Middle East & North Africa

CAIRO, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian governor has decreed that images of Disney figures on the walls of kindergartens be removed, local media reported.

Alaa Abdul-Halim Mohammed Marzouk, governor of Egypt's Qalyubia, north of Cairo, said pictures of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck need to be replaced by images of famous Egyptians and military martyrs whom children will look up to as role models.

"These characters are U.S.-made, whereas we have our own noble figures who can deepen children's patriotism and love of country," he told local media.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s allegations against Tehran at the U.N. General Assembly as an “obscene charge,” the state-run IRNA news agency reported Friday.

The response came after Netanyahu on Thursday claimed at the General Assembly that Iran has a “secret atomic warehouse” on Tehran’s outskirts and challenged U.N. inspectors to examine it.

TEHRAN, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) - Iran's Foreign Ministry on Friday dismissed recent allegations by the Israeli prime minister over Tehran's nuclear program as "false and fabricated," according to the ministry's website.

"After the United States and Israel's failure to play out anti-Iran scenarios, these farcical claims and shows by the prime minister of the occupying regime (of Israel) were not unexpected," Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said.

CAIRO, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a meeting in New York for a comprehensive settlement for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as key to security and stability in the Middle East region, the Egyptian presidential spokesman said in a statement on Thursday.

By Amanpreet Singh

Doha, Sept 27 (PTI) Leading Qatari woman athlete Mariam Farid, who competes wearing a hijab, says she would never compromise on her identity but would not mind blending a bit of fashion with religion.

At a young age of 15, Mariam had played a significant role in Qatar winning the bid in November 2014 to host its first ever IAAF World Championships.

GAZA, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers killed one Palestinian and injured 50 others on the border between the northern Gaza Strip and Israel, the Gaza health ministry said.

In the first demonstration, a clutch of fishing boats sailed off the northern coast of the Gaza Strip until reaching the bordering area with Israel.

Israeli navy opened intensive gunfire at around 25 fishing boats to force their departure, with no injuries reported, local media said.

MOSCOW, September 24./TASS/. Within two weeks, the Syrian army will get from Russia S-300 air-defense missiles to strengthen its combat capabilities following the downing of a Russian Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft in Syria, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday.

"A modern S-300 air defense missile system will be supplied to the Syrian Armed Forces within two weeks. It is capable of intercepting air assault weapons at a distance of more than 250 kilometers and hit simultaneously several air targets," the minister said.

DAMASCUS, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-led coalition air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria has killed thousands of civilians since they entered the course of Syrian war four years ago, a war monitor reported on Sunday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll of civilians is part of a total of 12,000 rebels and ultra-radical militants killed by the U.S.-led strikes.

ALGIERS, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The 10th OPEC and non-OPEC Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) in Algiers wrapped up on Sunday by maintaining the current oil output level, amid calls from the U.S. to raise oil production in a bid to curb mounting prices.

In fact, OPEC and non-OPEC members in Algiers snubbed the calls of the U.S. President Donald Trump. A couple of days ago, Trump accused OPEC of monopolizing the oil market, and called the cartel to raise production in a bid to reduce prices.

By Aziz Aslan 

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey; 20 Sep 2018; AA: A Turkish lawyer on Thursday filed a criminal complaint against several Myanmar officials on charges of committing genocide against Rohingya Muslims and crimes against humanity in Myanmar's Rakhine State.  

Lawyer Hasan Bozdas submitted the complaint against 22 high-ranking officials of the southeast Asian nation to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, also accusing them of other crimes to be revealed after investigations.