Middle East & North Africa

SUEZ, Egypt (AP) — Engineers on Monday “partially refloated” the colossal container ship that continues to block traffic through the Suez Canal, authorities said, without providing further details about when the vessel would be set free.

Satellite data from MarineTraffic.com showed that the ship’s bulbous bow, once lodged deep in the canal’s eastern bank, had been partly wrested from the shore — although it remained stuck at the canal’s edge. The ship’s stern had swung around and was now in the the middle of the waterway, the tracking data showed.

DOHA, Mar 28 (NNN-QNA) – The Qatari Health Ministry yesterday announced, 614 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 177,135.

Meanwhile, 382 more recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 162,555, while fatalities increased by two to 284, according to a ministry statement.

A total of 1,706,760 persons have taken lab tests so far, while the total number of vaccine doses administered is 721,236.

ADDIS ABABA, Mar 28 (NNN-ENA) – The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 4,166,555 as of yesterday noon, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said.

The Africa CDC, the specialised healthcare agency of the African Union (AU), said, the death toll from the pandemic stood at 111,540, while 3,734,641 patients across the continent, have recovered from the disease.

CAIRO, Mar 28 (NNN-XINHUA) – Five persons were killed and 24 others injured yesterday, in a building collapse in Egypt’s capital Cairo, according to a statement by the Cairo Governorate.

The accident took place at dawn yesterday, when a 10-story building collapsed, in the al-Salam neighbourhood, east of Cairo, according to the statement.

Civil protection forces and rescue teams are still searching for people under the debris of the collapsed building.

27 Mar 2021; MEMO: Data analysis company Kepler Analytics announced on Friday that seven vessels transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) had diverted their course away from the Suez Canal due to the blockage caused by a giant container ship since Tuesday. The crisis has entered its fourth day with no apparent solution in sight.

28 Mar 2021; MEMO: China and Iran, both subject to US sanctions, signed a 25-year cooperation agreement on Saturday to strengthen their long-standing economic and political alliance, Reuters reported.

"Relations between the two countries have now reached the level of strategic partnership and China seeks to comprehensively improve relations with Iran," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was quoted by Iran's state media as telling his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.

28 Mar 2021; MEMO: The Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen's Houthi forces has destroyed two explosive-laden boats that the Iran-aligned group planned to use in an "imminent" attack launched from the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Reuters reported Saudi state media as saying.

The coalition in separate statements also said it intercepted and destroyed three armed drones launched towards southern Saudi Arabia, including the city of Khamis Mushait.

28 Mar 2021; MEMO: A top Yemeni commander was killed Saturday in clashes with Houthi rebels in the eastern Marib province, a military source told Anadolu Agency.

"Major General Amin Al-Waeli was killed at the Kassara front in the province on Friday evening," the source, who preferred not to be named said, adding that the commander was killed while on the battlefront northwest of Marib.

28 Mar 2021; MEMO: The Syrian regime is 'rationing' fuel as shipments are delayed due to the blockage of Egypt's Suez, The New Arab reported.

The large container ship Ever Given has been jammed diagonally between across the Suez Canal since Tuesday, blocking off both lanes of traffic, and throwing around 12% of world trade into chaos.

This incident has caused delays to imports of oil to Syria, with the country still waiting on a shipment due to arrive last Friday.

27 Mar 2021; MEMO: A senior Israeli military official has declared on Friday that his country has the ability to "completely destroy Iran's nuclear programme."

Tal Kalman, head of the Strategic Division and the Third-Circle Directorate of the Israeli army, told Israel Today that 2020 was a "good" year concerning war against Iran.