Middle East & North Africa

01 July 2021; MEMO: The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, yesterday condemned the ongoing Israeli detention of Palestinian MPs on the UN's annual International Day of Parliamentarism, 30 June.

Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif Al-Qanou pointed out that the Israeli occupation authorities have arrested more than 50 Palestinian MPs since 2006, when the movement won free and fair elections in the occupied territories.

RIYADH, June 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Saudi Arabia will start inoculating minors aged 12 to 18 with the Covid-19 vaccine produced by BioNTech/Pfizer, the Ministry of Health announced.

The announcement followed the approval of jabs for the age group by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority(SFDA), the kingdom’s state news agency SPA reported.

SPA cited the ministry as saying that 70 per cent of adults in the country received a jab and that it was starting to administer the second dose to people over 50.

CAIRO, Jun 30 (NNN-MENA) – Egypt’s Taba and Marsa Matrouh international airports, received certificates of health accreditation by the Airports Council International (ACI), raising the number of Egyptian airports recognised as safe to 11, said the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation yesterday.

The certificate recognises each airport’s “commitment to prioritising health and safety measures,” in accordance with the recommendations and guidelines by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the ACI, the ministry said.

AMMAN, Jun 30 (NNN-PETRA) – Mohammad Harkal, a Syrian refugee living in Jordan with his wife and five children, voiced concern that he would not be able to put bread on the table for his family, if there is no aid from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

His family eats yoghurt and falafel for breakfast, and potato with rice for lunch or dinner. Using the WFP coupon to buy food from the stores, he said, if aid from the WFP and the United Nation Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is cut, “we cannot live at all.”

DUBAI, June 30 (Reuters) - Israel's new foreign minister said on Wednesday his landmark visit to the United Arab Emirates was just the start of a road to wider peace in the Middle East, reaching out to Arab states still wary of normalising ties.

Yair Lapid, the first Israeli cabinet minister to visit the Gulf state since the countries forged ties last year, also reiterated Israel's concern about the Iran nuclear deal being negotiated in Vienna.

RAMALLAH, West Bank, June 30 (Reuters) - Pressure is mounting on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas over his security forces' handling of protesters demanding his resignation since one of his biggest critics died in custody.

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem said on Tuesday it was "deeply disturbed" by reports that protesters had been intimidated and beaten by plain-clothes officers, and the United Nations condemned what it called "totally unacceptable" attacks.

The security forces have denied deploying officers in civilian clothing against protesters.

TEHRAN, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that the U.S. government still follows anti-Iran economic pressure policy adopted by former President Donald Trump, official IRNA news agency reported.

Iran "has been facing an economic terrorism since three years ago. What Trump did against Iran was more a war than sanctions," Rouhani said in a cabinet meeting, adding Trump's successor "continues committing his crimes."

CAIRO (AP) — The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have announced that Sudan has met the initial criteria for over $50 billion in foreign debt relief, another step for the East African nation to rejoin the international community after nearly three decades of isolation.

30 June 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia is to launch a second national airline as part of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman's Vision2030 strategy, which aims to diversify the kingdom's economy away from dependency on oil.

30 June 2021; MEMO: The largest Islamist party in Algeria, the Movement for Society of Peace (MSP), announced on Tuesday that it will not take part in the government being formed after the recent legislative election. The announcement was made by MSP leader Abdel Razzaq Makri after an emergency meeting of the movement's Shura (Consultative) Council, to consider an offer from the presidency to participate in the next government.