Middle East & North Africa

ADDIS ABABA, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 6,120,888 as of Friday noon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the 55-member African Union, said the death toll from the pandemic stands at 155,502 while 5,320,688 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease.

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

BEIRUT (AP) — Seeking to stabilize Lebanon after a series of crises, France and the U.S. on Friday called on Lebanese politicians to urgently form a Cabinet and planned an international conference to support the effort.

“All concerned parties need to work with urgency to put in place a government that’s able to implement reforms immediately,” tweeted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

RAMALLAH, Jul 15 (NNN-WAFA) – Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammed Ishtaye, said yesterday that, Israel should abide by the peace agreements it has signed with Palestine, to advance a serious political process.

The prime minister made the appeal, during a meeting with former U.S. Representative, Robert Wexler, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, according to a statement issued by Ishtaye’s office.

15 July 2021; MEMO: Turkey and Israel have agreed to work towards improving their strained relations after a rare phone call between their presidents, a spokesman for Turkey's ruling AK Party said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

15 July 2021; MEMO: Head of Hamas Political Bureau in Gaza Yahya Sinwar announced on Wednesday that his movement is ready for a national unity that serves the Palestinian cause.

15 July 2021; MEMO: Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Wednesday pardoned more than 100 activists detained for participating in anti-government Hirak Movement protests.

The Algerian presidency announced in a statement: "On the occasion of Eid al-Adha (next Tuesday), the president of the republic has decided to pardon 30 detainees with a final verdict and 71 others who did not receive a sentence due to their activities during the protests by the Hirak Movement."

15 July 2021; MEMO: The Israeli occupation army is pursuing a major budget increase worth billions of shekels in order to prepare for a potentially nuclear Iran, Israeli media revealed on Wednesday.

As the government seeks to pass the budget in the coming months, preliminary discussions have started to take place on the terms of the budget, Israeli public broadcaster Kan revealed.

15 July 2021; MEMO: Former UK Chancellor Philip Hammond has taken up a job with Saudi Arabia's finance minister, sparking concerns over the level of access and influence the Gulf kingdom will have on Britain.

15 July 2021; MEMO: Israeli forces demolished 11 Palestinian-owned homes this morning in the Bedouin village of Al-Qabbun, to the northeast of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, reported Wafa news agency.

The locals said large Israeli military forces raided the village with lorries and bulldozers.

Local activist, Fares Ka'abneh, told Wafa that the Israeli occupation forces also seized tractors, water tankers and solar power units.

BAGHDAD, July 15 (Reuters) - The Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Thursday he will not take part in elections in October and withdrew his support from the government, distancing himself from the state at a time when deadly hospital fires have angered Iraqis.

One of the most influential figures in Iraq, Sadr led a political bloc that emerged as the biggest in the 2018 parliamentary election, with 54 seats in the 329 seat legislature, and his movement has big sway.