Middle East & North Africa

CAIRO, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Arab foreign ministers agreed on Wednesday to renew the Arab League (AL) Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit's five-year term.

Egyptian state TV announced the Arab foreign ministers unanimously agreed to Egypt's request to renew Aboul-Gheit's mandate as the pan-Arab organization's secretary general for the second term, during the 155th ordinary session of the AL Council.

TEHRAN, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on European parties to the 2015 nuclear agreement to stop the "wrongful and out-of-place illegal sanctions," noting Iran has preserved the agreement for three years despite being under "economic war."

"The P4+1 has a heavy task today. They must know we resisted three years of economic war, and it is us who preserved the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) during this period," Rouhani said in a cabinet meeting in the capital Tehran, as quoted by official news agency IRNA.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor on Wednesday launched an investigation into alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories, turning the tribunal’s focus toward Israeli military actions and settlement construction on lands captured in the 1967 Mideast war.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they attacked a Saudi oil facility in the port city of Jiddah on Thursday, the latest in a series of cross-border missile and drone strikes the group has claimed against the kingdom amid the grinding war in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned media did not immediately acknowledge any incident in Jiddah.

03 Mar 2021; Democracy Now: Reporters Without Borders has filed a criminal case against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the persecution and murder of Washington Post journalist and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi.

The case was filed in a German court, days after the Biden administration declined to directly sanction the crown prince, even after releasing an intelligence report reaffirming bin Salman approved the killing.

ANKARA, March 3. /TASS/: Ankara considers buying the second regiment of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia, despite the US pressure, Head of Turkey’s Defense Industries Ismail Demir said on Wednesday.

"Our work on the second [regiment] of S-400 systems continues," he said in an interview with the Turkish NTV television channel.

BEIRUT, Mar 3 (NNN-NNA) – Protests erupted yesterday across Lebanon, against the unprecedented collapse of the currency, which slipped to a new low of 10,000 Lebanese pounds per one U.S. dollar.

Protests were held in the capital Beirut and other major cities, including Tripoli and Sidon, as well as, some villages and towns, in southern Lebanon, local media reports, said.

RIYADH, Mar 3 (NNN-SPA) – The Saudi-led coalition, involved in a war in Yemen, intercepted yesterday, a bomb-laden-drone, launched by Houthis towards the Saudi southern region.

The coalition spokesperson, Turki Al-Malki, accused the Houthi militia of committing “war crimes.”

He said, the coalition will continue all necessary operational procedures, in accordance with the international law.

The coalition also intercepted, last Saturday, a missile launched towards the capital, Riyadh.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 10 rockets landed on Wednesday at Iraq’s Ain al-Asad air base that hosts United States, coalition and Iraqi forces, the Iraqi military said.

It was the second rocket attack in Iraq this month and came two days before Pope Francis is due to visit the country.

The attack caused no significant losses, Iraqi’s military said without going into further detail.

A Baghdad Operations Command official told Reuters earlier that about 13 rockets were launched from a location about 8 km (5 miles) from the base, which is in western Anbar province.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey is not necessarily aiming to return to the U.S. F-35 fighter jet programme from which it was removed over its purchase of Russian defence systems, the Turkish defence industry chief said on Wednesday.

He said the primary goal was for Turkey to get compensated for its losses.

Ankara had ordered more than 100 F-35s and has been making parts for it but was removed from the programme in 2019 after it acquired Russian S-400 missile defence systems, which Washington says threaten the jets.