Middle East & North Africa

Ankara denounced the desecration of the Quran and the Turkish flag in Denmark, the second such instance in the country this year.

The incident, late Friday, was a hate crime, the Foreign Ministry said, stressing that Turkiye will never accept such "vile actions being allowed under the guise of freedom of expression".

27 Mar 2023; MEMO: Scores have taken to the streets of Israel, regardless of their political alignments, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, heading arguably the most far-right government in the country's history, seemingly backed down and halted on Monday the controversial judicial reform package, Anadolu News Agency reports.

27 Mar 2023; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition plunged into chaos on Monday, after mass overnight protests over the sacking of his Defence Chief piled pressure on the government to halt its bitterly contested plans to overhaul the judiciary, Reuters reports.

TEHRAN, Mar 27 (NNN-IRNA) – The Iranian police seized 1.295 tonnes of opium, after armed clashes with drug traffickers, in the south-eastern provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, yesterday.

Four traffickers were arrested in two simultaneous operations, carried out by the anti-narcotics police, in the two counties, Doostali Jalilian, Sistan and Baluchestan’s police commander, was quoted as saying.

This was the second-largest batch of narcotics seized by police in south-eastern Iran, over the past few days.

JERUSALEM, March 27 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition government on Monday survived no-confidence motions filed by the opposition in protest over its judicial overhaul plan.

One motion failed by a vote of 59-53, a second by a vote of 60-51, the Knesset speaker said.

BAGHDAD, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The government of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region on Sunday set Nov. 18 as the date for the regional parliamentary elections.

Dilshad Shahab, the spokesperson for the Kurdistan region presidency, said in a press conference that the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government Nechirvan Barzani decided the date for the elections and called on the regional authorities and the Independent High Elections Commission to prepare for the elections.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi lawmakers passed early Monday controversial amendments to the country’s election law that could undermine the chances for smaller parties and independent candidates to win seats in future polls.

The amendments increase the size of electoral districts, a move widely backed by the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Iran-backed parties. The coalition forms the majority bloc in the current parliament, which brought Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to power last year.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s largest trade union group launched a strike across a broad swath of sectors Monday, joining a surging protest movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary — a plan that is facing unprecedented opposition.

The strike by the Histadrut umbrella group, which represents nearly 800,000 workers in health, transit and banking, among many other fields, could paralyze large parts of Israel’s economy, which is already on shaky ground, ratcheting up the pressure on Netanyahu to suspend the overhaul.

TUNIS, March 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 19 refugees and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have drowned off the coast of Tunisia while trying to cross the Mediterranean and reach Italy, according to a human rights group.

Reports of the deaths came early on Sunday as Italy’s ANSA news agency said more than 2,000 asylum seekers had arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa within 24 hours.

The agency described the arrivals on Saturday as a “record”.

DAMASCUS, Mar 26 (NNN-SANA) – The Syrian Foreign Ministry, yesterday, condemned the U.S. airstrikes on the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, urging other countries to join the condemnation.

The U.S. attacks were “based on lies,” the ministry said in a statement, stressing, the Syrian army’s determination to restore all Syrian areas, and end the U.S. occupation of Syrian territories.

The statement followed an exchange of fire between the U.S. forces and pro-Syrian government, Iranian-backed militias since Friday midnight.