Middle East & North Africa

TUNIS, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Arab leaders strongly rejected the U.S. decision to recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli territory at the 30th Arab League (AL) summit in the Tunisian capital Tunis on Sunday.

They said in a statement that Arab states would submit a draft resolution to the UN Security Council and seek an opinion from the International Court of Justice "on the illegality and invalidity of the American recognition," according to a Reuters report.

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Pope Francis praised Morocco as a model of religious moderation and migrant welcome as he kicked off a trip to the kingdom Saturday, warning that border walls and fear-mongering won’t stop people from exercising their rights to seek a better life elsewhere.

King Mohamed VI welcomed Francis as he arrived during an unusual rainstorm and began a visit aimed at boosting Christian-Muslim ties and showing solidarity with Morocco’s growing migrant community.

ISTANBUL (AP) — Voters in Turkey began casting ballots in Sunday’s municipal elections, which are seen as a barometer of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s popularity amid a sharp economic downturn in the nation that straddles Europe and Asia.

BEIRUT, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Khaled Hanafy, secretary general of the Union of Arab Chambers, said Saturday that China's trade with the Arab world will exceed 300 billion U.S. dollars before 2025.

"China is the world's second biggest economy after the United States and it is considered a good partner by Arab countries who wish to diversify export sources and attract Asian investments," Hanafy said during the China Lebanon Investment Forum.

He added that Chinese products are also popular in the Arab world, including Morocco and Tunisia.

GAZA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- At least four Palestinians were killed and 316 injured on Saturday during day-long clashes with Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel, medics said.

Gaza's health ministry said in a statement that Bilal al-Najjar, 17, was critically wounded earlier on Saturday and succumbed to his sustained wounds later at night.

Al-Najjar joined the protests and rallies in the east of Kahn Younis town, close to the border with Israel in southern Gaza Strip.

CAIRO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian court sentenced on Saturday 30 defendants up to 25 years in prisons over terrorist charges and affiliation with the Islamic State (IS) militant group, official MENA news agency reported.

Cairo Criminal Court sentenced 18 defendants to 25 years, eight to 15 years and four others to 10 years for being convicted of joining the IS, possessing explosives and attempting to blow up a church in the seaside province of Alexandria.

MOSCOW, March 29. /TASS/. French and Belgian special services are preparing a chemical provocation in Syria in order to accuse Russia’s Aerospace Forces of strikes on civilians, the head of the Russian reconciliation center in Syria, Maj. Gen. Viktor Kupchishin, told reporters on Friday.

GAZA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Israeli army tanks stationed on the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel struck on Friday night two military posts of the Islamic Hamas movement in southern and northern Gaza Strip, causing no injuries, according to local media reports.

The Gaza-based Al-Quds Radio reported that the Israeli army tanks fired a tank shell at a lookout post that belongs to Hamas militants east of central Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel.

TRIPOLI, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Libyan authorities on Friday said they rescued 117 illegal immigrants off the coast of the western city of Al-Khoms, some 120 km east of the capital Tripoli.

"Coast guards patrol rescued 117 immigrants of different African nationalities on a rubber boat," the Libyan coast and seaport security said in a statement.

The rescued immigrants include 84 men, 15 women and 18 children, the statement said.

GAZA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- In the Palestinian Gaza Strip, wedding plans of a Palestinian couple were torn apart after an Israeli airstrike destroyed the residential building that housed their future "nest."

The financial conditions of 26-year-old Walid al-Shawa, a taxi driver from Gaza city, are so difficult and cannot help him rent an apartment ahead of his wedding. That is why he rented a room at his sister's apartment, who lives in a residential building of several floors in Gaza City.