Middle East & North Africa

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s vaccine roll-out had been faltering for weeks. Apathy, fear and rumors kept many from getting vaccinated despite a serious surge in coronavirus infections and calls by the government for people to register for shots.

It took a populist Shiite cleric’s public endorsement of vaccinations — and images of him getting the shot last week — to turn things around.

Hundreds of followers of Muqtada al-Sadr are now heading to clinics to follow his example, underscoring the power of sectarian loyalties in Iraq and deep mistrust of the state.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday failed to meet a midnight deadline to put together a new governing coalition, raising the possibility that his Likud party could be pushed into the opposition for the first time in 12 years.

ADEN, May 4 (NNN-SABA) – Torrential rain killed at least five Yemeni people, in the country’s south-eastern province of Hadramout, and left some others missing yesterday, according to a government official.

Five people drowned, a few others went missing, and a number of residential houses collapsed, after heavy rain and flood hit the historic district of Tarim in Hadramout, the local government source said, on condition of anonymity.

He said, the flood cut off all highways and washed away vehicles, and many families are still stuck in their homes.

TRIPOLI, May 4 (NNN-Xinhua) — Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush on Monday met with her Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in the capital Tripoli and called on Turkey to cooperate to evacuate foreign forces from Libya.

“Mangoush called on Turkey to cooperate with regard to the implementation of the cease-fire agreement and the outcomes of the Berlin Conference, including the evacuation of foreign forces and mercenaries from the Libyan lands, in support of Libya’s sovereignty,” said a statement issued by the Libyan government.

TEHRAN, May 4 (NNN-IRNA) – The coastal guards of Iran’s southern port city of Jask, seized a vessel with 19 Indian crew members on board, state TV reported yesterday.

After the vessel was stopped and tests were carried out, Mohammad Radmehr, governor of Jask, said that two Indian nationals were diagnosed positive with COVID-19.

All crew members of the vessel have been quarantined, Radmehr was quoted as saying, adding that, test samples of the two people have been sent to Bandar Abbas and Tehran to determine the variant of the virus.

(Reuters) --- At least two rockets landed on Tuesday on the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq which hosts U.S. and other international forces, but caused no casualties, the Iraqi military said in a statement.

The statement gave no further details.

The United States accuses Iran-backed militia groups of launching regular rocket attacks against its troops in Iraq. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Tuesday's attack.

JERUSALEM, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli state-run company Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) said on Tuesday that it will establish a Boeing 777 passenger-to-cargo conversion facility at Incheon International Airport, the largest airport in the Republic of Korea (ROK).

The facility will be set up due to the expected increase in demand for wide-body freighter aircraft with long-flight capacity, IAI noted.

04 May 2021; MEMO: Egypt's Ministry of Defence has announced that it will buy $4.5 billion worth of Rafale fighter jets from France in a move that has sparked outrage among human rights defenders.

The deal will go ahead through a loan to be repaid over ten years.

04 May 2021; MEMO: Iraq's Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar Ismail yesterday said he does not expect oil prices to drop below $65 a barrel and that lower oil prices should not be a concern after OPEC+ eases production cuts from May.

Iraq has been severely affected by the drop in crude oil prices over the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

04 May 2021; MEMO: Spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said yesterday that the Islamic Republic is ready to hold talks with Saudi Arabia "at any level and in any form".

Speaking to reporters during his weekly press briefing, Khatibzadeh added that changing the Saudi rhetoric and discourse towards Iran will help reduce tensions, but will only lead to practical results when coupled with a change in behaviour.