Middle East & North Africa

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran and global powers will resume talks on Thursday to rescue the 2015 nuclear deal in an effort potentially complicated by Tehran’s decision to ramp up uranium enrichment and what it called Israeli sabotage at a nuclear site.

Casting a shadow over the Vienna talks, Tehran on Tuesday announced its decision to enrich uranium at 60% purity, a big step closer to the 90% that is weapons-grade material, in response to an explosion at its key Natanz facility on Sunday.

SANAA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi militia said they fired seven ballistic missiles toward a Saudi Aramco oil site in Saudi Arabia's southwestern city of Jizan at Thursday dawn, causing a fire.

"The attack was accurate and caused a huge fire in the site," Houthi military spokesman Yehya Sarea said in a statement aired by the group's al-Masirah TV.

"At the same time, our forces launched four drones in the direction of the Patriot anti-missile system in Jizan," he added.

CAIRO, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed said on Wednesday that the government is preparing the vast Cairo International Convention and Exhibition Centre for mass COVID-19 vaccination, noting the center can accommodate 10,000 citizens daily.

In a virtual cabinet meeting, Zayed explained that 75 clinics are currently being prepared at the spacious venue, according to a cabinet statement.

She pointed out that the center has a yard with an area of 1,500 square meters where citizens can wait, "which ensures social distancing."

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — A Saudi university near the country’s border with Yemen caught fire early Thursday after the kingdom’s air defenses intercepted a barrage of ballistic missiles and bomb-laden drones.

The interception scattered debris on Jizan University’s campus, which caused a fire that has been contained, the Saudi-led coalition at war in Yemen said in a statement. It said no one was killed, and there were no immediate reports of injuries.

DAMASCUS, Apr 13 (NNN-SANA) – The Syrian Foreign Ministry, yesterday demanded compensation from the United States for the “damage” caused by the U.S. actions in Syria.

The ministry demanded compensation for the “heavy damage and heavy losses inflicted by the U.S. aggression and occupation against the Syrian people.”

It further said that Syria holds the U.S. administration responsible for “its criminal policies against the Syrian people.”

13 Apr 2021; MEMO: Trade volumes between Turkey and Qatar in the next period will exceed the $5 billion target set out, the head of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD) Abdurrahman Kaan said yesterday.

According to the Anadolu Agency, Qatari businesspeople and Turkish companies operating in the region are very happy with the market between the two countries, Kaan said.

13 Apr 2021; MEMO: Turkey and Libya have struck a number of agreements advancing bilateral relations yesterday, and have reaffirmed the maritime border deal they agreed upon in 2019.

14 Apr 2021; MEMO: Egypt is counting on Russia's support in resolving the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said yesterday.

"We rely on Russia, through its relations with the three countries [in the dispute] and its capabilities and given its international prestigious impact and position, to push the various parties to refrain from unilateral acts," Shoukry said in a meeting held in the Egyptian capital Cairo with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

13 Apr 2021; MEMO: Iran said on Tuesday it would begin enriching uranium to 60% purity, a move that would take the fissile material much closer to the 90% suitable for a nuclear bomb, a day after Tehran accused arch-foe Israel of sabotaging a key nuclear site, Reuters reported.

14 Apr 2021; MEMO: Former Israeli spy, Jonathan Pollard, yesterday joined scores of illegal settlers in storming Joseph's Tomb in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus.

Local Kan reported that Pollard had accompanied a "convoy of buses packed with scores of Jewish settlers who broke into the site and performed religious rituals," adding that Israeli occupation forces had secured the road and venue for them.