Middle East & North Africa

RIYADH, Mar 6 (NNN-SPA) – Saudi Arabia announced yesterday that, a child and a man were injured, due to the falling of debris from drone attacks by the Houthis.

The debris of the intercepted drones fell on the country’s Khamis Mushait and Ahad Rafidah, Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence was quoted as saying.

The debris also caused damage to some houses.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition revealed, the interception of six bomb-laden drones yesterday, in Khamis Mushait.

06 Mar 2021; MEMO: A report issued by The Africa Report has shed light on the major arms race between Morocco and Algeria, after former US President Donald Trump recognised Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited Sudan on Saturday for the first time since the overthrow of former President Omar al-Bashir, as the neighbours push to break a diplomatic deadlock over a giant dam being built by Ethiopia.

Sisi was also due to discuss Red Sea security and developments on Sudan’s borders during his visit to Khartoum, Egypt’s presidency said in a statement.

06 Mar 2021; MEMO: Turkey has "completely rejected" on Friday the decisions adopted by the Arab League foreign ministers' meeting held on Wednesday, accusing Turkey of meddling in internal affairs of Arab countries, Anadolu Agency reported.

In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry affirmed that the decisions targeting Turkey were "unrequited" among the people of "friendly and brotherly" Arab countries.

05 Mar 2021; MEMO: Iran will soon present a "constructive" plan of action, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Friday, after European sources said Tehran gave positive signs about opening informal talks about its nuclear programme, Reuters reported.

"As Iran's FM (foreign minister) & chief nuclear negotiator, I will shortly present our constructive concrete plan of action – through proper diplomatic channels," Zarif said on Twitter.

06 Mar 2021; MEMO: Activists have revealed that Saudi authorities had started releasing prisoners of conscience not known to the public over the past few days. This comes amid tensions that have marred Riyadh's relations with the current US Biden administration, who criticised the conditions of activists in the kingdom.

06 Mar 2021; MEMO: Due to the relative calm in Idlib since 5 March, 2020, over 282,000 displaced Syrians have returned to their homes in the area, Anadolu Agency reported on Friday.

On 5 March, 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin reached a ceasefire in Idlib that took effect on 6 March, 2020.

06 Mar 2021; MEMO: The Israeli army has updated its map of targets relating to Iran's nuclear facilities and Hezbollah's military facilities "being conducted from civilian infrastructure," Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz has revealed to Fox News on Thursday.

"We have them [the attack plans] in our hands, but we will continue [to] constantly improve them," Gantz confirmed in an exclusive interview with Fox News.

06 Mar 2021; MEMO: A decision issued by the Supreme Court to end the monopoly of ultra-Orthodox Jews to allow converting to Judaism sparked a political uproar in Israel, Anadolu Agency reported.

On Monday, the court ruled that the people who converted to Judaism in Israel through the reform and conservative movements must be recognised as Jews, and thus are entitled to obtain Israeli citizenship.

(AP) --- The scenes are seared in the memory of the Rev. Ammar Altony Yako: A church that for decades has been the pride of the town of Qaraqosh, a center for Christian life in Iraq, stood badly scarred.

Yako saw it in 2016 when Qaraqosh was liberated from more than two years of Islamic State group rule. Scrawled on a wall was the proclamation, the “Islamic State will remain.” Strewn amid the rubble in a courtyard were bullet-riddled mannequins and other telltale signs of a militants’ makeshift firing range for target practice.