Middle East & North Africa

26 Apr 2021; MEMO: Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission said yesterday that 847 candidates have registered to run in the upcoming early parliamentary elections scheduled for October, Anadolu reported.

The commission added in a statement that 22 political alliances and 13 political coalitions have also expressed their desire to participate in the upcoming elections.

The statement did not give further details about the names of the coalitions or their affiliations.

AMMAN, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Jordan and Egypt on Sunday denounced all violent actions by extremist Israeli groups against the Palestinians in the Old City of Jerusalem, calling on Israel to stop such activities immediately.

During a phone call, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry discussed the recent developments in Jerusalem, stressing the necessity of stopping all attacks and provocations to end tension and resume calm, according to a statement by Jordan's foreign ministry.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A recording of Iran’s foreign minister offering a blunt appraisal of diplomacy and the limits of power within the Islamic Republic has been leaked, providing a rare look inside the country’s theocracy.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — More than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, some of the worst fears are coming true in the crowded Gaza Strip: A sudden surge in infections and deaths is threatening to overwhelm hospitals weakened by years of conflict and border closures.

Gaza’s main treatment center for COVID-19 patients warns that oxygen supplies are dwindling fast. In another hospital, coronavirus patients are packed three to a room.

RABAT, April 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Morocco summoned the Spanish ambassador in “exasperation” after the leader of the Western Saharan independence movement was allowed into Spain for medical care.

The Spanish foreign ministry said Thursday that Brahim Ghali, who heads the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, is being treated for Covid-19 and had been transferred to Spain for “strictly humanitarian reasons”.

“This will not obstruct or trouble the excellent relations Spain has with Morocco,” Spanish foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said at a press conference Friday.

RAMALLAH, Apr 25 (NNN-PNN) – UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, yesterday called on Israel and Palestine, to avoid escalation in East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

“I condemn all such acts of violence, and I reiterate my call upon all sides to exercise maximum restraint and avoid further escalation, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan,” he said in a press statement.

(Reuters) --- The death toll in clashes this month between Ethiopia's two largest ethnic groups, the Oromo and Amhara, in the northern Amhara region may be as high as 200, a senior official said on Sunday, up from previous reports of at least 50.

Residents and officials in Oromiya Special Zone, an area in Amhara with a majority Oromo population, and the town of Ataye said there were deadly clashes in the area on April 16. 

SANAA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi militia said they hit King Khalid Airbase in Saudi Arabia's southwestern city of Khamis Mushait with a bomb-laden drone before dawn on Sunday.

"The hit was accurate," Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.

Meanwhile, Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV said "the Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed a Houthi bomb drone aimed at the kingdom's south."

This was the fifth reported attack aimed at Saudi cities in nearly a week.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s Interior Ministry said Sunday that 82 people died and 110 were injured in a catastrophic fire that broke out in the intensive care unit of a Baghdad hospital tending to severe coronavirus patients.

Negligence on the part of hospital authorities has been blamed for the Saturday night fire, which initial reports suggest was caused when an oxygen cylinder exploded in the ward of Ibn al-Khatib hospital. Iraq’s prime minister fired key hospital officials hours after the catastrophic incident.

24 Apr 2021; MEMO: Before the eyes of the Israeli police, extremist Israeli settlers continued their incitement and aggression on Palestinians in Jerusalem, Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported on Friday.

Arab MKs have warned that continuous incitement may lead to a repeat of the 1994 massacre carried out by the extremist Israeli Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein, which left more than 29 Palestinian worshippers dead and about 120 others wounded in Al-Ibrahimi Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.