.-Iran tensions remain high and could spill over into further violence.

The withdrawal followed calls from the government and senior militia leaders. It ended a two-day crisis marked by the breach of the largest and one of the most heavily fortified U.S. diplomatic missions in the world.

01 Jan 2019; MEMO: A squabble broke out between supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud rival Gideon Sa’ar during an event to light the eighth and final candle of the Hanukkah menorah, the Shehab News Agency reported on Sunday.

01 Jan 2019; MEMO: It was reported yesterday that a spy drone belonging to the Saudi-led coalition was shot down by the Yemen armed forces allied with the Houthi movement, the third such vessel shot down in less than 24 hours, according to the Houthi run Al-Masirah.

01 Jan 2019; MEMO: Iran denied it was behind violent protests at the US embassy in Iraq yesterday and warned against any retaliation, after President Donald Trump blamed Tehran for an attack on the mission and said it would be held responsible, reported Reuters.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei strongly condemned U.S. attacks on Iran-allied militia group in Iraq, Iranian state TV reported on Wednesday, blaming the United States for the violence in the neighbouring country.

“The Iranian government, nation and I strongly condemn the attacks,” state TV quoted Khamenei as saying.

The U.S. military carried out air strikes on Sunday against the Kataib Hezbollah militia in response to the killing of a U.S. civilian contractor in a Friday rocket attack on an Iraqi military base.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Paramilitary groups who have been protesting against U.S. airstrikes in Iraq told their supporters to withdraw from the perimeter of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Wednesday, although there was no immediate sign of a pullout.

The embassy’s outer perimeter was stormed on Tuesday by demonstrators angry at U.S. airstrikes against an Iran-backed group that killed at least 25 fighters. On Wednesday demonstrators hurled rocks at the building while security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades in an attempt to disperse them.

TUNIS, Jan 1 (NNN-TAP) – China signed an agreement with Tunisia, to donate materials and equipment to Tunisian establishments, operating for the country’s children.

The agreement was signed at an official ceremony in Tunisia’s capital, Tunis, by Tunisian Minister of Women, Family, Children and the Elderly Affairs, Naziha Laabidi and Chinese Ambassador to Tunisia, Wang Wenbin, in the presence of Lila Peters, representative of UNICEF in Tunisia.

The Chinese donation will strengthen and develop the information system of early childhood centres in Tunisia.