Middle East & North Africa

09 Apr 2023; MEMO: Jordan late Saturday warned of "catastrophic" consequences of Israel's ongoing violation of the historical and legal status quo at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, Anadolu reports.

Recent Israeli acts violate the sanctity of the holy places and the right of Muslims to perform their religious rituals during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sinan Majali said in a written statement.

09 Apr 2023; MEMO: Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) plan to hold large-scale maneuvers this week in the country's northern and southern waters in a show of support to the Palestinians, Anadolu reports.

The maritime parade will be held on Thursday in collaboration with several ports around the world, IRGC Navy commander Brig. Gen. Alireza Tangsiri said on Sunday.

JERUSALEM, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it launched airstrikes on Syria early on Sunday after a second rocket barrage was fired from Syria towards the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

The rare rocket attacks from Israel's northeastern neighbor overnight triggered sirens in the communities of Natur and Avnei Eitan in the Golan Heights. No injuries or damage were reported yet.

TEHRAN, April 9 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian official said Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has successfully tested a homemade long-range, high-precision kamikaze drone equipped with a 50-kilogram warhead.

Ali Kouhestani, the head of the Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization of the IRGC's Ground Force, made the remarks in an interview with the semi-official Tasnim news agency, which was published on Sunday.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli warplanes and artillery struck targets in Syria following rare rocket fire from the northeastern neighbor, as Jewish-Muslim tensions reached a peak Sunday at a volatile Jerusalem shrine with simultaneous religious rituals.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said its forces attacked targets in Syria early Sunday after six rockets were launched from Syrian territory in two batches toward Israel in a rare attack from Israel’s northeastern neighbor.

After the second barrage of three rockets, Israel initially said it responded with artillery fire into the area in Syria from where the rockets were fired. Later, the military said Israeli fighter jets attacked Syrian army sites, including a compound of Syria’s 4th Division and radar and artillery posts.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Of his countless stories of his life as a hairdresser in Iraq, the one Qaiss al-Sharaa most enjoys retelling is about the day April 9, 2003, when he watched Iraqis and American Marines pull down the statue of Saddam Hussein in front of his salon in Baghdad’s Firdos Square.

The 12-meter (39-foot) statue of the Iraqi dictator extending his right hand had been erected just a year earlier to celebrate his 65th birthday.

08 Apr 2023; MEMO: Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Friday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of causing a disaster by assigning National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responsibility for Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Ma'an News Agency disclosed that Lapid accused Netanyahu of knowing that giving the National Security portfolio to Ben-Gvir, which made him responsible for Al-Aqsa Mosque, would lead to disaster.

08 Apr 2023; MEMO: Moroccan MP Hanan Aterkin has accused French mission schools in Morocco of undermining religious and national principles in the country, Anadolu Agency reported on Friday.

The Authenticity and Modernity Party's MP addressed this in a letter to Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita on Thursday.

08 Apr 2023; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an immediate call-up of Israeli Border Police reserve officers on Friday, The Times of Israel reported.