Middle East & North Africa

17 Oct 2021; MEMO: An Iranian appeals court has upheld a one-year prison term for British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe on security offences, her lawyer was quoted by an Iranian news website as saying on Saturday, Reuters reports.

"The appeals court has approved the lower court's verdict without holding a hearing," attorney Hojjat Kermani told the Emtedad website.

17 Oct 2021; MEMO: Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on Sunday met in Doha with head of northern Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Nechirvan Barzani, Anadolu reports.

The meeting dwelt on bilateral cooperation and a host of issues of mutual concern, said a statement released by the Amiri Diwan, the emir's office.

Barzani started an official visit to the Gulf country on Saturday for talks with Qatari officials.

17 Oct 2021; MEMO: The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria said on Sunday the government and opposition co-chairs of the Syrian Constitutional Committee had agreed to start the process of drafting a new constitution, Reuters reports.

The committee, comprising 45 representatives of Syria's government, opposition and civil society, has a mandate to draw up a new basic law leading to U.N.-supervised elections.

17 Oct 2021; MEMO: The United Arab Emirates on Sunday recorded a drop in daily COVID-19 cases to below 100 for the first time since the start of the outbreak last year as it hosts a huge world fair to which it hopes to attract millions of visits, Reuters reports.

The Health Ministry reported 99 new cases, down from a peak of nearly 4,000 a day in January. The UAE's cumulative death toll stands at 2,120.

18 Oct 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's sports fans will be allowed to attend full-capacity events at all stadiums and other sports facilities starting on Sunday, the country's ministry of sports announced in a statement on Saturday, Reuters reports.

Stadiums and other sports facilities will limit entry to fans who have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine approved by the kingdom, the ministry said.

TEHRAN, Oct 17 (NNN-IRNA) – Iranian commandos, repelled a pirate attack on an Iranian trade convoy, in the Gulf of Aden, the commander of the Iranian Navy said, yesterday.

Shahram Irani told reporters that, commandos of the fleet, consisting of the Alborz destroyer, took timely action, when two Iranian tankers were attacked by five pirate boats yesterday morning.

The operation forced the attacking boats to leave the scene, and their attack was aborted, he said.

BAGHDAD, Oct 17 (NNN-NINA) – Iraq’s prominent Shiite cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, set several conditions yesterday, to deal with the United States if his Sadrist Movement takes office.

One of the conditions is that, diplomatic relations between the United States and Iraq should be “state-to-state with full sovereignty,” al-Sadr tweeted, after his party appeared the frontrunner in the Oct 10 parliamentary elections.

Al-Sadr noted that, the talks should be serious about the U.S. troops’ withdrawal from Iraq.

KHARTOUM, Oct 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Opponents of Sudan’s transition to democracy took to the streets of Khartoum to call on the army to take control of the country.

Several thousand demonstrators gathered outside the presidential palace as the country’s political crisis deepens.

Military and civilian groups have been sharing power since the toppling of President Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

However, tensions have grown since a coup attempt attributed to followers of Bashir was foiled in September.

CAIRO, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Jordan's Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission said that there are no current plans to operate flights between Jordan and Syria, state news agency PETRA reported on Sunday.

Jordan's state carrier, Royal Jordanian (RJAL.AM), said in September it would resume direct flights to Damascus for the first time in nearly a decade, in what would have been the latest step to restore extensive business ties with Syria.

BEIRUT, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Lebanon's top Christian cleric, Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, said on Sunday that the judiciary should be free of political interference and sectarian "activism" amid tensions over a probe into last year's blast at Beirut port.

The Maronite patriarch also said it was unacceptable for anyone to resort to threats or violence. In Lebanon's worst street violence in over a decade, seven people were shot dead last week as protesters headed to a rally opposing the inquiry.