Middle East & North Africa

ADDIS ABABA, July 2 (Reuters) - Ethiopia on Friday denied blocking humanitarian aid to its northern Tigray region where hundreds of thousands face starvation, and said it was rebuilding infrastructure amid accusations it is using hunger as a weapon.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front, provincial authorities which Ethiopian forces and troops from neighbouring Eritrea had driven out last year, returned to regional capital Mekelle this week to cheering crowds, in a dramatic reversal of eight months of war.

BEIRUT, July 2 (Reuters) - The judge in charge of the investigation into the Beirut port blast will seek to question top politicians and security officials, Lebanon's national news agency said on Friday, almost a year after the explosion that devastated the capital.

The blast in August, blamed on a huge quantity of chemicals left for years in poor storage conditions, deepened a political and economic crisis in the heavily indebted country.

ADDIS ABABA, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 5,551,886 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 143,779 while 4,841,460 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.

JERUSALEM, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennet on Thursday said that Israel is determined "to prevent Iran from having nuclear military capabilities."

Bennet made the remarks during a meeting with visiting German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, during which they discussed the "Iranian nuclear threat," said a statement issued by the Israeli PM's office.

02 July 2021; MEMO: The US has slammed Israel's plan to keep the illegal settlement of Eviatar intact and turn it into a military base. The outpost in the occupied West Bank was expected to be razed to the ground because it violates not only international law but also Israeli law, say the Americans.

02 July 2021; MEMO: Turkey saw record high exports in both June and the first half of 2021, the trade minister announced today.

Turkish exports reached $19.8 billion in June, up 47 per cent compared to the same month last year, Mehmet Mus said, citing preliminary foreign trade figures.

Surging 40 per cent year-on-year, Turkey's exports hit $105 billion in the first six months of the year, Mus added.

02 July 2021; MEMO: UNICEF has warned of the "devastating impact" that a halt in cross-border humanitarian aid deliveries would have on more than 1.7 million Syrian children.

02 July 2021; MEMO: Jewish settlers last night seized a Palestinian residential building in Wadi Hilweh neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem's Silwan, the Palestinian Information Centre reported.

02 July 2021; MEMO: The Palestinian Authority Minister of Finance has revealed that Israel's role in the collection of taxes and customs dues limits Ramallah's ability to control 60 per cent of its public revenue. Shukri Bishara made his comment after meeting British Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss in the occupied West Bank.

The renowned Al-Azhar University in Cairo has issued a warning about the multi-player video game called Fortnite which encourages players to demolish the Kaaba in order to advance to the next level. The warning was issued through the university's International Centre for Electronic Fatwas (faith-based rulings by Islamic jurists).