Middle East & North Africa

16 Aug 2021; MEMO: The Taliban's control of Afghanistan will affect Israel's security, former Defence Minister, Moshe Ya'alon, warned yesterday.

"Despite the great distance between Afghanistan and Israel, the withdrawal of the United States forces and the Taliban's control over the country will have repercussions on Washington's position in the Middle East, and on Israel's security," Ya'alon wrote on Twitter.

15 Aug 2021; MEMO: Emirates airline said a flight to Kabul on Sunday was diverted due to the temporary closure of the runway at the airport, while fellow Dubai state-owned carrier flydubai suspended services, reports Reuters.

The Emirates Boeing 777-300 flight circled over the Afghanistan capital, aircraft tracking website FlightRadar24 showed, before returning to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

16 Aug 2021; MEMO: The fifth annual men's wheelchair basketball tournament kicked off yesterday in the northern Gaza Strip after a hiatus of nearly 18 months due to the coronavirus and the Israeli aggression, Anadolu reported.

The tournament was organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in cooperation with the Palestinian Paralympic Committee six years ago and has been held annually ever since, however, last year's tournament was postponed due to restrictions on social gatherings due to the coronavirus.

15 Aug 2021; MEMO: Pakistan has a vital duty to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan, where conflicts have intensified recently, the Turkish president said on Sunday, reports Anadolu Agency.

Speaking at a ship launching ceremony as part of the Pakistan MILGEM Corvette Project in Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated Pakistan on its 75th day of independence.

15 Aug 2021; MEMO: Iran said on Sunday it has prepared accommodation in three provinces bordering Afghanistan to provide temporary refuge to Afghans fleeing their country as Taliban insurgents enter the capital Kabul, reports Reuters.

"Camps have been built in border areas in three provinces," Interior Ministry official Hossein Qasemi told Iran's state news agency IRNA.

But he added that: "We expect those Afghan refugees to return home when the situation improves in Afghanistan."

16 Aug 2021; MEMO: Tunisia's Democratic Current yesterday condemned a recent government decision to ban the party's deputy, Anwar Al Chahed, from travel.

In an official statement, the party described the decision as an "arbitrary measure that was carried out with neither a judicial or administrative verdict nor a consultation with the interior ministry."

16 Aug 2021; MEMO: The Israeli Supreme Court yesterday froze eviction orders issued against three Palestinian families in occupied East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, Anadolu news agency reported.

"Today, the [Israeli] occupation court issued a decision freezing the displacement decision of 3 families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, namely Dajani, Al-Dahudi and Hammad, until the court finishes all procedures in the Sheikh Jarrah case," the Sheikh Jarrah's family committee said in a statement.

15 Aug 2021; MEMO: Qatar said it had urged the Taliban to cease fire and pull back their offensive in Afghanistan during a meeting between the Qatari foreign minister and a top representative of the Afghan insurgents in Doha on Saturday, Reuters reports.

Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani met the head of the Taliban's political bureau, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, to follow up on peace talks hosted by the Gulf country, the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.

14 Aug 2021; MEMO: The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Saturday accused Israel of lying about allowing the construction of about 1,000 housing units for Palestinians in Area C in the occupied West Bank, Anadolu reports.

"The government of Israel is deceiving and lying in its claims to allow the Palestinians to build [house units] in Area C," the PLO's National Office for Combating Settlements and Land Defense said in its weekly report.

SANAA, Aug 15 (NNN-YPA) – Yemen’s Houthi rebels said, they shot down a “U.S.-made spy drone” belonging to the Saudi-led coalition, while it was hovering over their positions, in the central province of Marib yesterday.

“Our forces shot down the spy drone over Medghal district,” Houthi-run al-Masirah TV quoted the Houthi militia spokesman, Yehya Sarea, as saying.