Middle East & North Africa

31 July 2019; MEMO: The Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, said on Tuesday that a new body has been formed to deal with the suspension of deals signed with Israel, Quds Press has reported.

Speaking at the annual conference of the International Meeting of the Communist and Workers’ Parties held in Ramallah, Shtayyeh said that the PA leadership took this decision due to Israel’s violation of all deals signed with the PLO.

RAMALLAH, July 30 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday signed an agreement with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to contribute 1 million U.S. dollars to the UN agency's food program in the Gaza Strip.

The deal was signed between Guo Wei, director of the China's Office to the State of Palestine, and Marc Lassouaoui, a senior official of the UNRWA.

TRIPOLI, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Ministry of Transport of the UN-backed Libyan government on Tuesday denied the remarks of UN Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame about the military use of M'etiga international airport in the capital Tripoli.

"Ministry of Transport is surprised about the remarks of the UN Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame during a UN Security Council session regarding the use of the Government of National Accord to M'etiga international airport for military purposes," the ministry said in a statement.

31 July 2019; MEMO: An Iranian military delegation arrived at Tehran on Tuesday to discuss border issues between the two countries, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

The meeting takes place six years after the last visit, despite the ongoing tensions between the two countries, exacerbated by the crisis of carriers in the Persian Gulf.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has dismissed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s offer to visit and address the Iranian people as a “hypocritical gesture.”

“You don’t need to come to Iran,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, in remarks directed at Pompeo. He suggested Pompeo instead grant visas for Iranian reporters to travel to the U.S. and interview him, accusing him of having rejected their requests.

On Monday, Pompeo tweeted: “We aren’t afraid of (Zarif) coming to America where he enjoys the right to speak freely.”

SANAA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition launched a series of airstrikes on a military camp held by Houthi rebels in the Yemeni capital Sanaa late on Monday, residents and Houthi-run media said.

The attack targeted al-Sawad military camp in the southeast of Sanaa.

Windows of sveral houses in the residential neighbourhoods surrounding the camp were partly smashed during the airstrikes, according to the residents.

There was no immediate comment from the coalition, and there were no Houthi reports of casualties from the airstrikes.

ANKARA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The pressure on Turkish economy over its purchase of the Russian S-400 defense system is "minimized," Turkish Finance and Treasury Minister Berat Albayrak said Tuesday.

Statements from the U.S. officials and talks between Ankara and Washington "display more positive process" with regards to possible U.S. sanctions on Turkey, Albayrak told reporters.

The possible impact of the S-400 crisis with the U.S. government on Turkish economy "is much lower," he noted.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Taha Shakouri keeps finding remote corners to play in at a Tehran children’s charity hospital, unaware that his doctors are running out of chemo medicine needed to treat the eight-year-old boy’s liver cancer.

ANKARA, Turkey, July 30 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Turkey will have to set up a safe zone in northern Syria on its own, if no agreement is reached with the United States, Turkish Defence Minister, Hulusi Akar, told his U.S. counterpart.

According to a statement, released by Turkey’s Defence Ministry, Akar discussed the issue of the Syrian safe zone, with U.S. new Defence Secretary, Mark Esper.

30 July 2019; MEMO: Airstrikes killed more than 10 civilians including children in a market in Yemen’s northern Saada province on Monday, a medical source and Houthi-run media reported, says Reuters.

The manager of the local Al Jomhouri hospital said 13 people were killed and 23 injured in airstrikes in Qatabir district by a Saudi-led coalition battling the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen. Al Masirah TV said more than 10 civilians were killed.