Middle East & North Africa

JERUSALEM, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian teenager who rammed a car into a military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank early on Monday, seriously injuring an Israeli guard, Israel's defence ministry said.

There was no immediate Palestinian comment on the incident, which occurred at a roadblock between Israel and the central West Bank, near the city of Tulkarem.

The injured Israeli guard was being treated at Sheba Medical Center, in Tel Aviv, and was expected to survive, the defence ministry said in a statement.

ALGIERS, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Algeria on Sunday for a three-day visit at the invitation of his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune, state media reported.

Abbas was greeted by Tebboune and a number of top Algerian government officials when he arrived at Algiers' International Airport, according to the APS news agency.

The two presidents will discuss regional and international issues of common interest, in addition to the developments in Palestine.

ADEN, Dec 5 (NNN-YPA) – A total of 16 people were killed, as a result of an aerial bombardment against Houthi military vehicles, in Yemen’s south-western province of Taiz, a military official said, yesterday.

“An airstrike was launched late on Friday night and struck a convoy of the Houthi rebel militia, in the countryside district of Maqbanah in Taiz, causing a huge explosion,” the source said.

The airstrike struck the Houthi military convoy when it was passing through an area held by a group of civilians, he added.

AMMAN, Dec 5 (Reuters) - A Jordanian court sentenced five senior health officials to three years in jail on Sunday for causing the death of 10 COVID-19 patients following an oxygen outage in a major state hospital, state media said.

The court found the former director of the state hospital in Salt, a city west of the capital, and four of his senior aides responsible for the deaths, the media said. The patients, who were being treated in the hospital, died in March when staff failed to act after oxygen ran out in a COVID-19 ward for nearly an hour.

DUBAI, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates defence ministry said its purchase of French Rafale fighter jets would complement its planned deal to buy American F-35 warplanes, which has slowed due to Washington's concerns over Abu Dhabi's relationship with China.

The Gulf Arab state on Friday ordered 80 Rafales made by Dassault Aviation and 12 Caracal military helicopters made by Airbus Helicopters in an arms contract worth 17 billion euros ($19.2 billion). 

DAMASCUS, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Explosions were heard Sunday inside a U.S. military base in the al-Tanf area in southeastern Syria, state news agency SANA reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosions occurred after U.S. helicopters flew in the area.

The UK-based watchdog group said the reasons behind the explosions were not immediately known.

It added the explosions came almost 10 days after the United States fired missiles against militias in eastern Syria from the al-Tanf base.

TEHRAN, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani said that Washington should take the first step in revival of the 2015 nuclear deal since it was the one which left the deal, official news agency IRNA reported on Sunday.

The Islamic Republic of Iran will not back down from its demands for the lifting of sanctions in the process of restoration of the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Bagheri Kani said, according to the report.

05 Dec 2021; MEMO: Iran's air defense units fired a missile over the Natanz nuclear facility in central Isfahan province on Saturday to test the rapid missile defense system, officials said.

The explosion took place at around 9 p.m., creating panic and fear amid conflicting reports in local media.

Nour News, a news agency affiliated with the country's top security body, said the explosion was the result of defensive missile fired into the sky "with the aim of testing rapid response to a possible attack."

05 Dec 2021; MEMO: The United Arab Emirates' top national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan will visit Iran on Monday to discuss expanding bilateral ties with the Islamic Republic, Iranian state media reported on Sunday, Reuters reported.

There was no immediate comment from the UAE foreign ministry about the visit of Sheikh Tahnoon, who is a brother of the country's de facto ruler Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and chairman of state investor ADQ.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s Justice Ministry said Sunday that two police officers were brought in for questioning following the shooting death of a Palestinian who had stabbed an Israeli man in east Jerusalem.