Middle East & North Africa

24 Apr 2021; MEMO: A poisonous ammonia gas leak was reported at a soft drinks plant located in Haifa Bay, Press TV reported on Friday.

Ammonia is used as refrigerant gas and in the fertiliser industry. It is both explosive and highly toxic. High concentrations of ammonia in the air can cause blindness, lung damage and even death.

24 Apr 2021; MEMO: Egypt today condemned attacks and provocative actions by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.

"Egypt condemns the acts of violence and provocation carried out by extremist Jewish groups targeting the Palestinian brothers residing in the Old City of East Jerusalem which has resulted in the injury of dozens of civilians," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

24 Apr 2021; MEMO: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood (MB) is preparing to carry out general elections abroad to choose a new leadership, Arabi21 revealed on Friday.

24 Apr 2021; MEMO: Chairman of the Libyan High Council of State Khalid Al-Mishri stressed on Friday his country's honouring agreements signed with Turkey and all deals signed with other countries, Anadolu Agency reports.

"We confirm our honouring to the agreements signed with Turkey as we honour all previous agreements with other countries," said Al-Mishri. "We stress on respecting the road map of the Libyan political dialogue forum in which the government was formed as part of its outcomes."

24 Apr 2021; MEMO: The Iraqi army said today it is not in need of any foreign or US troops to fight beside them, Anadolu Agency reports.

According to a statement by the Iraqi army spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, the withdrawal of the foreign troops from Iraq will be decided by the technical committees between Baghdad and Washington.

On Friday, a top US CENTCOM general said no plans for full US withdrawal from Iraq for the foreseeable future.

25 Apr 2021; MEMO: Syria's oil ministry said firefighters on Saturday put out a fire on an oil tanker off the Baniyas refinery after a suspected attack by a drone coming from the direction of Lebanese waters, Reuters reports.

The identity of the vessel was unclear, with Iran's al-Alam TV saying it was one of three Iranian oil tankers that had recently arrived at the Syrian oil terminal, while the semi-official news agency Tasnim denied it was Iranian.

24 Apr 2021; MEMO: Iran said Saturday it will suspend flights to and from India to prevent the Indian variant of coronavirus from making inroads into the already stricken country, Anadolu Agency reports.

"Today we are facing the danger of a new virus, Indian virus," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in statements during a meeting of the anti-coronavirus taskforce in Tehran.

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s foreign ministry has summoned the U.S. Ambassador in Ankara to protest the U.S. decision to mark the deportation and killing of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire as “genocide.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal met with David Satterfield late Saturday to express Ankara’a strong condemnation. “The statement does not have legal ground in terms of international law and has hurt the Turkish people, opening a wound that’s hard to fix in our relations,” the ministry said.

KHARTOUM, Apr 24 (NNN-SUNA) – Sudan yesterday threatened to sue the Italian company, implementing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Ethiopian government, if the second filling of the dam is conducted without a legal deal.

“In case the second filling is conducted without reaching a legal deal, Sudan has legal teams, supported by international law offices, that will file lawsuits against the Italian implementing company and the Ethiopian government,” Sudanese Irrigation and Water Resources Minister, Yasir Abbas twitted.

RIYADH, Apr 24 (NNN-SPA) – Saudi Arabia announced yesterday, a ban on the entry of consignments of Lebanese vegetables and fruits.

The ban effective from Apr 25 (tomorrow) also covers consignments transit through Saudi territories, the Saudi Interior Ministry, said.

The ban will continue until the relevant Lebanese authorities provide sufficient and reliable guarantees, to take the necessary measures to stop the “systematic” narcotic smuggling operations, targeting the kingdom, the statement highlighted.