Middle East & North Africa

21 Aug 2021; MEMO: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) revealed on Friday that three million Yemeni children are unable to enrol in education this year due to the ongoing conflict in the country.

Katharina Ritz, head of the ICRC delegation in Yemen, posted on Twitter: "With the start of the school year in Yemen, let us not forget that the conflict has destroyed hundreds of schools and made nearly three million children unable to enrol in education this year. Yemeni children, like all children, need to go back to school."

22 Aug 2021; MEMO: The Lebanese government said on Sunday that it was raising gasoline prices by 66% in a partial reduction of fuel subsidies as it seeks to ease crippling shortages that have brought the country to a standstill, reports Reuters.

The increase in 95-octane gasoline prices would take effect immediately, the government said in a statement. It follows the state's decision on Saturday to change the exchange rate used to price petroleum products in a bid to ease the shortages.

HANGEDIGI, Turkey (AP) — From above, the new border wall separating Turkey from Iran looks like a white snake winding through the barren hills. So far it only covers a third of the 540-kilometer (335-mile) border, leaving plenty of gaps for migrants to slip across in the dead of night.

Traffic on this key migration route from central Asia to Europe has remained relatively stable compared to previous years. But European countries, as well as Turkey, fear the sudden return of Taliban rule in Afghanistan could change that.

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli government commission investigating a deadly accident at a Jewish pilgrimage site in April held its first day of hearings Sunday, almost four months after the stampede at Mount Meron left 45 people dead.

The April 29 incident at the Jewish festival in northern Israel was the deadliest civilian disaster in the country’s history. Around 100,000 worshipers, mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews, attended festivities despite coronavirus regulations limiting outdoor assemblies to 500 people, and in spite of longstanding warnings about the safety of the site.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military bombed Palestinian militant weapons sites in the Gaza Strip early Sunday in response to a violent demonstration on the perimeter fence that left an Israeli police officer critically injured, the army said.

21 Aug 2021; MEMO: Chawki Tabib, former head of the Tunisian Anti-Corruption Authority (INLUCC), has confirmed via his Facebook page that he has been played under house arrest.

"The chief of a security unit that has been stationed since 10 PM Tunis time (9.30 GMT) in front of the door of my apartment, and informed me that the official in charge of running the Ministry of the Interior issued an order to place me under house arrest," Tabib wrote.

BAGHDAD, Aug 21 (NNN-NINA) – Six paramilitary Hashd Shaabi members were killed and four others wounded yesterday, in an attack by militants of extremist Daesh group, in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, a source with the Iraqi Interior Ministry said.

The incident took place in the evening, when the militants detonated a roadside bomb, near a Hashd Shaabi vehicle, in Tarmiyah area, some 30 km north of Baghdad, sparking a clash between the Hashd Shaabi members and the militants, the source said.

RABAT, Aug 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Morocco is keen to strengthen ties with Spain after a rift between the two countries this spring, Moroccan King Mohammed said, though he added the crisis had shaken mutual trust.

“We are keen today to strengthen (ties) bearing in mind the need for a common understanding of the two nations’ interests,” he said in a speech.

However, he added that Morocco would not accept “that its best interests be trampled on”.

RAMALLAH, Aug 21 (NNN-WAFA) – Dozens of Palestinian protesters were injured yesterday, in clashes with Israeli soldiers in several West Bank cities and villages, Palestinian medics and eyewitnesses said.

Ahmed Jibril, director of emergency, in the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, said that, dozens of Palestinian protesters were injured.

Eyewitnesses said that clashes broke out near the village of Beita, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, for 107 consecutive days, against the establishment of a settler outpost and seizing part of the villagers’ land.

BEIRUT, Aug 21 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanese President, Michel Aoun, yesterday urged the United Nations (UN), to take action to end the alleged Israeli violations of Lebanon’s airspace, a day after an attack by Israeli warplanes on targets in Syria, from over the country, a statement by Lebanon’s presidency reported.

The Lebanese president made the remarks, when meeting at Baabda Palace, with the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, saying, the incident constitutes a breach of the UN Security Council Resolution 1701.