Middle East & North Africa

JERUSALEM, July 26 (Reuters) - Israel's new government is looking to take advantage of a rare political opportunity to push more ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into the workforce to boost the economy, a measure that could pit powerful religious leaders against politicians.

By 2065, Israel's "haredi" community is expected to make up 32% of Israel's population, up from 12% now, according to official estimates.

TUNIS, July 26 (Reuters) - Tunisia faced its worst crisis in a decade of democracy on Monday after President Kais Saied ousted the government and froze parliament with help from the army in a move denounced as a coup by the main parties including Islamists.

It follows months of deadlock and disputes pitting Saied, a political independent, against Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and a fragmented parliament as Tunisia has descended deeper into an economic crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

ADDIS ABABA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 6,475,582 as of Monday afternoon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union, said the death toll from the pandemic stands at 164,383 while 5,674,552 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease.

South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Ethiopia are the countries with the most cases in the continent, according to the Africa CDC.

TEHRAN, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has met with his visiting Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani over cooperation on diverse issues, Tasnim News Agency reported Monday.

During the meeting in the capital Tehran on Sunday, the two ministers discussed the relations between Iran and Qatar and "the most pressing" regional and international issues, Tasnim said, without providing the details of the meeting.

Al Thani's visit to Tehran came just days after his visit to Washington.

RABAT, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT) and Israeli national carrier El Al signed a memorandum of understanding on the promotion of Moroccan tourist destinations, after the resumption of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 2020, ONMT said Monday.

The signing followed Sunday's inauguration of the first two direct commercial flights between Israel's Tel Aviv and Morocco's Marrakech, operated by El Al and Israir that operates international charter services from Ben Gurion International Airport.

CAIRO, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian Space Agency (EgSA) started on Sunday a space technology training course for 17 engineers and specialists from five African countries to boost their cooperation and exchange of expertise in the space field.

Running from July 25 to Aug. 5, the 12-day program provides theoretical and practical training for the trainees who are from Nigeria, Sudan, Ghana, Uganda and Kenya.

JERUSALEM, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Israel's military confirmed on Sunday it struck a military base of the Islamic Resistence Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip, hours after arson balloons were launched into southern Israel.

An Israeli military spokesperson said in a statement that Israeli war jets attacked a Hamas base which contained "infrastructure and means used for terror activity."

The base was located near civilian sites, including a school, the spokesperson said.

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s president is expected to appoint Monday a billionaire businessman and former prime minister as the next premier-designate, after Saad Hariri earlier this month gave up attempts to form a Cabinet amid an unprecedented financial meltdown roiling the country.

Najib Mikati’s appointment is likely to come later in the day, following binding consultations between President Michel Aoun and Lebanese lawmakers.

BAGHDAD, Jul 25 (NNN-NINA) – “The Americans have nothing to do with human rights. It is a concept they use to seek interests,” said Bedu al-Hamad, a former Iraqi detainee, who was jailed by the U.S. army for more than two years.

Al-Hamad, 59, who was head of the reconstruction committee of the Municipal Council of the town of Duluiyah, Salahuddin province, spent 26 months and 20 days in U.S. detention, despite not having committed any crimes.

ADDIS ABABA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat has again called for peacefully solving the Israel-Palestine issue through the "two-state solution," said an AU statement Saturday.

The chairperson made the remarks Thursday in a meeting with Israeli Ambassador to Ethiopia Aleli Admasu, during which the two sides discussed the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to the statement.