Middle East & North Africa

DOHA, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Representatives of countries taking part in the Doha international meeting on Afghanistan on Thursday called on the Afghan warring parties to expedite the peace process, reach a political settlement and comprehensive ceasefire as quickly as possible, stressing their rejection of any government imposed by force.

KHARTOUM, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese government and International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on provision of information and realization of justice for the victims of the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.

Sudan's Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdelbari signed the deal with ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan.

"The MoU helps in providing the requested information and continuing work with the victims, the survivors and the civil society," said Khan at a press conference in Khartoum.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Search-and-rescue crews in northern Turkey recovered 10 more bodies overnight, raising the death toll from the severe floods and mudslides that struck the region to 27, officials said on Friday. Dozens more people were believed to be missing.

CAIRO (AP) — For three days last month, Nasser joined hundreds of others jammed into emergency rooms in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, searching for a hospital bed for his mother, who was struggling to breathe. By the time one became available, his mother was dead.

But her death certainly won’t figure in the country’s coronavirus numbers. Officially, there have been only four virus cases and one death in Yemen’s north, according to the Houthi rebel authorities who control the capital and surrounding provinces.

ISTANBUL, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Nine people were killed in flash floods in Kastamonu in Turkey's Black Sea region that sent water and debris gushing through streets and damaged bridges, authorities said on Thursday.

There was also flooding in the Black Sea provinces of Sinop and Bartin, where one person went missing on Wednesday and another died due to a heart attack, according to state broadcaster TRT Haber.

Aug 12 (Reuters) - The number of migrants illegally entering the European Union by crossing the Western Balkans has almost doubled this year, EU border agency Frontex said on Thursday, with the majority coming from Syria and Afghanistan.

Frontex said 22,600 migrants were detected illegally entering the EU via the Western Balkan route from January to July, an increase of 90% compared with the same period in 2020.

In July, the number was up 67% compared with the same month a year ago, Frontex said in a statement.

12 Aug 2021; MEMO: Tunisia has recorded the outbreak of 155 fires since Monday due to high temperatures.

The Tunisian Civil Defence said in a statement yesterday that 12 wildfires broke out in the forests. No human casualties were recorded.

The statement confirmed that "all fires are under control, except for six wildfires that are still active in the governorates of Bizerte, Jendouba and El Kef."

12 Aug 2021; MEMO: Israeli authorities are planning to approve the construction of 2,223 new housing units for settlers in Jewish-only settlements built in the occupied Palestinian West Bank, media sources revealed yesterday.

The government is also planning to advance construction of 863 housing units in Palestinian villages in 'Area C' of the West Bank for the first time in years, Israeli TV Channel 12 and Haaretz newspaper reported.

12 Aug 2021; MEMO: Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh yesterday condemned Israel's plans to expropriate Palestinian lands and expand Jewish settlements around the Ibrahimi Mosque in occupied Hebron, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Shtayyeh called on "the international community to take urgent action to stop these violations and stop work at the Ibrahimi Mosque."

JERUSALEM (AP) — Human Rights Watch on Thursday said the thousands of rockets fired by the Palestinian militant group Hamas during the 11-day war with Israel “violated the laws of war and amount to war crimes.”

The New York-based rights group investigated Hamas rocket attacks that killed 12 civilians in Israel, as well as a misfired rocket that killed seven Palestinians inside the Gaza Strip.