Middle East & North Africa

DAMASCUS, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- At least 14 people were killed and two others wounded in a bomb attack on an army bus in central Damascus on Wednesday, state news agency SANA reported.

Citing a military statement, the report said three explosive devices were affixed to the bottom of the military bus, two of which were detonated at the President Bridge in the heart of Damascus while the third one fell down without exploding and was later dismantled by a bomb squad.

20 Oct 2021; MEMO: Dubai has signed a memorandum of understanding with the far-right Hindu nationalist government of Narendra Modi to build infrastructure in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Details of the MoU were announced by India on Monday, but the value of the accord was not provided.

20 Oct 2021; MEMO: Five people were killed and four injured in a blast inside a Syrian army ammunition depot alongside the Homs-Hama road in the centre of the country, Iran's state-run TV channel Al-Alam said today.

According to Reuters, the Iranian channel reported the explosion happened during a routine maintenance operation inside the depot.

20 Oct 2021; MEMO: Kuwait's emir today paved the way for an amnesty to pardon dissidents, which has been a major condition of opposition lawmakers to end a months-long standoff with the appointed government that has held up planned fiscal reforms, Reuters reports.

Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah tasked the parliament speaker, the prime minister and the head of the supreme judicial council to recommend the conditions and terms of the amnesty ahead of it being issued by decree, Sheikh Nawaf's office said.

20 Oct 2021; MEMO: Every foreign agricultural worker was sexually assaulted in Israel, according to a new report presented to the Knesset's Special Committee on Foreign Workers yesterday. Shocking levels of abuse were uncovered by the report, whose authors issued a warning that "The State of Israel has abandoned these women."

20 Oct 2021; MEMO: Moroccan authorities will suspend direct flights with Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands over COVID-19 concerns starting tomorrow, Reuters reported flag carrier RAM announcing today.

Morocco recently announced that it would impose a mandatory vaccine pass for access to public places and inter-city travel after it inoculated most of its adult population.

20 Oct 2021; MEMO: A deadly bomb blast hit the Syrian capital Damascus during this morning's rush hour, killing at least 14 military personnel and wounding three others. An army bus was targeted by explosives under Al-Rais Bridge.

20 Oct 2021; MEMO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was today welcomed by his Nigerian counterpart Muhammadu Buhari with an official ceremony at the Presidential Palace in the capital Abuja.

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Two roadside bombs exploded near a bus carrying troops during the morning rush hour in the Syrian capital early Wednesday, killing 13 people and wounding three others, state TV reported.

Syrian state TV showed footage of the charred bus in central Damascus, saying the blasts occurred while people were heading to work and school. The report said a third bomb was discovered and dismantled in the same area.

AMMAN, Oct 19 (NNN-PETRA) – Jordan’s economy has been witnessing obvious growth, following the reopening of all economic sectors and improvement in the country’s macroeconomic indicators, since the beginning of 2021, according to experts.

Like other economies worldwide, Jordan suffered heavy economic losses since the outbreak of the pandemic, due to repeated lockdowns and restrictions on various sectors, but the situation has been improving since the beginning of this year as seen in many indicators.