Middle East & North Africa

ADDIS ABABA, June 22 (Reuters) - Voters in Ethiopia’s Sidama region went to the polls a day late on Tuesday as officials counted ballots from other regions in an election marred by an opposition boycott, war and reports of irregularities in some areas.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hopes the national and regional elections will show the success of democratic reforms he launched after being appointed by the ruling coalition in 2018.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinians and Jewish settlers hurled stones, chairs and fireworks at each other overnight in a tense Jerusalem neighborhood where settler groups are trying to evict several Palestinian families, officials said Tuesday.

The threatened evictions fueled protests and clashes in the runup to last month’s 11-day Gaza war and pose a test for Israel’s new governing coalition, which includes three pro-settler parties but is hoping to sideline the Palestinian issue to avoid internal divisions.

BAGHDAD, Jun 21 (NNN-NINA) – The Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said yesterday that, it approved 8,273 polling centres across the country, as part of its preparations for the parliamentary elections, scheduled for Oct 10.

These centres consist of 55,041 polling stations, and each will receive a maximum of 450 voters, said a statement, issued by the electoral commission on its website, stressing that the process of distributing polling stations depends on the voters’ place of residence.

TUNIS, Jun 21 (NNN-TAP) – The Tunisian government added, yesterday, another three governorates to the list of general lockdown, as the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic worsens in the North African country.

The government had already put the north-central governorate of Kairouan under general lockdown on Saturday.

Siliana, Zaghouan, and Bejakn, are the three new governorates where the infection rate reaches 400 cases out of every 100,000 residents, which prompted the decision of imposing a general lockdown, the government said in a statement.

CAIRO, Jun 21 (NNN-MENA) – Egyptian President, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, reiterated yesterday, his country’s full support for Libya’s national unity government, during the transitional period.

Sisi made the remarks, during a meeting with visiting Libyan Foreign Minister, Najla al-Mangoush, the president’s spokesperson, Bassam Rady, said in a statement.

21 June 2021; MEMO: US military hardware and personnel are being withdrawn from Saudi Arabia and several other countries in the Middle East as Washington nears the completion of its global review of American forces and issues final recommendations on confronting the threat from China.

21 June 2021; MEMO: The Houthis yesterday shot down a "US spy plane" in the central Marib region of Yemen, the group's military spokesman claimed.

Brigadier General Yahya Saree said on Twitter: "Air Defenses shot down a U.S. spy plane type of (Scan Eagle) with a surface-to-air missile while carrying out hostilities in the skies of Al-Mushajah area of Sarwah district of Marib governorate."

21 June 2021; MEMO: The United States is withdrawing its Patriot anti-missile defence batteries from four Middle Eastern states as it continues to reduce its military presence in the region, according to a report published by the Wall Street Journal.

Citing anonymous US officials, the newspaper revealed on Friday that the Pentagon is currently in the process of pulling out eight of the Patriot system's batteries from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan.

21 June 2021; MEMO: The Head of the Turkish Red Crescent Society, Kerem Kinik, arrived in the Gaza Strip on Sunday to evaluate the humanitarian situation after the latest Israeli military offensive and to hold talks on the needs of the Palestinians in the besieged enclave. He was met at the Erez Crossing by orphans from Al Amal Orphanage in Gaza waving Turkish flags in gratitude at Turkey's support.

21 June 2021; MEMO: Illegal Jewish settlers have stepped up their violence against Palestinians since the new government headed by Naftali Bennett was sworn in last weekend, the Palestinian Authority said on Sunday.