Middle East & North Africa

Baghdad, Sep 27 (AP-PTI) Representatives from Iran and Saudi Arabia have held a new round of talks in Baghdad, two Iraqi officials said Monday, in the first such meeting between the regional foes since a new president was sworn in in Tehran.

The meeting held last week discussed pending issues between the two countries according to a previously agreed on roadmap, including diplomatic representation between the two countries, according to one Iraqi official.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A computer-graphic-soaked advertisement featuring Australian actor and Hollywood heartthrob Chris Hemsworth beckons the world to Dubai’s upcoming Expo 2020, promising a “world of pure imagination” as children without facemasks race across a futuristic carnival scene.

Reality, however, crashes into the frame in all capital-letters caption at the bottom of the screen, saying: “THIS COMMERCIAL WAS FILMED IN 2019.”

BAGHDAD, Sept 26 (NNN-NINA) – The Iraqi government yesterday declared its rejection of local calls, for normalisation of relations with Israel, as such a move is “prohibited by Iraqi laws.”

A statement by the media office of Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, confirmed that “the concept of normalisation is constitutionally, legally, and politically rejected, in the Iraqi state, and that the government clearly expressed Iraq’s firm position in support of the Palestinian right in establishing an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.”

ADEN, Sept 27 (NNN-YPA) – Heavy fighting struck various areas of Yemen’s oil-rich northern province of Marib yesterday, amid intensified airstrikes, a military official said.

“More than 28 members of the Houthi rebel group and 16 soldiers of the pro-government Yemeni forces were killed, during the past 24 hours, in Marib’s fighting,” the local military source said.

The Houthi fighters carried out simultaneous attacks against several positions controlled by the pro-government forces, in the southern and north-western areas of Marib, he said.

BEIRUT, Sept 27 (Reuters) - A probe into the catastrophic Beirut port explosion faced being derailed for the second time this year on Monday when a senior politician wanted for questioning filed a complaint doubting the lead investigator's impartiality.

The move followed a smear campaign by Lebanon’s political class against judge Tarek Bitar, who was appointed after his predecessor was forced out following similar accusations by officials he wanted to question about suspected negligence.

AMMAN, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, after undergoing the routine examination implemented as part of the regulations followed at the Royal Hashemite Court.

The crown prince has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in very good health, the royal court said in a statement.

27 Sep 2021; MEMO: Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid travelled to Amman last month for a secret meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II, Israeli Channel 12 TV revealed on Saturday. The two men apparently discussed recent tension at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and Israeli aggression against the Palestinians, which was described by the programme as "clashes".

27 Sep 2021; MEMO: The political adviser to Tunisia's Parliament Speaker, Rached Ghannouchi, yesterday denied reports claiming he had delegated his parliamentary powers to his deputy, Samira Chaouachi.

27 Sep 2021; MEMO: Dozens of Jordanians protested in the capital, Amman, yesterday calling on the government to abolish a $10 billion gas agreement signed by the state-owned National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) with Israel.

The protesters gathered near the Ministry of Energy and NEPCO's headquarters and raised banners denouncing the deal.

Member of the event's follow-up committee, Muhammad Al-Absi, said the stand coincides with the passage of five years since the deal was signed.

27 Sep 2021; MEMO: Deputy chairman of Hamas political bureau, Saleh Al-Arouri, said yesterday that the movement will not be silent about the Israeli army's murder of five Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, adding that their blood "will not be in vain".

"Every drop of the martyrs' blood will have a price," Al-Arouri said in a statement posted on the group's website.