Middle East & North Africa

ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Forces of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) managed on Saturday to seize Yemen's presidential palace following four days of intense fighting in the southern port city of Aden, a security official told Xinhua.

The local official, who asked to remain anonymous, said that "heavy armed forces of the STC entered the presidential palace in Aden's neighborhood of Crater without armed confrontations and fully captured the area."

10 Aug 2019; MEMO: Palestinian MP Jamal Al-Khodari said that direct losses to Gaza’s economy are estimated at $70 million every month due to the strict Israeli siege and aggravating crisis of public servants’ salaries.

BENGHZI, Libya (AP) — A bomb-laden vehicle exploded Saturday outside a shopping mall in Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi, killing at least three U.N. staff members, a spokesman for the United Nations secretary-general said. The attack came even as the country’s warring sides said they accepted a cease-fire proposed by the U.N. aimed at halting combat in the capital Tripoli during an upcoming Muslim holiday.

10 August 2019; DW: The Israeli military says it has killed four Palestinian "terrorists" after its soldiers came under attack near the Gaza border fence. Deadly clashes in the border area are a frequent occurrence.

Israeli soldiers shot dead four Palestinian militants on Saturday on the border to the Gaza Strip after one of the men attacked them with a hand grenade, the Israeli military said.

10 Aug 2019; MEMO: Egyptian mother Umm Zubeida has questioned why she is being held in prison for simply searching for her daughter who went missing.

In a statement released by We record, an international human rights platform, Umm Zubeida said: “Why am I being punished for searching for my daughter?! Why were my release papers torn apart after they had been approved?!”

10 Aug 2019; MEMO: Canadian Kristian Lee Baxter, detained while travelling in Syria last year, was freed on Friday, the second Westerner released by the Syrian government in two weeks with help from neighbouring Lebanon, reports Reuters.

Baxter broke down in tears at a news conference in Beirut after arriving in the Lebanese capital from Syria, saying he thought he would be held forever.

10 Aug 2019; MEMO: The economic agreements signed between Kuwait and Iraq have recently raised concerns among Iraqi experts, who warned against “political courtesy” at the expense of the country’s interests in relation to the proposed free trade zone on the border between the Iraqi city of Basra and Kuwait.

10 Aug 2019; MEMO: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abbas Mousavi yesterday stressed that any Israeli role in a maritime alliance in the Gulf is a “clear threat” to Iran’s national security, stressing that Iran has the right to counter it, according to a statement posted on the ministry’s website.

10 Aug 2019; MEMO: The Syria peace corridor agreed by Ankara and Washington is a security issue of crucial importance for Turkey, said Turkish foreign minister on Friday, reports Anadolu Agency.

Mevlut Cavusoglu’s remarks came at a lunch gathering with businessmen, members of some NGOs and students in northern Samsun province, where he attended the last day of 11th Ambassadors’ Meeting.

10 Aug 2019; MEMO: The number of candidacies for the Tunisian presidential elections yesterday reached 69, just hours before the closure of submissions at the headquarters of the Independent High Authority for Elections.