Middle East & North Africa

TEHRAN, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Iran's National Security Council announced on Saturday that more than 200 people have lost their lives in recent "riots" in the country.

"Investigations by the authorities show that as a result of the aforementioned riots, more than 200 people have lost their lives," the council said in a statement released by the official IRNA news agency.

The casualties include security officers, civilians, "rioters" and "armed anti-revolutionary members of separatist groups," it added.

ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's newly formed National Anti-Corruption Committee (NACC) disclosed Friday that the director general of the Ethiopian Financial Security Services (EFSS), Tewodros Bekele, has been arrested as part of an anti-corruption crackdown.

The EFSS is a government body that coordinates various institutions involved in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Of the seven stadiums Qatar built for the World Cup, one will disappear after the tournament.

That’s what the games’ organizers have said about Stadium 974 in Doha — a port-side structure with more than 40,000 seats partially built from recycled shipping containers and steel.

Qatar says the stadium will be fully dismantled after the World Cup and could be shipped to countries that need the infrastructure. Outside experts have praised the design, but say more needs to be known about what happens to the stadium after the event.

Rawalpindi, Dec 2 (PTI) Pakistan will pull out of the Asia Cup if Asian Cricket Council decides to shift the tournament, PCB chairman Ramiz Raja said on Friday.

In October, Asian Cricket Council president and BCCI secretary Jay Shah had said that India will not travel to Pakistan next year for the 50-over Asia Cup event after which PCB had threatened to pull out of the World Cup scheduled to be held in India.

New Delhi, Dec 3 (PTI) The case for the proposed procurement of a fleet of Predator drones from the US is under process, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar said on Saturday.

The original proposal was to procure 30 MQ-9B Predator armed drones at a cost of over USD 3 billion to crank up India's surveillance apparatus along the frontier with China as well as in the Indian Ocean region.

02 Dec 2022; MEMO: Migrant deaths in the Mediterranean are "unacceptable and almost always avoidable," Pope Francis said on Friday, renewing a call for policymakers across the region to address the issue in a manner "beneficial to all", Reuters reports.

The 85-year-old Pontiff, son of Italian immigrants to Argentina, often speaks up for the rights of migrants, and has repeatedly denounced how the Mediterranean has turned into a "vast cemetery".

02 Dec 2022; MEMO: German football plummeted deeper into crisis on Thursday after the national team tumbled out of the World Cup in Qatar despite a 4-2 victory over Costa Rica in their final Group E match, Reuters reports.

The 1-1 draw with Spain following their shock 2-1 opening defeat to Japan had given Hansi Flick's men some hope of advancing, but even victory against Costa Rica was not enough to prevent yet another tournament debacle, with the Germans condemned to their second straight World Cup first round exit.

02 Dec 2022; MEMO: The United States, on Thursday, sanctioned individuals and companies for allegedly providing financial services to, and facilitating weapons procurement for, Hezbollah, the US Treasury Department said, Reuters reports.

02 Dec 2022; MEMO: A group of Israeli settlers stole dozens of honey bee hives and olive harvesting equipment from Palestinian farms in the Occupied West Bank village of Deir Sharaf, based in Nablus, reported Wafa news agency.

According to Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official who monitors Israeli settlement activities in the Nablus district, the settlers sneaked their way into a farm belonging to Aziz Antari, a local villager and stole 30 honey bee hives and olive picking equipment.

02 Dec 2022; MEMO: An Israeli soldier executed, on Friday, a Palestinian youth in the West Bank city of Nablus following a short scuffle between them, eyewitnesses said.

The Israeli soldier carried out the execution at point-blank range, in the centre of Huwwara, to the south of Nablus.