From The Alpha and the Omega - Chapter Eight
by Jim A. Cornwell, Copyright © 1995, all rights reserved
"KING OF THE SOUTH 2021 JULY-AUGUST"

    This file is attached to http://www.mazzaroth.com/ChapterEight/BeastThatCameOutOfTheSea.htm from “Beast That Came Out Of The Sea” - Chapter Eight by Jim A. Cornwell, Copyright © 1995, all rights reserved.
    This link will take you back to Astronomical Events To Appear Between 2014 Through 2017 A.D.
    Or return to King Of The South 2021 May-June or continue to King Of The South 2021 September-October.

KING OF THE SOUTH 2021 JULY-AUGUST


    So as 2020 has passed do we know who the "King of the South in 2020" is?
    The phrase “king of the South” is found in the Bible in only one location — Daniel 11, which is also the chapter containing the most detailed prophecy in the Bible.    The first mention of this ruler is found in verse 5, where we find that “the king of the South shall become strong” and that “His dominion shall be a great dominion.”    Who was this king?    Who will he be in the “time of the end” spoken of in verse 40?    To answer these questions, we need a little background information.    One of the first considerations is the setting of this prophecy.    Daniel received the message in “the third year of Cyrus king of Persia,” which was 537 or 536 B.C. according to The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Daniel 10:1).    The prophecy of Daniel 11 begins with verses 2-4, which describe what would happen in the Persian and Greek Empires after Daniel was given this vision, and continues through “the time of the end” (verse 40).
    The Persian Empire refers to any of a series of imperial dynasties that were centred in Persia/Iran from the 6th century B.C. Achaemenid Empire era to the 20th century AD in the Qajar dynasty era.    Know that Ancient Persia is modern Iran.
    Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC) also called the First Persian Empire, in Western Asia founded by Cyrus the Great.    It ranges from the Balkans and Eastern Europe proper in the west to the Indus Valley in the east, it was larger than any previous empire in history, incorporating various peoples of different origins and faiths, it is notable for its successful model of a centralised, bureaucratic administration (through satraps under the King of Kings), for building infrastructure such as road systems and a postal system, the use of an official language across its territories, and the development of civil services and a large professional army.    The empire's successes inspired similar systems in later empires.
    By the 7th century BC, the Persians had settled in the south-western portion of the Iranian Plateau in the region of Persis, which came to be their heartland.    From this region, Cyrus the Great advanced to defeat the Medes, Lydia, and the Neo-Babylonian Empire, establishing the Achaemenid Empire.    Alexander the Great, an avid admirer of Cyrus the Great, conquered most of the empire by 330 BC.    Upon Alexander's death, most of the empire's former territory came under the rule of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Seleucid Empire, in addition to other minor territories which gained independence at that time.    The Iranian elites of the central plateau reclaimed power by the second century B.C. under the Parthian Empire.
    The Achaemenid Empire is noted in Western history as the antagonist of the Greek city-states during the Greco-Persian Wars and for the emancipation of the Jewish exiles in Babylon.    The historical mark of the empire went far beyond its territorial and military influences and included cultural, social, technological and religious influences as well.
    Despite the lasting conflict between the two states, many Athenians adopted Achaemenid customs in their daily lives in a reciprocal cultural exchange, some being employed by or allied to the Persian kings.    The impact of Cyrus's edict is mentioned in Judeo-Christian texts, and the empire was instrumental in the spread of Zoroastrianism as far east as China.    The empire also set the tone for the politics, heritage and history of Iran (also officially known as Persia).    The image below shows you the area for the "King of the South."
       
    So based on the above information I would acknowledge that the "King of the South" will come out of that area.
    As you may have noted that in 2019 I claimed that individual will be: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
    The reason was his image of the pentagram a Satanic symbol which is at the top of Erdogan’s Tek Devlet (One State) monument in Turkey, which is a pentagram, a satanic symbol, and believed in beheading, and Shriah Will Rise Again, religious education, Koranic courses, Arabic and Ottoman lessons, Islamization of all schools, sharia education and finally compulsory worship services in all schools
   
    Could Recep Tayyip Erdogan be the upcoming antichrist and may fit the description and then may not be the final antichrist.    The Bible tells us there are “many antichrists” (1 John 2:18); many believe there will be the single antichrist, and we are rapidly approaching the end of time as we know it, before the great tribulation begins.
    All of the antichrists have the same modus operandi (mode of operation).
    As Erdogan has tried to be a force in the South and has shown hints of hypocrisy along the way, and August 2014, he has steadily become dictatorial, and enacted laws to give him excessive powers.
    “And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom, but he shall come in peaceably and obtain the kingdom by flatteriesDaniel 11:21.
    The Bible, in a number of instances, refers to the antichrist as the “Assyrian.”    A good part of Turkey was included in the Assyrian Empire, which also persecuted God’s people.
    “Therefore, thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Oh My people who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian; he shall smite you with a rod and shall lift up his staff against you, after the manner of Egypt.    For yet a little while and the indignation shall cease and My anger in their destructionIsaiah 10:24-25.
    “And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land and when he shall tread in our palaces; then shall we raise against him seven shepherds and eight principal menMicah 5:5.
    Erdogan announced, “The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the honor of 1.7 billion Muslims, not just Palestinians, and the Muslim world cannot wait to remain indifferent to the restrictions imposed on the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” which is situated on the historical Jewish Temple Mount.
    Erdogan’s real crimes are buying the Russian S-400 missile system for Turkey, refusing to accept US support for America’s Kurdish YPG allies and allowing Islamist fighters to pour over Turkey’s border into Syria along with a load of weapons, mortars and missiles.    Erdogan said Turkey will work with the Syrian people directly to help achieve peace in the war-torn country.    He went on to clarify this does not mean he is willing to work with the Syrian government.
    “Russia takes the necessary measures against a (possible) threat by Syrian regime in Idlib, and as Turkey, we are taking all kind of measures against radical groups in Idlib,” stated President Erdogan.    “We are also taking joint action with Russia if it is necessary.”    His remarks come almost a month after Turkish and Russian forces announced a demilitarized zone in the Idlib province.
    In December, President Donald Trump’s called Tayyip Erdogan that he was pulling U.S. troops from Syria has stunned Turkey and left it scrambling to respond to the changing battlefield on its southern border, and delivered a standard warning to the Turkish president over his plan to attack U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in northeast Syria, in the course of the conversation Trump reshaped U.S. policy in the Middle East, abandoning a quarter of Syrian territory and handing Ankara the job of finishing off Islamic State in Syria.
    As many promote what Daniel 11:40-45 claims it represents the Northern King’s Conquests. [AS SEEN IN THE VERSES ABOVE THAT THE EVENTS ARE LOOKING AS IF RUSSIA - KING OF THE NORTH AND THE MIDEAST NATIONS - KING OF THE SOUTH ARE GOING TO BECOME ENTWINED INTO THE PROPHECY ABOVE IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE AND THE KING OF THE WEST HAS PULLED OUT OF THIS MESS WHICH I THINK TRUMP MADE THE RIGHT CALL PROBABLY DUE TO GODS INFLUENCE SO LETS SEE HOW IT UNFOLDS AND ALSO WATCH FOR NEWS THAT THE EUPHARATES RIVER DRIES UP ENGAGING THE KINGS OF THE EAST TO GET INVOLVED.].
    The following image below is seen at http://www.mazzaroth.com/ChapterSix/Psalm83.htm so you can tell by the verses above who are the countries today.
    So lets see what will happen in 2021 regarding the King of the South:

2021 JULY-AUGUST


7/1/2021 Turkey Formally Quits Treaty To Prevent Violence Against Women by Ece Toksabay and Daren Butler
FILE PHOTO: Activists shout slogans, hold banners and wave flags during a protest against Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul
Convention, an international accord designed to protect women, in Istanbul, Turkey, June 19, 2021. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
    ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey officially withdrew on Thursday from an international treaty to prevent violence against women, enacting a decision that drew condemnation from many Turks and Western allies when President Tayyip Erdogan announced it in March.
    Thousands were set to protest across Turkey, where a court appeal to halt the withdrawal was rejected this week.
    “We will continue our struggle,” Canan Gullu, president of the Federation of Turkish Women’s Associations, said on Wednesday. “Turkey is shooting itself in the foot with this decision.”
    She said that since March, women and other vulnerable groups had been more reluctant to ask for help and less likely to receive it, with COVID-19 fuelled economic difficulties causing a dramatic increase in violence against them.
    The Istanbul Convention, negotiated in Turkey’s biggest city and signed in 2011, committed its signatories to prevent and prosecute domestic violence and promote equality.
    Ankara’s withdrawal triggered condemnation from both the United States and the European Union, and critics say it puts Turkey even further out of step with the bloc that it applied to join in 1987.
    Femicide has surged in Turkey, with one monitoring group logging roughly one per day in the last five years.
    Proponents of the convention and related legislation say more stringent implementation is needed.
    But many conservatives in Turkey and in Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted AK Party say the pact undermines the family structures that protect society.
    Some also see the Convention as promoting homosexuality through its principle of non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.
    “Our country’s withdrawal from the convention will not lead to any legal or practical shortcoming in the prevention of violence against women,” Erdogan’s office said in a statement to the administrative court on Tuesday.
    This month, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic sent a letter to Turkey’s interior and justice ministers expressing concern about a rise in homophobic narratives by some officials, some of which targeted the convention.
    “All the measures provided for by the Istanbul Convention reinforce family foundations and links by preventing and combating the main cause of destruction of families, that is, violence,” she said.
(Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Kevin Liffey)

7/1/2021 Jordan Court Rejects Defence Bid To Have Prince Hamza Testify - Lawyer by Suleiman Al-Khalidi
FILE PHOTO: Jordan's former Crown Prince Hamza bin Hussein attends official celebrations of the 10th anniversary
of King Abdullah's accession to the throne, in Amman June 9, 2009. REUTERS/Majed Jaber/File Photo
    AMMAN (Reuters) -A Jordanian military court on Thursday rejected a defence request to have the kingdom’s Prince Hamza and others testify as witnesses in a case against a former royal confidant accused of destabilising the monarchy, a defence lawyer said.
    Prince Hamza, the estranged former heir to the throne at the centre of the case, was accused of liaising with disgruntled members of powerful tribes who dominate the security forces and form the bedrock of support for the Hashemite monarchy.
    He avoided any legal process in April after pledging allegiance to the king, defusing a crisis that had led to his house arrest.
    But charges remained against former royal confidant Bassem Awadallah, including agitating to undermine Jordan’s political system, committing acts that threaten public security and sowing sedition. He has pleaded not guilty.
    Legal experts have questioned the legality of a trial when the man at the centre of the case, Prince Hamza, is not in the dock.     The authorities have said the trial process is fair.
    Defence lawyer Mohammad Afif said the military court’s decision not to take testimony from a list of potential defence witnesses – also including the prime minister and other princes – suggested the verdict could be swift.
    “With no defence evidence, there could be a verdict within a week,” he told Reuters.    He did not elaborate on any reasons given by the court for refusing the defence request.
    The military court has held its proceedings in secret since the trial started last week after authorities said public hearings would compromise national security.
    The prosecution case relies on voice messages intercepted by the intelligence forces that allegedly show how Hamza was waiting for the right moment to act.
    He was getting Awadallah’s advise on the right tweets to exploit a wave of street protests over growing hardship.
    Lawyers say there is no evidence of any plot that relied on accomplices within the army and secuirty forces. The authorities say they nipped in the bud a potential coup.
    The case shocked Jordan because it appeared to expose rifts within the ruling Hashemite family that has been a beacon of stability in a volatile region in recent years.
    Officials say the prosecution evidence also shows that Hamza wanted Awadallah to use his close relationship with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to seek support for Hamza’s bid to become king.
    Awadallah, who challenged a conservative establishment opposed to his liberal policies and has close ties to senior U.S. officials, promised to lobby on Hamza’s behalf in Western capitals and Saudi Arabia, according to the charge sheet.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; editing by John Stonestreet and Andrew Heavens)

7/2/2021 U.N. Warns Of Worsening Famine In Ethiopia’s Tigray by Michelle Nichols
    UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Top U.N. officials warned the Security Council on Friday that more than 400,000 people in Ethiopia’s Tigray were now in famine and that there was a risk of more clashes in the region despite a unilateral ceasefire by the federal government.
    After six private discussions, the Security Council held its first public meeting since fighting broke out in November between government forces, backed by troops from neighboring Eritrea, and TPLF fighters with Tigray’s former ruling party.
    Acting U.N. aid chief Ramesh Rajasingham told the council that the humanitarian situation in Tigray had “worsened dramatically” in recent weeks with an increase of some 50,000 in the number of people now suffering famine.
    “More than 400,000 people are estimated to have crossed the threshold into famine and another 1.8 million people are on the brink of famine.    Some are suggesting that the numbers are even higher.    33,000 children are severely malnourished,” he said.
    The Ethiopian government declared a unilateral ceasefire on Monday, which the TPLF dismissed as a joke.    There are reports of continued clashes in some places as pressure builds internationally for all sides to pull back.
    U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said Ethiopia’s government “must now demonstrate that it truly intends to use the ceasefire to address the humanitarian catastrophe.”    She also urged all parties to negotiate and honor “a true ceasefire.”
    “If the parties to the conflict failed to seize this moment, the consequences for the people of Ethiopia, will be devastating.    More fighting, more famine, more abuses, more suffering by ordinary Ethiopians and a far more destabilized Horn of Africa,” Thomas-Greenfield told the council.
    U.N. political and peacebuilding affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo said Eritrean forces had withdrawn to areas adjacent to the border and that forces from the neighboring region of Amhara remained in areas of western Tigray that they had seized.
    “In short, there is potential for more confrontations and a swift deterioration in the security situation, which is extremely concerning,” she told the council.
    She urged the TPLF to endorse the ceasefire “immediately and completely” and for the Eritrean troops to fully implement their withdrawal.
(Additional reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Philippa Fletcher)

7/2/2021 Beirut Blast Judge To Question Top Politicians, Security Officials by Maha El Dahan and Laila Bassam
FILE PHOTO: A view shows damages at the site of an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon
August 4, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
    BEIRUT (Reuters) -The judge in charge of the investigation into the Beirut port blast will seek to question top politicians and security officials, Lebanon’s national news agency said on Friday, almost a year after the explosion that devastated the capital.
    The blast in August, blamed on a huge quantity of chemicals left for years in poor storage conditions, deepened a political and economic crisis in the heavily indebted country.
    Ordinary Lebanese have grown increasingly angry that no senior officials have been held to account for the explosion that killed hundreds of people, injured thousands and ruined whole neighbourhoods in the centre of Beirut.
    Judge Tarek Bitar, who became the lead investigator into the blast after his predecessor was removed in February, will call in caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab and others, the agency said, although it said no dates had yet been set.
    He has also written to parliament asking to lift immunity from former Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, former Public Works Minister Ghazi Zeaiter and former Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk as a first step towards charging them.
    Zeaiter, a parliamentary deputy from speaker Nabih Berri’s bloc, and Khalil issued a statement later on Friday saying they would cooperate with the investigator to help determine those responsible for the blast, even before permission was issued.    Machnouk declined to comment when contactd by Reuters.
    The caretaker prime minister and others listed as targets for questioning by the judge could not immediately be reached for comment.
    Diab and the same ex-officials were charged last year by judge Fadi Sawan, who previously led the probe, but they refused to be questioned as suspects, accusing him of overstepping his powers.
    Judge Bitar also asked for permission from caretaker Interior Minister Mohamed Fahmy to question Lebanon’s security chief Abbas Ibrahim, the agency said.
    Fahmy told Reuters he had not been notified yet about the process but would take all legal steps required once he was.
    Bitar’s list included another former public works minister, Youssef Finianos, and Tony Saliba, the head of state security.
    Sawan was removed from the investigation in February by the court of cassation after a request by Khalil and Zeaiter, a major setback for the families of victims seeking justice.
    Sawan accused the three ex-ministers and caretaker prime minister of negligence.    The court of cassation cited “legitimate suspicion” over Sawan’s neutrality, partly because his house was damaged in the blast.
(Reporting By Maha El Dahan and Laila Bassam; Editing by Edmund Blair and Cynthia Osterman)

7/2/2021 ‘Difficult’ Libya Talks Aimed At Preparing Elections Miss Deadline
FILE PHOTO: A Libyan flag flutters atop the Libyan Consulate in Athens, Greece, December 6, 2019. REUTERS/Costas Baltas
(Corrects typographical error in 11th paragraph to make identity of speaker “she,” not “he”)
    GENEVA (Reuters) -U.N.-backed talks aimed at paving the way for elections in Libya in December missed a deadline and extended into a fifth day on Friday with delegates struggling to agree.
    The meeting of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum near Geneva was due to establish the constitutional basis for presidential and parliamentary elections by July 1.
    But delegates and U.N. officials said they could not agree among themselves on several proposals circulating, prompting organisers to extend the talks originally planned to last four days.
    The elections would be a key part of international efforts to bring stability to Libya, which has been in turmoil since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.
    A U.N.-led peace process brought a ceasefire last summer after fighting between rival factions paused and then a unity government was formed.
    The talks in Switzerland follow on from an international conference in Berlin last week.
    The United Nations envoy for Libya, Jan Kubis, said on Monday that leaving Switzerland without a decision this week was “not an option” given the timeframe.
    “He’s really pushing for consensus to be achieved on the way forward to find that Constitutional basis that will allow the country to hold the scheduled elections on 24 December,” U.N. spokesman Rheal LeBlanc told a briefing on Friday.
    On Thursday, Kubis described that day’s session as “difficult” and urged delegates to refrain from “disrespectful behaviour and personal attacks,” without elaborating.
    A U.N. live feed of the talks streamed the discussions of the 75 delegates earlier in the week has since halted.
    However, one delegate, Lamees Bensaad, said she still thought agreement could be reached.
    “I’m optimistic and look forward to consensus,” she said.
    Moves towards a political solution in Libya accelerated after eastern commander Khalifa Haftar’s 14-month assault on Tripoli collapsed last summer.
    A formal ceasefire was agreed in October and the next month the participants in the U.N. peace dialogue set a date for elections and agreed to create a new interim government.
    However, major risks persist with myriad armed groups holding power on the ground.
    Haftar was backed by the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Egypt in his Tripoli offensive.    The internationally-recognised Tripoli government was supported by Turkey, which ultimately helped it repel the assault.
(Reporting by Emma Farge, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Ahmed Elumami in Tripoli, Editing by Angus MacSwan)

7/3/2021 Biden Admin. Voices Concern Over Yemen As Houthi Rebels Continue Violence On Govt-Held City by OAN Newsroom
A member of security forces loyal to Yemen’s Huthi rebels walks past a bonfire incinerating seized
narcotic substances, in the Huthi-held capital on June 26, 2021. (MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)
    The Biden administration said they’ve grown increasingly concerned about the increase of violence in Yemen.     State Department Spokesman Ned Price said the U.S. is fed up with Houthi rebel attacks. He stated the department is worried about the increasing toll on life the attacks are having.     Houthi rebels have repeatedly attacked Marib, the last city not held by a rebel group, over the past month in a bid to take over the country.    The U.S. and United Nations have called for a ceasefire, but it has seemed to fall on deaf ears.
A grab from an AFPTV video shows an explosion from a projectile fired by fighters loyal to Yemen’s Saudi-backed government near the
frontlines against the Huthi rebel forces in the region of al-Kassara, northwest of Marib, on June 28, 2021. (AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)
    “We are beyond fed up. We are horrified by the repeated attacks on Marib.    We strongly condemn the Houthi missile attack on a residential neighborhood in Marib…it took civilian lives, including the life of a child,” said Price.
    President Donald Trump declared the Houthis a terrorist group earlier this year.    However, this was a decision quickly reversed by Joe Biden after the UN said such a designation could make famines in Yemen worse.

7/3/2021 Thousands Protest In Burkina Faso Over Jihadist Attacks by Thiam Ndiaga
Opposition parties supporters attend a protest to denounce the government's handling of the security situation following attacks
by Islamist militants that have killed scores in the past weeks In Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso July 3, 2021. REUTERS/Ndiaga Thiam
    OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) – Thousands took to the streets of Burkina Faso’s capital on Saturday to call for a tougher government response to a wave of jihadist attacks that has destabilised the West African country in recent years.
    Some had travelled hundreds of kilometres to attend the opposition-led demonstration in Ouagadougou, where protesters waved the red and green Burkinabe flag and blew whistles.
    “We had to show our dissatisfaction, show the distress of citizens who are crying out for security and peace,” said opposition supporter Alpha Yago on the sidelines of the protest.
    Groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State originally based in neighbouring Mali have embedded themselves across the north and east of the country, launching regular attacks on civilians, including one in June that killed more than 130 people, the worst in years.
    One protester held a placard with a photo of flag-draped coffins and the slogan: “Mr President, have the courage to decide.    We are fed up!
    Pressure has increased on President Roch Kabore to take control and end a humanitarian crisis in which more than a million people have been displaced by the violence.
    Last Wednesday Kabore took the role of defence minister in a cabinet reshuffle aimed at appeasing opposition leaders, who have demanded the resignation of the government.
    One group of protesters had travelled nearly 400 kilometres (250 miles) from the eastern town of Madjoari, which has seen thousands of residents flee the jihadist threat.
    “We cannot understand how a population suffers day after day and for over a month with no reaction from the government.    It is deplorable,” said Madjoari’s deputy mayor Djergou Kouare, as fellow residents waved cardboard placards saying “SOS Madjoari.”
    Despite the presence of thousands of U.N. peacekeepers, attacks by jihadists in West Africa’s Sahel region have risen sharply since the start of the year, particularly in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, with civilians bearing the brunt.
(Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by David Holmes)

7/3/2021 S.Africa Court Agrees To Hear Zuma’s Challenge To Jail Term by Siyabonga Sishi
Supporters of former South African president Jacob Zuma, who was sentenced to a 15-month imprisonment
by the Constitutional Court, walk to his home in Nkandla, South Africa, July 3, 2021. REUTERS/Rogan Ward
    NKANDLA, South Africa (Reuters) -A South African court on Saturday agreed to hear ex-president Jacob Zuma’s challenge to a 15-month jail term for failing to attend a corruption hearing, as hundreds of his supporters gathered outside his home in a show of force.
    The constitutional court had on Tuesday given Zuma 15 months in jail for absconding in February from the inquiry led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.    Zuma had until the end of Sunday to hand himself in, but on Saturday the court agreed to hear his application, suspending the order.
    The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported that the court will hear his application on July 12.
    The jail sentence was seen as sign of just how far Zuma, once revered as a veteran of the struggle against white minority rule, has fallen since embarking on a presidency beset by multiple sleaze and graft scandals between 2009 and 2018.
    His travails have divided the ruling African National Congress, which cancelled an executive committee meeting over the weekend in order to focus on the ensuing crisis.
    The ex-leader has applied to the court for the sentence to be annulled on the grounds that it is excessive and could expose him to COVID-19.
    “When somebody is saying please hear me out … and then we have court that says ‘OK, we are willing to listen to you’, that’s the kind of justice system people died for in this country,” the Jacob Zuma Foundation said in a statement.
    At his hometown of Nkandla, Zuma, who did not speak to his supporters, wore a black and gold tropical shirt as he walked through the crowd, but no mask.    He was guarded by men dressed as traditional warriors from his Zulu nation, wearing leopard skins and holding spears with oval ox-hide shields.
    “They can give Zuma 15 months … or 100 months.    He’s not going to serve even one day or one minute of that,” his son Edward Zuma told Reuters at the gathering.    “They would have to kill me before they put their hands on him.”
    In an application to annul the decision submitted on Friday, Zuma said going to jail “would put him at the highest risk of death” from the pandemic because he was nearly 80 and has a medical condition.
    Zuma also called the sentence a “political statement of exemplary punishment.”    He has maintained he is the victim of a political witch hunt and that Zondo is biased against him.
    Zuma gave in to pressure to quit and yield to his successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, in 2018, and since then has faced several attempts to bring him to book for alleged corruption during and before his time as president.
    The Zondo Commission is examining allegations that he allowed three Indian-born businessmen, the brothers Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta, to plunder state resources and influence policy.    He and the brothers, who fled to Dubai after Zuma’s ouster, deny wrongdoing.
Zuma also faces a separate court case relating to a $2 billion arms deal in 1999 when he was deputy president.
(Writing by Tim CocksEditing by David Holmes)

7/3/2021 Egypt’s Sisi Opens Naval Base Close To Border With Libya by Aidan Lewis
FILE PHOTO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks during a joint news conference with Greek Prime Minister
Kyriakos Mitsotakis at Maximos Mansion in Athens, Greece, November 11, 2020. REUTERS/Costas Baltas
    RAS GARGOUB, Egypt (Reuters) – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated a naval base on Saturday 135 km from the border with Libya, flanked by close ally Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Libya’s unity president.
    Egypt says the July 3 base will help it protect strategic and economic interests as well as helping guard against irregular migration as it works to boost its naval presence on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
    At the inauguration, two Mistral helicopter carriers acquired from France were on display alongside a German-made submarine and two recently delivered FREMM-class Italian frigates.
    Naval forces performed exercises that included the firing of rockets, parachute jumps and an amphibious landing as Sisi and his guests looked on from the bridge of one of the Mistrals.
    The July 3 base, whose name marks the day in 2013 when Sisi led the overthrow of Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, is spread over more than 10 sq km and has a 1,000-metre naval quay with a water depth of 14 metres. It also has quays for commercial shipping.
    The eastern border has been a key security concern for Egypt as Libya slid into turmoil after 2011, though it has beefed up its presence in the area.
    Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, where Sheikh Mohammed is de facto ruler, backed the eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar in the civil conflict that developed in Libya after 2014, but Cairo has increasingly thrown its support behind a United Nations-led political effort to reunify the country.
    Mohamed al-Menfi, who attended the opening on Saturday, is part of that process as head of Libya’s three-man presidential council.
    Egypt has also experienced tensions with Turkey — which backed Haftar’s western rivals in Libya — over maritime rights in the gas-rich eastern Mediterranean.    However, Cairo and Ankara have taken cautious steps this year to mend relations.
(Reporting by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

7/4/2021 Ethiopia’s Tigray Demands Troop Withdrawals For Ceasefire Talks by Dawit Endeshaw
FILE PHOTO: A tank damaged during the fighting between Ethiopia's National Defense Force (ENDF) and Tigray Special Forces
stands on the outskirts of Humera town in Ethiopia July 1, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo/File Photo
    ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopia’s Tigray region wants a full withdrawal of troops from Eritrea and the neighbouring state of Amhara before it can engage in any talks with the federal government about a ceasefire, it said in a statement on Sunday.
    The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the regional authority driven out last year by Ethiopian forces and troops from neighbouring Eritrea, returned to the region’s capital Mekelle on Monday to cheering crowds.
    Their return was followed by a unilateral declaration of a ceasefire by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government, a move dismissed by TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda as a “joke.”
    A statement from “The Government of Tigray,” released on Sunday by Getachew, said it would accept a ceasefire in principle if there were ironclad guarantees of no further invasions but a series of other conditions would need to be met before any agreement could be formalised.
    “Invading forces from Amhara and Eritrea must withdraw from Tigray and return to their pre-war territories,” the statement said.
    There was no immediate comment from the Prime Minister’s spokeswoman and the chairman of the government task-force set up to coordinate the security operation in Tigray.
    The TPLF dominated the central government for decades before Abiy came to power in 2018.    His government has been battling the TPLF since late last year after accusing it of attacking military bases in Tigray.    Thousands have been killed.
    More than 400,000 people in the region are now facing famine and there is a risk of more clashes in the region despite the unilateral ceasefire by the federal government, the United Nations warned on Friday.
    In its statement, the government of Tigray said it wanted unfettered access for aid into the region, as well as the full provision of essential services such as electricity, telecommunications, banking, healthcare and education.
    The statement said the United Nations should establish an independent body to investigate war crimes and an international entity to oversee the implementation of any ceasefire deal should be created.
    It also demanded the immediate release of all ethnic Tigrayan political leaders and members of the national defence force who are being held in prisons around the country.
(Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by David Clarke)

7/4/2021 Settlement Agreed Over Ship That Blocked Suez Canal - Owner’s Representative
FILE PHOTO: Ship Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, is seen after it
was fully floated in Suez Canal, Egypt March 29, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/
    ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) -A representative of the owners and insurers of the Ever Given container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March said on Sunday that a formal settlement had been agreed with the canal authority to allow the vessel to be released.
    The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has held the giant ship and its crew in a lake between two stretches of the waterway since it was dislodged on March 29, amid a dispute over a demand for compensation by the SCA.
    The Japanese-owned Ever Given had become stuck in high winds and remained wedged across the canal for six days, disrupting global trade.
    “Preparations for the release of the vessel will be made and an event marking the agreement will be held at the Authority’s headquarters in Ismailia in due course,” Faz Peermohamed of Stann Marine, which represents owner Shoei Kisen and its insurers, said in a statement.
    Earlier on Sunday an Egyptian court adjourned hearings in the compensation dispute to July 11 to allow the canal and the ship’s owner to finalise a settlement, court sources and a lawyer said.
    Shoei Kisen and its insurers said last month they had reached an agreement in principle with the SCA.
    The SCA had demanded $916 million in compensation to cover salvage efforts, reputational damage and lost revenue before publicly lowering the request to $550 million.
    Shoei Kisen and the ship’s insurers had disputed the claim and the ship’s detention under an Egyptian court order.
(Reporting by Yousry Mohamed and Aidan Lewis; writing by Mahmoud Mourad; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Catherine Evans)

7/4/2021 Israel Says Negotiating Pfizer Surplus With Other Countries
FILE PHOTO: A vial of the Pfizer vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is seen as medical staff are vaccinated at
Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel December 19, 2020. Picture taken December 19, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel is in talks with other countries about a deal to unload its surplus of Pfizer/BioNtech COVID-19 vaccines, doses of which are due to expire by the end of the month, officials said on Sunday.
    Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he spoke with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla about securing more vaccines for Israel and about possible deals to swap vaccines between Israel and other countries, though he did not say which ones.
    “Contacts are being handled by the Health Ministry, Foreign Ministry and the National Security Council,” Bennett said.
    The director-general of the Health Ministry, Hezi Levi, said in an interview with Radio 103 FM that the doses expire on July 31 and that any deal would have to win Pfizer’s approval.
    He did not say how many doses Israel was looking to swap.    The Haaretz newspaper put the number at about a million.
    “We are negotiating with other countries,” Levi said, without naming them. “We are dealing with this day and night.”
    He confirmed that such a deal had been discussed with Britain last week but said an agreement had not materialised and was “a thing of the past
    A Pfizer spokesperson said the company was “happy to discuss potential donation requests of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID vaccine between governments on a case-by-case basis, particularly if this helps ensure the vaccine is used to protect people from this disease
    Last month, the Palestinians rejected about a million doses from Israel, saying they were too close to their expiry date.
    Israel launched one of the world’s fastest vaccine drives in December and has since vaccinated nearly 90% of people over the age of 50, a group considered to be at the highest risk.
    Overall, however, around a fifth of all eligible Israelis have not yet had the vaccine, according to health ministry data.
    With infections falling from more than 10,000 a day in January to single digits, Israel, with a population of 9.3 million, has dropped nearly all coronavirus curbs.
    But an uptick of cases that began in mid-June, attributed to the more contagious Delta variant, may bring some restrictions back, Levi said.
    Vaccination rates peaked in January and gradually fell until June, when 12 to 15-year-olds were made eligible for the jab. Delta’s spread, particularly among schoolchildren, has spurred parents to get their children inoculated and the rate has increased five-fold since early June.
    Levi said Pfizer’s vaccine was about 85-88% effective against the Delta variant, a high figure but lower in comparison with its effectiveness against other variants.
    He based that figure on a British study as well as recent research by the health ministry.    A ministry spokesperson did not immediately provide more details about the study.
(Reporting by Maayan Lubell and Steven ScheerEditing by Jeffrey Heller, Catherine Evans and Nick Macfie)

7/4/2021 Israel Responds To Hamas Attack With Airstrike by OAN Newsroom
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem. (Menahem Kahana/Pool via AP, File)
    Israel has targeted a Hamas site in the Gaza Strip after the terrorist group launched incendiary balloons.    Prime Minister Naftali Bennett confirmed Saturday’s retaliatory attack during his weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday.
    Israel launched similar strikes on Friday after another incendiary attack that day.    Bennett said Israeli airstrikes targeted a weapons manufacturing site as well as a rocket launcher.    He warned any future “disturbances” from Hamas would be met with force.
    “Last night, the IDF attacked Gaza in response to incendiary balloons,” he explained.    “…Israel is interested in quiet and we have no interest in harming Gaza residents, but violence, balloons, marches and disturbances will be answered with harsh response.”
    The Prime Minister went on to say he has been working on getting humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza.    However, Bennett added that aid won’t be suitcases full of money, referencing to the funds provided to Hamas by Qatar.     Meanwhile, the United Nations has been working with Egypt and Qatar to come to a cease-fire agreement.

7/5/2021 Egypt Eases Guest Limits In Hospitality Sector As Infections Fall
FILE PHOTO: Tourists take lunch on a mountain restaurant amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in
the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, south of Cairo, Egypt February 6, 2021. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
    CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s cabinet on Sunday eased guest limits for hotels, restaurants, cinemas and theatres to 70% of their capacity from 50 percent at present as coronavirus infections slow, a cabinet statement said.
    Egypt has been gradually easing pandemic restrictions since June 1.    Official figures showed 181 new COVID-19 cases were recorded on Saturday, with 27 deaths from the disease.
(Reporting by Moamen Said Attalah, writing by Alaa Swilamm Editing by Catherine Evans)

7/5/2021 South Africa Says Interpol Issued “Red Notices” For Guptas And Associates
FILE PHOTO: Police raid the home of the Gupta family, friends of President Jacob Zuma,
in Johannesburg, South Africa, February 14, 2018. REUTERS/James Oatway/File Photo
    JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Interpol has issued “red notices” urging the arrest of the businessman brothers Atul and Rajesh Gupta – friends of former president Jacob Zuma – and some of their associates for alleged fraud, South African prosecutors said on Monday.
    A red notice is a request to law enforcement officials worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action.
    Interpol did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
    South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said in a statement that the notices had also been issued for the two Guptas’ wives and several business associates.
    The notices relate to suspected fraud worth 25 million rand ($1.76 million) involving the Free State province’s agriculture department.
    A criminal case has been transferred to the Bloemfontein High Court for trial in September, the NPA added.
    Reuters could not reach the Guptas or their representatives for comment but both Zuma and the Guptas issued blanket denials of wrongdoing during Zuma’s nine years in power until 2018.
    Their relationship is one of the main areas of focus of a judicial inquiry into allegations of high-level corruption while Zuma was president.
    Zuma has refused to cooperate with the inquiry despite a court order to appear and give evidence.
    The Constitutional Court has sentenced him to 15 months’ imprisonment for defying that order, but Zuma has asked the court to cancel the sentence.
    The Indian-born brothers left South Africa after Zuma was ousted as head of state, and are believed to be in Dubai.
    The United Arab Emirates this year ratified an extradition treaty with South Africa, a move that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government hopes will lead to the return of the Guptas to face charges.
    “Efforts to bring the Guptas back have intensified,” the NPA said.
($1 = 14.2401 rand)
(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

7/5/2021 OPEC+ Abandons Oil Policy Meeting After Saudi-UAE Clash by Rania El Gamal, Ahmad Ghaddar and Alex Lawler
FILE PHOTO: The OPEC logo pictured ahead of an informal meeting between members of the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Algiers, Algeria, September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina/File Photo
    DUBAI (Reuters) -OPEC+ ministers called off oil output talks on Monday after clashing last week when the United Arab Emirates balked at a proposed eight-month extension to output curbs.
    Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on Sunday called for “compromise and rationality” to secure a deal after two days of failed discussions last week.
    But on Monday, OPEC+ sources said there had been no progress in resolving the matter and Monday’s meeting was called off.    No new date was agreed.
    The failure of the talks means an expected increase in output from August will not take place, the sources said, helping to drive up international benchmark Brent oil, which was trading 1% higher at $76.95 a barrel.
    Oil prices have already prompted concerns about inflation derailing a global recovery from the pandemic.
    OPEC+ agreed record output cuts of almost 10 million barrels per day (bpd) last year as the pandemic hit.    They have been gradually relaxed and stand at about 5.8 million bpd.
    The UAE, according to sources, on Friday went along with Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ members on a proposal to raise output in stages by about 2 million bpd from August to December but rejected extending remaining cuts to the end of 2022 from a current end date of April.
    The UAE is upset about the baseline from which its production cuts are being calculated and wants it raised.    Abu Dhabi has invested billions of dollars to increase its production capacity and says its baseline was set too low when OPEC+ originally forged their pact.
    It has also said it was not alone in requesting a higher baseline as others, including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait and Nigeria, had requested and received new ones since the deal was first agreed last year.
    Decisions in OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with Russia and other big producers, must be unanimous.
    Potential outcomes, OPEC+ sources said, include raising output from August, or raising output from August and extending the remaining cuts with a new higher baseline figure for the UAE.
    OPEC+ could also go ahead with the deal as is until April 2022 and discuss a new UAE baseline as part of a new deal, the sources said.
    The dispute reflects a growing divergence between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
    The two nations had built a regional alliance, combining financial and military muscle to fight a conflict in Yemen and project power elsewhere.    But the UAE has withdrawn from action in Yemen, while Saudi Arabia has sought to challenge the UAE’s dominance as the region’s business and tourism hub.
    The UAE in August 2020 also agreed to normalise relations with Israel, while Saudi Arabia has no official diplomatic relations with Israel.
(Reporting by OPEC team; writing by Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler; editing by Edmund Blair, Jason Neely and Barbara Lewis)

7/5/2021 OPEC+ To Meet Again To Discuss Oil Crisis by OAN Newsroom
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud, Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia, arrives for a meeting of the Organization
of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, and non-OPEC members at OPEC headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
    The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has set another meeting with international leaders to discuss the mounting oil crisis.    On Monday, representatives from OPEC and several non-oil-producing countries have arranged a discussion to negotiate a deal for curbing rising oil prices.
    Talks were cut short on Friday after representatives from the United Arab Emirates took issue with proposed production cuts.    Other nations attempted to reason with the UAE as oil prices surpassed $75 per barrel.
    “Big efforts were made over the past 14 months that provided fantastic results and it would be a shame not to maintain those achievements,” Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia expressed.    “Some compromise and some rationality is what will save us.”
    Representatives for the UAE went on to say they would support a negotiated supply increase and believe all countries involved would agree to a deal centered around those terms.

7/5/2021 Ivory Coast Sends Mobile Clinics To Speed Up COVID Vaccinations
A woman enters a mobile vaccination truck to receive a vaccination against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during a prevention campaign at a
mobile vaccination center at Adjame market in Abidjan, Ivory Coast July 5, 2021. The t-shirt reads: "Covid has its terminus". REUTERS/Luc Gnago
    ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Ivory Coast began sending mobile clinics on Monday to markets and other busy areas in its main city Abidjan in an effort to turbocharge the vaccination campaign against COVID-19.
    After administering fewer than 800,000 doses since vaccinations began in March – enough for a single dose for just 3% of the population – Ivorian health authorities are now aiming to inoculate a million people in Abidjan over the next 10 days.
    While acknowledging that will be a tall order, they hope to pick up the pace by targeting some of Abidjan’s most frequented places, especially its vast open-air markets where most of its 5 million residents shop for food and clothing.
    At the market in the district of Adjame, which municipal officials say is visited by more than one million people a day, mostly female vendors and customers lined up to be vaccinated in an air-conditioned truck.
    “We are very happy about the convenience of the vaccines.    It suits everyone,” said Minigna Keita, who promotes cosmetic products at the market.
    In the Treichville district, health workers roamed the market with megaphones, encouraging people to get vaccinated.
    “This morning it was a little slow, but people have started to show up in large numbers after seeing that the first people vaccinated did not have any problems,” said Sylvie Sie, who coordinates vaccinations in the district.
    Like many African countries, Ivory Coast has seen vaccinations get off to a slow start due to limited supplies as well as wariness or indifference toward the vaccines.
    But officials say things are picking up thanks to better communication, including promotions at soccer matches.
    Ivory Coast has received about a million doses of the AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Sinopharm vaccines to date, and the government says it expects to take delivery of 1.2 million more doses by mid-July.
(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Aaron Ross and Giles Elgood)

7/5/2021 Israel Sees Drop In Pfizer Vaccine Protection Against Infections, Still Strong In Severe Illness
FILE PHOTO: A medical worker prepares to administer a vaccination against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as Israel continues its
national vaccination drive, during a third national COVID lockdown, in Ashdod, Israel January 4, 2021. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel reported on Monday a decrease in the effectiveness of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in preventing infections and symptomatic illness but said it remained highly effective in preventing serious illness.
    The decline coincided with the spread of the Delta variant and the end of social distancing restrictions in Israel.
    Vaccine effectiveness in preventing both infection and symptomatic disease fell to 64% since June 6, the Health Ministry said.    At the same time the vaccine was 93% effective in preventing hospitalizations and serious illness from the coronavirus.
    The ministry in its statement did not say what the previous level was or provide any further details.    However ministry officials published a report in May that two doses of Pfizer’s vaccine provided more than 95% protection against infection, hospitalization and severe illness.
    A Pfizer spokesperson declined to comment on the data from Israel, but cited other research showing that antibodies elicited by the vaccine were still able to neutralize all tested variants, including Delta, albeit at reduced strength.
    About 60% of Israel’s 9.3 million population have received at least one shot of Pfizer’s vaccine in a campaign that saw daily cases drop from more than 10,000 in January to single digits last month.
    This spurred Israel to drop nearly all social distancing as well as the requirement to wear masks, though the latter was partially reimposed in recent days.    At the same time Delta, which has become a globally dominant variant of the coronavirus, began to spread.
    Since then daily cases have gradually risen, reaching 343 on Sunday.    The number of seriously ill rose to 35 from 21.
    Data scientist Eran Segal of Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science said the country was unlikely to experience the high levels of hospitalizations seen earlier in the year since there were much fewer critically ill.
    He said it was fine to “continue with life back to normal and without restrictions” while stepping up measures like vaccination outreach and ensuring testing for Israelis returning home from abroad.
(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch and Maayan Lubell, Editing by William Maclean)

7/5/2021 Egypt Notified That Ethiopia Has Resumed Filling Of Giant Dam
FILE PHOTO: Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam is seen as it undergoes construction work on the river Nile in Guba Woreda,
Benishangul Gumuz Region, Ethiopia September 26, 2019. Picture taken September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo
    CAIRO (Reuters) -Egypt’s irrigation minister said on Monday he had received official notice from Ethiopia that it had begun filling the reservoir behind its giant hydropower dam, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), for a second year.
    Egypt has informed Ethiopia of its categorical rejection of the measure, which it regards as a threat to regional stability, Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty said in a statement.
    Ethiopia says the dam on its Blue Nile is crucial to its economic development and providing power to its population.
    Egypt views the dam as a grave threat to its Nile water supplies, on which it is almost entirely dependent.    Sudan, another downstream country, has expressed concern about the safety of the dam and the impact on its own dams and water stations.
    The volume of the accumulating water would depend on the amount of seasonal rain that fell in Ethiopia, Egyptian Irrigation Ministry spokesman Mohamed Ghanim told a local TV channel.
    “We won’t see any effect now on the Nile.    We have a month or a month and a half ahead of us,” he said.
    Egypt and Sudan have waged a diplomatic campaign for a legally binding deal over the dam’s operation, but talks have repeatedly stalled.
    The diplomatic push intensified ahead of the first filling of the dam with last summer, and again in recent weeks.
    The U.N. Security Council is expected to discuss the issue on Thursday, and Abdel Aty had written to the council to inform it of the latest developments, the statement said.
    Ethiopia says it is finally exercising its rights over Nile waters long controlled by its downstream neighbours.
    Its ambassador to Khartoum said on Sunday that Egypt and Sudan already knew the details of the first three years of the dam’s filling, and that the issue should not be brought before the Security Council as it was not a matter of peace and security.
(Reporting by Momen Saeed Atallah, Omar Fahmy and Nafisa Eltahir, Writing by Aidan Lewis; editing by Diane Craft and Sonya Hepinstall)

7/6/2021 South Africa’s Zuma Tries To Block Arrest As Police Hold Back
FILE PHOTO: Former South African president Jacob Zuma speaks to supporters who gathered at his home, as South African court agreed to hear
his challenge to a 15-month jail term for failing to attend a corruption hearing, in Nkandla, South Africa, July 4, 2021. REUTERS/Rogan Ward
    JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma tried to block his arrest in court on Tuesday, as top police officials said they would hold back while Zuma’s two-pronged legal challenge unfolds.
    The constitutional court last Tuesday sentenced Zuma to a 15-month jail term for contempt of court after he defied an order to give evidence at a corruption inquiry in February.
    The court instructed police to arrest Zuma by the end of Wednesday if he did not hand himself in, sparking an angry reaction from Zuma’s supporters and laying bare deep divisions in the governing African National Congress (ANC).
    But late last week Zuma asked the constitutional court to cancel its sentence and approached the high court for an interdict to prevent police from arresting him until the constitutional court hears his “rescission application” on July 12.
    In legal arguments before the Pietermaritzburg High Court, Zuma’s lawyer on Tuesday urged it to grant the interdict, taking into account the volatile situation around Zuma’s rural home.
    Hundreds of Zuma’s followers, some of them armed, gathered outside Zuma’s home on Sunday to hear him lash out against the judges that sentenced him and compared them to the white minority rulers he fought during the liberation struggle.
    A lawyer for the corruption inquiry were due to argue why the interdict should not be granted later on Tuesday.
    The inquiry chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo is examining allegations of high-level graft during Zuma’s period in power from 2009 to 2018.
    Zuma denies wrongdoing and says Zondo is biased against him.
    In a letter sent to Zondo and seen by Reuters, the state attorney acting for Police Minister Bheki Cele and police commissioner Khehla Sitole said they would hold back from arresting Zuma “pending the finalisation of the litigation” or directions from Zondo.
    Senior ANC official Jessie Duarte said the party was aware Zuma was exploring every legal avenue to reduce or escape his prison sentence.
    “We believe the judiciary must be left to make its own decisions, (but) … we would hope that comrade Zuma’s court application will be successful,” she told a news conference.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning and Wendell Roelf; Editing by Alison Williams)

7/6/2021 Nigeria Kidnap Spike Threatens To Create Lost Generation Of Students by Libby George and Abraham Achirga
Boys stand at a mechanic workshop in Kaduna, Nigeria April 29, 2021. Picture taken April 29, 2021. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde
    KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) – Yusuf Lado had not yet learned to read or write when his school closed for fear of attacks by armed gangs, which have been snatching students across northwest Nigeria in hopes of lucrative ransom payouts.
    The 7-year-old has now set aside his dream of becoming a doctor and is training to be a welder, despite his slight build.
    “I hope to perfect this work I’m learning and be as good as my boss,” he told Reuters late last month at his new workplace on the outskirts of the Kaduna state capital.
    Humanitarian agencies warn that an alarming rise in school kidnappings – with at least 10 institutions hit and around 1,000 students and staff abducted since December – is disrupting the education of hundreds of thousands of Nigerian children.
    The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF estimates that around 1,125 schools are closed across northwest Nigeria.    Even where schools are open, some parents are too afraid to send their children. Some 300,000-400,000 students in the region are out of school due to insecurity, UNICEF said.
    “There is a risk of losing an entire generation due to lack of education,” said Isa Sanusi, spokesman for rights group Amnesty International in Nigeria.
    None of Yusuf’s nine siblings are in school.
    The family fled their village of Kaure last year after a series of attacks by criminal gangs, including kidnappings and cattle rustling, his father Lado Gajere told Reuters.
    Yusuf’s 19-year-old cousin was taken on his way to work on a farm.    The family paid the kidnappers 1 million naira ($2,400), but they killed him anyway, said Gajere, a 47-year-old farmer.
    The family now lives in a house provided by a local leader on the outskirts of Kaduna city, more than 200 km (125 miles) away.     But there are no free schools in the area that Gajere considers safe enough.
    “We want (our children) to go to school but there are no teachers, no school and the children have nothing doing because bandits chase everyone away,” Gajere said.
CRISIS POINT
    Even before the latest attacks, state schools struggled to accommodate explosive population growth in Nigeria’s impoverished north.    Official figures from 2015 showed that fewer than half the children in the region attended government primary schools. [https://reut.rs/3jP9q22]
    Islamist insurgencies in the northeast have made the problem worse.    The extremist group Boko Haram, whose name translates roughly as “Western education is forbidden” in the local Hausa language, shocked the world when it seized more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in 2014.
    The armed gangs behind the kidnappings in the northwest have no clear ideological aims, but they have been successful in denying children an education, especially girls, said Amnesty’s Sanusi.    Many parents were already reluctant to send girls to school for cultural reasons, and they are seen as easier targets, he said.
    UNICEF estimates that 13.2 million children are now out of school across Nigeria – more than in India, a country six times the size.
    “The situation is probably at its biggest crisis point at the moment,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF’s representative in Nigeria.
    The country’s education minister and minister of state for education did not respond to requests for comment.    Kaduna state education commissioner Shehu Usman Muhammad said he is working to keep schools open by reinforcing security at some and relocating others.
    “Each time there is a kidnapping … it does also create negative impact on the children in other parts of the state,” Muhammad told Reuters, adding that parents “don’t know who’s next.”
    Kaduna state ordered 13 schools to close on Monday after gunmen raided a boarding school overnight, the fifth such incident in the state this year. About 150 students are missing from the Bethel Baptist High School in southern Kaduna.
    The crisis shows little sign of abating. Unemployment in Nigeria is above 30%, and economic opportunities are particularly limited in the north.    Experts say the bandits have hit upon a lucrative trade that will be difficult to eradicate.
    Kaduna state Governor Nasir El-Rufai has publicly refused to pay ransoms, although some other states openly negotiate with kidnap gangs.
    Gajere, Yusuf’s father, says the bandits forced him to abandon his farm and left him with nothing.    But he has hope for his children.
    “I will do my best to see that my children are educated, even if it is just two amongst them,” Gajere said.    “Because I am not educated, and I don’t want them to be like me.”
(Additional reporting by Garba Muhammad in Kaduna; Editing by Alexandra Zavis and Giles Elgood)

7/6/2021 Israel’s New Government Fails To Renew Disputed Citizenship Law
FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, sitting between Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Government Secretary
Shalom Shlomo, attends a weekly cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem July 4, 2021. Abir Sultan/Pool via REUTERS
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel’s parliament failed on Tuesday to renew a disputed law that bars granting citizenship or residency to Palestinians from the occupied West Bank or Gaza who are married to Israeli citizens, dealing a setback to the new coalition government.
    An early-morning vote in the Knesset (parliament) tied at 59-59, short of a simple majority needed to extend the 2003 law, which expires at midnight.    Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called the vote “a premeditated, direct blow to national security.”
    The vote highlights challenges Bennett, an ultranationalist, has already begun to face managing his ideologically diverse coalition, which was sworn in last month and includes left-wing parties and an Arab Islamist faction.
    Two members of the United Arab List abstained from the vote. And, in a bid to embarrass Bennett, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his right-wing Likud party, who had supported the bill in the past, voted against it, joined by one lawmaker from Bennett’s own Yamina faction.
    Israel passed the law, a temporary ordinance, during the height of a Palestinian uprising.    Most proponents say it helps ensure Israel’s security, while others say it maintains Israel’s “Jewish character.”    It had been extended annually since 2003.
    However, critics say it discriminates against Israel’s 21% Arab minority – who are Palestinian by heritage, Israeli by citizenship – by barring them from extending citizenship and permanent residency rights to Palestinian spouses. Exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis.
    “I have been married for 26 years and have had to renew my temporary residency annually,” said Asmahan Jabali, a Palestinian married to a man from Taybeh, an Arab village in central Israel.
    Jabali, who has coordinated advocacy against the law, estimates that tens of thousands of families are in similar situations.     “This is a temporary victory, but it is only the beginning,” she said.
    Vowing to “fix” the situation, Bennett said on Tuesday that Netanyahu and others had chosen “petty politics over the good of the citizens of Israel, and they will owe a long reckoning to the citizens of Israel for their actions.”
    The Knesset could vote again at a future date on extending the citizenship law, though it is unclear when that might happen.
    Urging legislators to support the law on Monday, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said: “It is one of the tools designed to ensure a Jewish majority in the State of Israel."
    “Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people, and our goal is to have a Jewish majority,” he said on Twitter, adding that without the law “there would be an increase in Palestinian terrorism.”
    Lapid, a centrist, reached a power-sharing deal with Bennett in June to unseat longtime premier Netanyahu.    Their 61-member coalition in the 120-seat parliament pledged to focus on socioeconomic issues and avoid sensitive policy choices towards the Palestinians.
(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch, Rami Ayyub, Dan Williams and Ali Sawafta;Editing by William Maclean and Mark Heinrich)

7/6/2021 Lebanon Is ‘Days Away’ From Social Explosion, PM Diab Warns
FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab speaks at the government palace
in Beirut, Lebanon March 6, 2021. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
    BEIRUT (Reuters) -Lebanon is a few days away from a social explosion, caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab warned on Tuesday, calling on the international community to save a country in deep economic crisis.
    The World Bank has called Lebanon’s crisis one of the worst depressions of modern history.    The currency has lost more than 90% of its value and more than half of the population has been propelled into poverty.
    Anger over fuel shortages has spilled into fights at petrol stations and the prime minister appeared to be warning of the prospect of more unrest.
    “Lebanon is a few days away from the social explosion.    The Lebanese are facing this dark fate alone,” Diab said in a speech at a meeting with ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions in Beirut.
    Diab has been serving in a caretaker capacity since resigning in the wake of the catastrophic Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion.    Since then, fractious sectarian politicians have been unable to agree on a new government.
    Diab also said only a new cabinet could re-start talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
    “This government does not have the right to resume negotiations with the IMF to implement the recovery plan set by the cabinet, for this entails obligations on the next government that it may not endorse,” he said.
    The European Union’s foreign policy chief told Lebanon’s leaders last month they were to blame for the political and economic crisis and some could face sanctions if they continue to obstruct steps to form a new government and implement reform.
    Diab noted repeated calls for assistance to be linked to reform, but said “the siege imposed” on Lebanon was not affecting the corrupt – an apparent reference to politicians.
    He said Lebanese were running out patience and “linking Lebanon’s assistance to the formation of a new government has become a threat to the lives of the Lebanese and to the Lebanese entity.”
(Reporting By Maha El Dahan; Editing by Tom Perry and AlisoN Williams)

7/7/2021 Qatar To Provide Food Aid For Lebanese Soldiers Amid Economic Crisis
FILE PHOTO: Lebanese army soldiers walk as they secure the area, outside American University of Beirut
(AUB) medical centre in Beirut, Lebanon July 17, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Qatar will provide the Lebanese armed forces with 70 tonnes of food a month, the Qatari state news agency QNA reported, as Lebanon seeks assistance amid its worst economic and political crisis since a 1975-1990 civil war.
    Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun had appealed to world powers at meeting in France last month for assistance for soldiers, whose wages have plunged in value as the Lebanese pound has crashed and inflation has soared.
    Qatar’s donation was announced on Tuesday during a visit to Beirut by Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.    QNA did not give details about the food aid offered.
    Sheikh Mohammed urged Lebanese parties to form a new government “to achieve stability,” QNA said.    Lebanese politicians have spent months wrangling without agreeing on a new government that is needed to unlock international aid.
    Lebanon’s cabinet resigned after a massive Beirut port blast in August last year and has been acting in a caretaker capacity since then, while the economic crisis in the heavily-indebted Arab country has deepened.    The Lebanese pound has lost 90% of its value against the dollar since the crisis erupted in 2019.
    Lebanon has long looked to the Gulf for financial aid in the past, but Sunni Muslim Gulf Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia have become increasingly reluctant to help because of the rising influence of Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shi’ite group back by Iran.
    Western and other international donors have demanded a new government and major reforms before providing assistance.
(Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Edmund Blair)

7/7/2021 Ever Given Container Ship Set To Leave Suez Canal
FILE PHOTO: Ship Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, is seen after it was fully
floated in Suez Canal, Egypt March 29, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany//File Photo<
    CAIRO (Reuters) – The container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March and has been detained there since is due to finally resume its journey on Wednesday after the owner and insurers reached a compensation settlement with the canal authority.
    One of the world’s largest container ships, the Ever Given became wedged diagonally across a single-lane stretch of the canal for six days, disrupting global trade.
    The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) demanded more than $900 million in compensation for the salvage operation and other losses, later lowered to $550 million.    It held the ship under court order as it pursued the claim, creating a dispute with the ship’s insurers and Japanese owner Shoei Kisen.
    The ship and its Indian crew have been anchored for more than three months in the Great Bitter Lake, between two stretches of the canal.
    After protracted negotiations, an undisclosed settlement between the parties was reached and the SCA announced that the ship would be released on Wednesday.
    A ceremony is due to be held at the canal to mark the departure of the vessel, which is loaded with about 18,300 containers.
    Canal sources said the Ever Given will be escorted by two tugboats and guided by two experienced pilots.
(Reporting by Yusri Mohamed and Nadeen Ebrahim; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Stephen Coates)

7/7/2021 Israel Tears Down Bedouin Tents In Palestinian Village
A member of the Israeli forces sets up a checkpoint to prevent access to the area at the Bedouin village of Humsa, that
is torn down according to rights groups, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 7, 2021. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel demolished the tent dwellings of at least 63 Bedouin in a village in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, a Palestinian official said, in an area designated by the Israeli military as a firing zone.
    The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said around 35 children were among those at risk of “(forced) transfer” following the demolitions in the Jordan Valley village of Khirbet Humsah.
    Palestinians and rights groups accuse Israel of trying to forcibly clear out Khirbet Humsah’s Bedouin – who witnesses said remained at the site after the demolitions – to make room for Jewish settlement expansion.
    Muataz Bsharat, an official in the Palestinian Authority that administers limited self-rule in the West Bank, said it was the seventh time Israeli authorities had destroyed tent dwellings as well as animal shelters, latrines, solar panels and water containers in the village.
    “Now 63 Palestinians became homeless.    Eleven families had their homes demolished and confiscated,” he said, accusing Israel of “state-sponsored terrorism” against the residents.
    COGAT, a branch of Israel’s defence ministry, said Israel acted in accordance with a Supreme Court ruling in demolishing tents that again had been illegally erected by Palestinians who “invaded the firing range” in 2012.
    Israel has often cited a lack of building permits, which Palestinians and rights groups say are nearly impossible to obtain, in destroying Palestinian structures in the West Bank, an area it captured in a 1967 war.
    Israel has said the Bedouin in Khirbet Humsah had rejected offers to move them out of the firing zone to an alternative location.
    At the site, mechanical excavators tore into the tents and then lifted the remnants into dump trucks to be carted away as residents looked on.
    Israeli authorities have demolished at least 421 structures belonging to Palestinians in the first half of 2021, a 30% increase over the same period in 2020, the NRC said in a statement.
(Reporting by Ali Sawafta, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Dan WilliamsEditing by William Maclean)

7/7/2021 Former Labour Chief Herzog Sworn In As Israel’s President
Israeli President-elect Isaac Herzog gestures next to Chairman of the Knesset Mickey Levy during a
swearing-in ceremony at the Knesset, Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem July 7, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Former Labour party head Isaac Herzog was sworn in as Israel’s president on Wednesday and pledged to use the largely ceremonial role to try to heal deep divisions within Israeli society.
    In a pomp-filled ceremony in the Knesset (parliament), Herzog embraced outgoing president Reuven Rivlin before taking the oath of office to applause from lawmakers, beginning a seven-year term.
    “From here, I will go to Israel’s presidential residence and begin a journey between the rifts and chasms of Israeli society. A journey that aims to find the unifier within the differences, the unifier between the rifts, a journey designed to rediscover us,” Herzog, 60, said.
    First elected to parliament in 2003, Herzog led the left-wing Labour party and held several portfolios in coalition governments. His most recent public post was as head of the Jewish Agency for Israel, which encourages immigration.
    Defeated by former premier Benjamin Netanyahu in a 2015 election, Herzog was elected president by parliament in June just days before Netanyahu was toppled by a cross-partisan alliance led by new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
    The Bennett-led government’s swearing-in followed four elections in two years that exposed deep political, religious and ethnic divides in Israeli society.
    Fighting in May between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza also touched off rare mob violence among the Jewish majority and Arab minority within Israeli cities.
    “I embark on this path in order to meet the pain, to look at it directly, to lend an ear and a heart – to difficulties and fears, even at the most eruptive points,” Herzog said.
    A lawyer, Herzog is a son of the late Israeli president Chaim Herzog, who also served as his country’s ambassador to the United Nations.
    Concluding his speech, Herzog vowed to fight anti-Semitism, strive for peace between Israel and its neighbours and help in the “fight against Israel’s strategic threats, chiefly Iran’s nuclear programme”
(Reporting by Rami Ayyub and Maayan Lubell; Editing by Nick Macfie)

7/8/2021 Haiti Police Battle Gunmen Who Killed President, Amid Fears Of Chaos by Andre Paultre
FILE PHOTO: Haiti's President Jovenel Moise speaks during the investiture ceremony of the independent advisory committee for the drafting of the new constitution at the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti October 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares/File Photo
    PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) -Haiti’s security forces were locked in a fierce gun battle on Wednesday with assailants who assassinated President Jovenel Moise at his home overnight, plunging the already impoverished, violence-wracked nation deeper into chaos.
    The police had killed four of the “mercenaries” and captured two more, Police General Director Leon Charles said in televised comments late on Wednesday, adding that security forces would not rest until they had all been dealt with.
    “We blocked them en route as they left the scene of the crime,” he said.    “Since then, we have been battling with them.”     “They will be killed or apprehended.”
    Moise, a 53-year-old former businessman who took office in 2017, was shot dead and his wife, Martine Moise, was seriously wounded when heavily armed assassins stormed the couple’s home in the hills above Port-au-Prince at around 1 a.m. local time (0500 GMT).
    Haiti’s ambassador to the United States, Bocchit Edmond, told Reuters in an interview the gunmen were masquerading as U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents as they entered Moise’s guarded residence under cover of nightfall – a move that would likely have helped them gain entry.
    The brazen assassination, which drew condemnation from the U.N. Security Council, the United States https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-assessing-tragic-attack-that-killed-haiti-president-white-house-2021-07-07 and neighboring Latin American countries, came amid political unrest, a surge in gang violence, and a growing humanitarian crisis https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/haitis-history-violence-turmoil-2021-07-07 in the poorest nation in the Americas.
    The government declared a two-week state of emergency to help it hunt down the assassins, whom Edmond described as a group of “foreign mercenaries” and well-trained killers.
    The gunmen spoke English and Spanish, said interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, who assumed the leadership of the country, where the majority speak French or Haitian Creole.
    “I am calling for calm. Everything is under control,” Joseph said on television alongside Police General Director Charles.    “This barbaric act will not remain unpunished.”
    The first lady had been airlifted to Florida for treatment where she was in a stable condition, Joseph said.
    Haiti, a country of about 11 million people, has struggled to achieve stability since the fall of the Duvalier dynastic dictatorship in 1986, and has grappled with a series of coups and foreign interventions.
    The U.N. Security Council condemned Moise’s assassination and called on all parties to “remain calm, exercise restraint and to avoid any act that could contribute to further instability.”    The council is due to be briefed on the killing in a closed-door meeting on Thursday.
    U.S. President Joe Biden denounced the killing as “heinous” and called the situation in Haiti – which lies some 700 miles (1,125 km) off the Florida coast – worrisome.
    “We stand ready to assist as we continue to work for a safe and secure Haiti,” he said.
    U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a call with Joseph, expressed Washington’s commitment to work with Haiti’s government to support “democratic governance, peace, and security,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
    Many people in Haiti had wanted Moise to leave office. Ever since he took over in 2017, he faced calls to resign and mass protests – first over corruption allegations and his management of the economy, then over his increasing grip on power.
    Lately, he presided over a worsening state of gang violence that rights activists say is linked to politics and business leaders using armed groups for their own ends.
    In recent months, many districts of the capital Port-au-Prince had become no-go zones and one of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders warned he was launching a revolution against the country’s business and political elites https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/haiti-gang-leader-launches-revolution-violence-escalates-2021-06-24 – although rights activists said he was more linked to Moise than the opposition.
    Moise himself had talked of dark forces at play behind the unrest: fellow politicians and corrupt oligarchs unhappy with his attempts to clean up government contracts and to reform Haitian politics. He provided no proof of this.
FEARS OF UNREST
    The streets of the usually bustling capital were mostly deserted on Wednesday and the airport was closed although gunshots rang through the air.
    A caravan of vehicles including the ambulance carrying Moise’s corpse to the morgue had to change route because of gunfire and roadblocks, according to local reports.
    With Haiti politically polarized and facing growing hunger, fears of a breakdown in order are spreading.
    The Dominican Republic closed the border it shares with Haiti on the island of Hispaniola, except to returning nationals, and beefed up security.
    “This crime is an attack against the democratic order of Haiti and the region,” Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said.
    The U.N. Security Council expressed deep shock and sympathy over Moise’s death ahead of a closed-door meeting on Thursday, requested by the United States and Mexico, to evaluate the situation.
    A U.N. peacekeeping mission – meant to restore order after a rebellion toppled then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004 – ended in 2019 with the country still in disarray https://www.reuters.com/article/us-haiti-politics-idUSKBN1WU2SP.    In recent years, Haiti has been buffeted by a series of natural disasters and still bears the scars of a major earthquake in 2010.
POWER VACUUM
    Moise’s murder comes amid a power vacuum.    The banana exporter-turned-politician, who took office in 2017, had ruled by decree for more than a year after the country failed to hold legislative elections.    There are only 10 elected officials in the Haitian government, all of them senators.
    Just this week he nominated a prime minister to replace Joseph – who was only meant to be an interim PM – but the official has yet to be sworn in.    The head of the Supreme Court of Justice died last month of COVID-19 amid a worrying surge in infections and has yet to be replaced.
    An extraordinary issue of the official gazette on Wednesday said the prime minister and his cabinet – meaning Joseph’s government – would assume executive powers until a new president could be elected, as per Haiti’s constitution.
    An election had already been scheduled for September, alongside a controversial referendum on a new constitution that Moise had said would help finally bring political stability to the country.
    Opposition leaders said it was part of his attempts to install a dictatorship by overstaying his mandate and becoming more authoritarian. He denied those accusations.
    The U.S. Embassy said it would be closed on Wednesday due to the “ongoing security situation.”
    The United States, which is Haiti’s top aid donor and has long exerted an outsized weight in its politics, had on June 30 condemned what it described as a systematic violation of human rights, fundamental freedoms and attacks on the press in the country.    The Biden administration urged https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-condemns-wave-violence-haiti-says-human-rights-violated-2021-06-30 the Haitian government to counter a proliferation of gangs and violence.
    The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) expressed concern on Wednesday that the violence could deal a setback to efforts to fight COVID-19 in Haiti – one of only a handful of countries worldwide that has yet to administer a single shot of coronavirus vaccine.
(Reporting by Andre Paultre in Port-au-Prince with additional reporting by Ezequiel Abiu Lopez in Santo Domingo; Mohammad Zargham, Susan Heavey, Mark Hosenball, Doina Chiacu, Humeyra Pamuk, Daphne Psaledakis and Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; and Stefanie Eschenbacher in Mexico City Writing by Sarah MarshEditing by Daniel Flynn, Mark Heinrich, Rosalba O’Brien and Michael Perry)

7/8/2021 Dubai Extinguishes Fire On Ship In Jebel Ali Port by Lisa Barrington and Alexander Cornwell
Plumes of smoke rise from a container ship anchored in Dubai's Jebel Ali port as emergency services try to
contain the fire, in Dubai, UAE, July 7, 2021 in this still image taken from a video. WAM/Handout via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) -A fire aboard a ship in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port was extinguished on Thursday after it had been sparked overnight by an explosion in a container, the Dubai government’s media office said.
    The blaze in the Middle East’s largest transshipment hub was caused by a container holding flammable material, Dubai Media Office (DMO) Director General Mona Al Marri told Al Arabiya television, describing it as a “normal accident
    DMO said there were no casualties and said port authorities had taken measures to ensure normal shipping was not disrupted.
    Police in Dubai, a regional business hub and one of seven emirates making up the United Arab Emirates, said the blast might have been caused by “friction or high temperatures” during hot summer weather, Al Arabiya reported.
    Witnesses in residential areas as far away as 22 km (14 miles) from Jebel Ali heard the explosion.
    Overnight, DMO had posted footage of water being pumped to douse flames. Reuters witnesses said vehicles involved in regular port activities continued to go in and out of port area while civil defence vehicles arrived to deal with the blaze.
    DMO did not identify the ship involved but said it had capacity to carry 130 containers.    It said the vessel had been preparing to dock at a berth “away from the port’s main shipping line.”    Officials told Al Arabiya the crew had been evacuated.
    State-run DP World, the owner of Jebel Ali Port which handled 13.5 million containers in 2020, had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom and Nayera Abdallah and Ahmed Tolba in Cairo; Writing by Ghaida Ghantous and Raya Jalabi; Editing by David Gregorio and Edmund Blair)

7/8/2021 School’s Out For Good? Lebanese Teachers Flee As Financial Crisis Builds by Maha El Dahan and Imad Creidi
An empty classroom is pictured at College des Freres Sacre-Coeur in Beirut, Lebanon,
June 25, 2021. Picture taken June 25, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – Sorbonne-educated Chryssoula Fayad spent nearly two decades teaching history and geography at Lebanon’s elite French schools, ultimately heading departments. Now she is a substitute teacher in Paris, part of an exodus from an education system on its knees.
    Fayad left behind her home and life savings in August 2020, at 50 years old. Days earlier, the hospital where her husband worked and his clinic were damaged along with swathes of Beirut when chemicals exploded at the port – the final straw.
    Corruption and political wrangling have cost the local currency more than 90% of its value in less than two years, propelling half the population into poverty and locking depositors like Fayad out of their bank accounts.
    Despite her straitened circumstances, she has no regrets.
    “I always say thank God that we had this chance to come here,” she said.    “Unfortunately I know I made the right decision when I see how things are in Lebanon now.”
    Lebanon’s educational sector, prized throughout the Middle East as a regional leader, was once ranked tenth globally by the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report.
    Now it is unclear how schools will manage when the new academic year starts in October.
    “When the crisis erupted in 2019 it took the educational sector by surprise,” Rene Karam, the head of the Association of Teachers of English (ATEL) in Lebanon, said.
    At the start, some private schools laid off higher-paid teachers, around 30% of staff, to save money, but as time went on many others left of their own accord, with half of the 100 teachers in his association now in Iraq, Dubai and Oman.
    Salaries starting at 1.5 million Lebanese pounds a month are now worth less than $90 at the street rate in a country where they used to be $1,000.
    “We are in a real crisis,” he said.
STAYING ALIVE
    Private schools make up 70% of the educational sector, with upwards of 1,500 institutions.    Rodolphe Abboud, head of the syndicate for private school teachers, said every school has lost between ten to 40 teachers so far, with some staying at home because they can no longer afford childcare.
    “We are at the stage of just staying alive, the necessities,” he said.    “There is not one school now that is not advertising for jobs.”     Children from several grades have already been put together for some subjects and daily power cuts and shortages of basic materials also make it difficult for schools to operate.
    This week the education ministry cancelled final middle school examinations in response to pressure from parents and staff who had argued economic conditions made them impossible.
    “The minister wanted to conduct exams but didn’t he know that in Lebanon there is a shortage of paper and ink and teachers can’t work for free and schools can’t operate without fuel for electricity generators?” Karam said.
    The education ministry said it had secured extra pay from donors for teachers supervising exams but most had pulled out.
    “The majority of teachers gradually withdrew from supervision and this is what made it impossible to conduct the middle school exams,” Hilda Khoury, a director at the ministry, said by email, adding that senior school exams would take place.
WHATEVER IT TAKES
    Father Boutros Azar, secretary general for Catholic Schools in the Middle East and North Africa, said parents at many of its 321 schools in Lebanon were struggling to pay annual fees that range from 3 million to 8 million pounds.
    “But we have made a decision to continue and do whatever it takes to keep schools open,” he said.
    A government employee said no one had paid the fees for next year yet at the school attended by her two sons, aged 10 and seven.    The school had demanded $600 for each child in dollars in addition to 12 million Lebanese pounds.
    “Where does anybody get fresh dollars to pay these days? We all get paid in local currency so how are we supposed to get this amount?,” she said, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of her job.
    Abboud, sitting in one of 130 schools that were damaged by the port blast, said some parents were voting with their feet, putting pressure on the small state sector, or moving abroad.
    “We are seeing families going from private schools to public schools and others moving outside of Lebanon to Arab countries or Europe and the U.S. and Canada and this creates a problem.”
    More teachers are also preparing to leave.
    “There is a vast difference between now and two years ago,” said 25-year old Joy Fares who has been teaching for five years.    “Then I would say no     I want to stay with my family … but now, no, it makes sense to just go.”
(Reporting by Maha El Dahan and Imad Creidi; additional reporting by Issam Abdallah and Laila Bassam; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

7/8/2021 Rocket Attacks Land Inside Baghdad Green Zone by OAN Newsroom
Map locates the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq. (AP)
    A trio of rockets landed inside Baghdad’s Green Zone on Thursday, causing damage but reportedly injuring no one.
    Reports said two rockets fell near the national security building and an open courtyard, while a third fell into a residential area.
    Officials said the attack destroyed a local mosque.    With further surveying of the area, coalition forces said homes and a civilian vehicle were also damaged.    Baghdad’s Green Zone houses the U.S. Embassy building, as well as other government buildings.
    This comes after a rocket attack on Wednesday that targeted the al-Asad air base in western Iraq, which is known to house U.S. troops.
A member of the Iraqi security forces walks past a destroyed vehicle. (AYMAN HENNA/AFP via Getty Images)
    “This is a bad and negative message, which is Iraq still suffers from the use of weapons outside the state’s control,” said the spokesman for joint operations in Iraq, Tahseen Al-Khafaji.    “Therefore, the security forces are determined to maintain the security and safety of our country and will chase all those who use weapons outside state control.    We will not allow Iraq to become an arena for settling scores.”
    It’s believed the attacks were launched by Iran-backed militias amid increased tensions as Washington and Baghdad discuss a timeline for pulling troops from Iraq.

7/8/2021 Algerian Parliament Elects Independent Lawmaker As Speaker
FILE PHOTO: People walk past the building of the lower parliament chamber
in Algiers, Algeria September 16, 2020. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
    ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algeria’s parliament elected an independent lawmaker for the first time on Thursday to the powerful post of speaker for the next five years, following last month’s national election in which non-affiliated candidates performed well.
    Ibrahim Boughali, 58, won 295 votes against 87 votes for his opponent Ahmed Sadouk from the Islamist Movement of Society for Peace (MSP) party.
    Independent candidates obtained 78 seats in June’s legislative election, behind National Liberation Front (FLN), long the biggest political party in Algeria, which won 98 seats in the 407-seat lower house of parliament.
    The former ruling party FLN and its coalition partners had dominated the North African country’s assembly for decades.
    President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, elected in December 2019 to succeed Abelaziz Bouteflika who stepped down after mass protests demanding the departure of the ruling elite, has vowed to carry out political reforms including giving parliament more powers.
    He has also promised economic reforms to reduce Algeria’s reliance on oil and gas amid a financial crisis caused by lower energy revenues, the main source of state finances.
(Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; Editing by Gareth Jones)

7/8/2021 Factbox-Ethiopia’s Giant Nile Dam
FILE PHOTO: Fishermen are seen on a boat on the Nile River on the outskirts of Cairo, following the outbreak
of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Egypt August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
    CAIRO (Reuters) – Ethiopia has been building a giant hydropower dam on the Blue Nile and has started holding back the water flow from seasonal rains to fill the reservoir behind it for a second year.
    Egypt is worried the dam will affect the overall flow of the Nile, and together with fellow downriver country Sudan, has brought the issue to the U.N. Security Council in a bid to get a binding deal on the dam’s operation.
THE DAM
    The $4 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) was announced in early 2011, as Egypt was in political upheaval.
    It is the centrepiece of Ethiopia’s bid to become Africa’s biggest power exporter, with a projected capacity of more than 6,000 megawatts.
    Though construction has been hit by delays, Ethiopia began filling the reservoir behind the dam in 2020.
    This initial two-year stage of filling is expected to bring the water level in the reservoir to 595 metres out of an eventual 632 metres.
NILE WATERS
    The Nile Basin river system flows through 11 countries.    The Blue Nile and White Nile merge in Sudan before flowing into Egypt and on to the Mediterranean.
    Egypt has based its share of the river’s waters on a 1959 deal that gave it 55.5 billion cubic meters water annually, and Sudan 18.5 bcm.
    Other countries were not given allocations at that time and Ethiopia does not recognise the agreement.
EGYPT’S POSITION
    Egypt, which has a rapidly growing population of over 100 million, relies on the Nile for at least 90% of its fresh water.
    The largely desert country is already short of water.    It imports about half its food products and recycles about 25 bcm of water annually.
    Egypt is most worried about the risk of drought conditions such as those that occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and has pushed for Ethiopia to fill the reservoir over a longer period if needed and guarantee minimum flows.
    If water flows are restricted in drought conditions Egypt says it could lose more than one million jobs and $1.8 billion in economic production annually, though it acknowledges such a scenario is unlikely.
ETHIOPIA’S POSITION
    Ethiopia, with a population of more than 110 million, accuses Egypt of trying to maintain a colonial-era grip over the Nile’s waters by imposing rules over the dam’s filling and operation.
    It has said it is taking the interests of Egypt and Sudan into account, and that Egypt’s requirements of guaranteed flows are unrealistic.
    It has also said it could finish filling the reservoir in two to three years, but made a concession by proposing a four-to-seven year process.
SUDAN’S POSITION
    Sudan does not face shortages in its Nile water supplies and it could gain from the dam’s electricity generation, as well as flood mitigation.
    However, Sudan is concerned about the safety of the dam, which lies just the other side of its border with Ethiopia.
    Khartoum has called for information sharing in order to minimise the impact on its own dams and water stations, and took precautionary measures at its own dams before the GERD’s second filling, citing lack of data from Ethiopia.
TALKS
    Both sides have blamed each other for negotiations repeatedly stalling.    Talks hosted by Washington broke down last year, and an effort to relaunch them in Kinshasa earlier this year also failed.
    While the African Union has facilitated recent efforts, Sudan and Egypt have called for the United States, the European Union and the United Nations to mediate directly.
    Ethiopia has resisted this, saying that diplomacy outside the AU process was “demeaning” to the African body’s efforts.
(Writing by Nafisa Eltahir and Aidan Lewis; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

7/8/2021 Libya Closes Borders With Tunisia For A Week Due To Rise In Coronavirus Cases
FILE PHOTO: People cross a street at Martyrs Square in Tripoli, Libya, July 5, 2021. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed/File Photo
    TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s new unity government on Thursday announced it was closing its borders with Tunisia for a week due to the rise in coronavirus cases in the neighboring country, a government spokesman said.     The decision came as a precautionary step to what the government described as “worsening situation and collapsed health system,” as well as the increasing number of cases with coronavirus delta variant in Tunisia.
    The closure of both land border and airport with Tunisia will start as of Thursday midnight, Mohamed Hamouda, the Government of National Unity (GNU) spokesman said.
    Hamouda also said universities and schools have suspended classes for around two weeks for the same reason.
    After successfully containing the virus in the first wave last year, Tunisia grappled with a rise in infections.    It has imposed a lockdown in some cities since last week, but rejected a full national lockdown due to its economic crisis.
    The total number of cases in Tunisia has climbed to around 465,000, with more than 15,000 deaths recorded.
    “The Libyan state ,through its consulate in Tunisia, will take care of its nationals stranded in Tunisia territory as a result of this decision until their return to the country is facilitated,” said Hamouda.
    Many Libyans travel to Tunisia for medical treatment, but the number rose as the oil-rich country slid into chaos after the fall of former President Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.
    Libya has recorded 160,095 cases and 3227 deaths.    The country’s National Centre for Disease Control said 413,883 of its about 6.5 million residents have been vaccinated.
(reporting and writing by Ahmed Elumami in Tripoli;additional reporting by Tarek Amara in Tunis; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

7/9/2021 Israel Doubles Water Supply To Jordan; Source Says PM Met King by Dan Williams
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett looks on as he speaks during his Yamina party faction meeting at the
Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem July 5, 2021. Picture taken July 5, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel will this year double its supply of water to Jordan and encourage Amman to export more to the Palestinians, Israeli officials said on Thursday after a source told Reuters the new Israeli prime minister had secretly met the Jordanian king.
    Jordan is a key security partner for Israel but relations have suffered in recent years over Israeli-Palestinian tensions.
    Yair Lapid, foreign minister in a cross-partisan coalition that ousted long-serving conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government a month ago, held a first meeting with Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi on Thursday.
    Separately, a source who declined to be identified by name or nationality said Netanyahu’s successor, Naftali Bennett, made an unannounced Amman visit last week to see King Abdullah.
    Israeli and Jordanian spokespeople had no immediate comment on what the source described as June 29 talks at Abdullah’s palace, meant to improve ties strained during Netanyahu’s term.
    A July 1 palace statement said Abdullah had embarked on a three-week visit to the United States that would include President Joe Biden’s first meeting with an Arab leader at the White House since taking office.
    Biden will host Abdullah there on July 19, the White House said on Wednesday, adding that those talks would be “an opportunity to … showcase Jordan’s leadership role in promoting peace and stability in the region.”
    Lapid said Israel would sell its neighbour 50 million cubic metres of water this year.
    An Israeli official said that would effectively double the supply for the year – from May 2021 to May 2022 – as around 50 million cubic metres was already being sold or given to Jordan.    A Jordanian official said Israel gives the kingdom 30 million cubic metres annually under their 1994 peace treaty.
    Lapid said the countries also agreed to explore increasing Jordan’s exports to the West Bank to $700 million a year, from $160 million now.
    “The Kingdom of Jordan is an important neighbour and partner,” Lapid said in a statement.    “We will broaden economic cooperation for the good of the two countries.”
    The United States welcomed the agreements.    “It is these kinds of tangible steps that increase prosperity for all and advance regional stability,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
    Abdullah strongly opposed former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan, which he saw as a national security threat that would also undermine his Hashemite family’s custodianship of holy sites in Jerusalem.
    Officials say the shift in U.S. policy under Biden towards a more traditional commitment to a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict has relieved pressure on Jordan, where a majority of the population of 10 million are Palestinians.
(Writing by Dan Williams and Suleiman al-Khalidi; Editing by Giles Elgood)

7/9/2021 Pentagon ‘Deeply Concerned’ By Recent Attacks On Personnel In Iraq, Syria
Iraq's Joint Operations Command soldiers inspect the truck and the site from where rockets were launched towards Ain Al-Asad
Military Base, at Anbar province, in al-Baghdadi, Iraq, July 8, 2021. Joint Operations Command Media Office/Handout via REUTERS
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon said on Thursday it was deeply concerned about a series of attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria in recent days.
    U.S. diplomats and troops in Iraq and Syria were targeted in three rocket and drone attacks on Wednesday alone, including at least 14 rockets hitting an Iraqi air base hosting U.S. forces, wounding two American service members.
    While there were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks – part of a wave targeting U.S. troops or areas where they are based in Iraq and Syria – analysts believed they were part of a campaign by Iranian-backed militias.
    “They are using lethal weaponry.    I don’t know how you can say anything other than it is a serious threat,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
    Iraqi militia groups aligned with Iran vowed to retaliate after U.S. strikes on the Iraqi-Syrian border killed four of their members last month.
    Iran denied supporting attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria and condemned U.S. air strikes on Iranian-backed groups.
    The United States has been holding indirect talks with Iran aimed at bringing both nations back into compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which was abandoned by then-President Donald Trump.    No date has been set for a next round of the talks, which adjourned on June 20.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Sandra Maler)

7/11/2021 Violence Spreads To South Africa’s Economic Hub In Wake Of Zuma Jailing
Police walk past a shop looted in protests following the jailing of former South African
President Jacob Zuma, in Durban, South Africa, July 11, 2021. REUTERS/Siyabonga Sishi
    JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -Shops were looted overnight, a section of the M2 highway was closed and stick-wielding protesters marched through the streets of Johannesburg on Sunday, as sporadic acts of violence following the jailing of former South African President Jacob Zuma spread to the country’s main economic hub.
    The unrest had mainly been concentrated in Zuma’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), where he started serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court on Wednesday night.
    Zuma’s sentencing and subsequent imprisonment have been seen as a test of the post-apartheid nation’s ability to enforce the law fairly – even against powerful politicians – 27 years after the African National Congress (ANC) ousted the white minority rulers to usher in democracy.
    But his incarceration has angered Zuma’s supporters and exposed rifts within the ANC.
    Police said criminals were taking advantage of the anger to steal and cause damage.    National intelligence body NatJOINTS warned that those inciting violence could face criminal charges.
    NatJOINTS said in a statement that 62 people had been arrested in KZN and Gauteng, the province where Johannesburg is located, since the violence began.
    The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) said there had been looting in the Alexandra township and Jeppestown suburb on Saturday night.    The M2 was closed off after there were reports of shots being fired at passing vehicles.
    A Reuters TV crew saw a column of protesters brandishing sticks, golf clubs and branches as they whistled and marched through Johannesburg’s Central Business District, where liquor stores had been burgled and shop windows smashed.
    The sale of alcohol is currently banned under lockdown restrictions designed to ease pressure on hospitals during a severe “third wave” of COVID-19 infections.
    KZN police spokesman Jay Naicker said there had also been more looting in eThekwini, the municipality that includes Durban.    “We saw a lot of criminals or opportunistic individuals trying to enrich themselves during this period,” he said.
    Zuma was given the jail term for defying an order from the constitutional court to give evidence at an inquiry that is investigating high-level corruption during his nine years in power until 2018.
    He denies there was widespread corruption under his leadership but has refused to cooperate with the inquiry, which was set up in his final weeks in office.
    Zuma has challenged his sentence in the constitutional court, partly on the grounds of his alleged frail health and the risk of catching COVID-19.    That challenge will be heard on Monday.
    Parliament’s presiding officers said on Sunday that they were “sympathetic to the personal difficulties confronting former President Jacob Zuma.    However, the rule of law and supremacy of the constitution must prevail.”
(Reporting by Alexander Winning, Shafiek Tassiem and Sisipho SkweyiyaEditing by Frances Kerry)

7/11/2021 Israel To Withhold $180 Million In Palestinian Funds Over Militant Stipends
FILE PHOTO: Palestinian Hamas supporters attend an anti-Israel rally in the northern Gaza Strip, May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel will withhold $180 million in tax revenue it collect last year on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, or about 7% of the PA’s total tax revenue, to offset stipends paid to militants and their families, the Israeli cabinet said on Sunday.
    Under a 2018 law, Israel calculates each year how much it believes the Palestinian Authority has paid in stipends to militants, and deducts that amount from the taxes it has collected on the Palestinians’ behalf.
    Taxes collected by Israel form about half of the income of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
    Israel calls stipends for militants and their families a “pay for slay” policy that encourages violence.    Palestinians hail their jailed brethren as heroes in a struggle for an independent state and their families as deserving of support.
    Qadri Abu Baker, head of prisoners affairs in the Palestine Liberation Organization, called the Israeli measure a crime of “terror and piracy.”
($1 = 3.2776 shekels)
(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch and Ali Sawafta)

7/11/2021 South Africa Extends Tight COVID-19 Restrictions For Another 14 Days
FILE PHOTO: A person crosses the street during sunset, amid the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) outbreak, in Soweto, South Africa, April 1, 2021. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
    JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa extended tight COVID-19 rules on Sunday for another 14 days, maintaining restrictions that include a ban on gatherings, a curfew from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. and a prohibition on the sale of alcohol.
    The country, the worst-hit on the African continent in terms of recorded cases and deaths, is in the grip of a third wave of infections driven by the more infectious Delta coronavirus variant.
    “Our health system countrywide remains under pressure,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a televised address to the nation.
    Early this month South Africa recorded a new record of over 26,000 daily cases, stretching hospitals to breaking point.
    Ramaphosa moved the country to the fourth level of a five-tier restriction scale in late June as infections climbed, promising to review the restrictions after two weeks.
    On Sunday he said the cabinet had decided to maintain “adjusted alert level 4” for another 14 days, although restaurants would be able to serve food on their premises again subject to strict health protocols.    Gyms would also be allowed to reopen under certain conditions.
    Ramaphosa added that a government advisory committee was working on how soon to bring Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine into the COVID-19 immunisation programme.
    So far the vaccine campaign has been slow, with 4.2 million doses administered out of a population of 60 million, but officials are hoping to ramp up daily vaccinations to at least 300,000 by the end of August.
    Ramaphosa said the African Union and European Union had reached an agreement for local pharmaceutical company Aspen to deliver more than 17 million Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses to South Africa and other African countries over the next three months.
    Aspen is sourcing vaccine ingredients from J&J to package them in South Africa, a process known as fill and finish.
    Ramaphosa said his country was negotiating for the drug substance to be produced locally, “so that we have a fully-owned African vaccine manufactured on African soil.”
(Reporting by Alexander WinningEditing by Peter Graff)

7/11/2021 Oman’s Sultan Visits Saudi Arabia On First Overseas Trip
FILE PHOTO: Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said gives a speech after being sworn in before the
royal family council in Muscat, Oman January 11, 2020. REUTERS/Sultan Al Hasani//File Photo
    DUBAI (Reuters) -Oman’s Sultan visited Saudi Arabia on Sunday on his first official overseas trip since assuming power last year, with talks expected to focus on the Yemen war and economic and investment cooperation as Muscat looks to shore up its finances.
    Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, whose country has joined United Nations-led efforts to secure a peace agreement in Yemen, arrived in the Red Sea city of NEOM for a two-day visit.
    He was greeted by Saudi King Salman – in what Saudi-owned media said was the 85-year-old monarch’s first face-to-face meeting since the coronavirus pandemic began – and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
    The sultan recently faced his biggest challenge with demonstrations against unemployment in the debt-burdened country, which is pursuing wide-ranging reforms and austerity measures.
    During the visit Saudi Arabia and Oman signed a document to establish a joint coordination council to oversee several agreements.
    Oman’s foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi, had told the Saudi-owned Asharq Alawsat newspaper on Saturday the opening of a delayed new road linking the two Gulf states would facilitate logistics and other infrastructure projects.
    Since the oil price crash in 2014, Oman’s debt to GDP ratio has leapt from about 15% in 2015 to 80% last year, while its plans to diversify revenue away from oil and to reduce spending on its bloated public sector have made slow progress.
    Oman is among the weakest financially among the Gulf oil producers but has long played the role of facilitator in efforts to resolve regional conflicts because of its neutral foreign policy.
    The sultanate, which shares borders with Yemen, has intensified diplomatic efforts aimed at securing a ceasefire between Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement and the Saudi-led coalition that has been battling the group for more than six years.
    The coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the internationally recognised government from the capital, Sanaa.    The war has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis and pushed the country to the brink of famine.
(Writing by Lisa BarringtonEditing by David Goodman and Frances Kerry)

7/11/2021 Israel’s Supreme Court Rules In Favour Of Same-Sex Couple Surrogacy Rights
FILE PHOTO: People take part in a Gay Pride event which has been down-scaled amid coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) fears, at Rabin square in Tel Aviv, Israel June 28, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s Supreme Court on Sunday ruled that current legal restrictions barring same-sex couples from becoming parents through surrogacy were unlawful and must be lifted within six months.
    The country’s LGBTQ+ community praised the decision as a breakthrough.    It had demanded for years to be allowed to pursue surrogacy, which is already accessible to heterosexual couples and single women in Israel.
    The issue has highlighted a liberal/conservative divide, often along religious lines, in Israel, where same-sex marriages are not conducted by state-sanctioned authorities but are formally recognised if they are performed abroad.
    The Supreme Court, petitioned by gay rights activists, ruled more than a year ago that a surrogacy ban for same-sex couples and single men violated their rights and called for the rules to be changed.
    But having been informed by the government – which took office last month and includes a mix of liberal, conservative and Arab Islamist parties – that making legislative changes right now would be unfeasible, the court determined the exclusions would become invalid within six months.
    “Finally, equality!” Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz wrote on Twitter.
    The Health Ministry, he said, would begin the necessary preparations to uphold the court’s decision.
(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Raissa Kasolowsky)

7/11/2021 Rwanda Sends 1,000 Troops To Mozambique To by Fight Terrorists OAN Newsroom
Rwandan soldiers from Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) and Rwandan policemen prepare to board a “Rwandair” plane for a
military mission to Mozambique at Kanombe airport, Kigali, Rwanda. (Photo by SIMON WOHLFAHRT/AFP via Getty Images)
    Rwanda dispatched 1,000 troops to Mozambique to help the East African nation combat Islamic state-linked jihadists.    Rwandan officials recently announced the move after a request from the Mozambican government in an effort to turn away jihadists who threaten to topple the nation.
    The troops are reportedly from both the Rwandan military and police force who’ve been trained to “deal with terrorism and security-related issues.”    The joint forces were set to deploy in full on Saturday.
    “The purpose of this mission first of all is based on a request by the government of Mozambique to the government of Rwanda to help support in conducting military operations including security operations,” Col. Ronald Rwivanga of Rwanda Defense Forces explained.    “….This was a request by the government of Mozambique to the government of Rwanda and this is part of a bilateral agreement since 2019.”
    The move comes after nearly 3,000 people have died as well as 800,000 people displaced due to a turf war over the oil-rich region.    Human rights activists fear the conflict would create an artificial food crisis for those living under the terrorist regime.

7/12/2021 S. African Ex-Leader Zuma Faces Court Hearing Amid Looting, Killings by Tim Cocks and Alexander Winning
A supermarket burns as protests continue after former South Africa President Jacob Zuma
was jailed, in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, July 12, 2021. REUTERS/Rogan Ward
    JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s top court began hearing a challenge by former president Jacob Zuma against a 15-month prison term on Monday as police said six people had been killed and over 200 arrested in related protests and looting since last week.
    Sporadic violence and looting continued on Monday, after a weekend of unrest by pro-Zuma protesters, mainly concentrated in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). Some disturbances spilled into the country’s largest city Johannesburg.
    Zuma, 79, was sentenced for defying a constitutional court order to give evidence at an inquiry investigating high-level corruption during his nine years in office until 2018.
    The decision to jail him resulted from legal proceedings seen as a test of post-apartheid South Africa’s ability to enforce the rule of law, including against powerful politicians.
    In the virtual hearing, Zuma’s counsel asked the court to rescind his jail term, citing a rule that judgments can be reconsidered if made in the absence of the affected person or containing a patent error.
    Legal experts say Zuma’s chances of success are slim.
    Television channels showed footage on Monday of a fire at a mall in Pietermaritzburg, in KZN.    The channel said the highway leading to the city had been closed to prevent further violence.
    “The NatJOINTS (government intelligence body) has intensified deployments in all the areas in Gauteng (the province including Johannesburg) and KwaZulu-Natal affected by the violent protests, as the damage to property and looting of stores continued overnight,” the agency said in a statement.
    It said the bodies of four people were found – at least two of them with gunshot wounds – in Gauteng. Two deaths had occurred in KZN, and all six were being investigated.
    Zuma’s imprisonment marks a significant fall for an important figure in the liberation-movement-turned-ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC). He was once jailed by South Africa’s pre-1994 white minority rulers for his efforts to make all citizens equal before the law.
    Zuma’s core supporters, echoing his stance, say he is the victim of a political witch hunt orchestrated by allies of his successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa.
    Ramaphosa said on Sunday there was no justification for violence and that it was damaging efforts to rebuild the economy, hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.
    The corruption inquiry that Zuma has refused to cooperate with is examining allegations that he allowed three Indian-born businessmen, Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta, to plunder state resources and peddle influence over government policy.    He and the Gupta brothers, who fled the country after his ouster and are believed to be living in Dubai, deny wrongdoing.
    Zuma also faces a corruption case relating to a $2 billion arms deal in 1999 when he was deputy president.    He denies the charges in that case.
(Additional reporting by Wendell Roelf in Cape Town and Tanisha Heiberg in Johannesburg; Editing by Timothy Heritage and Mark Heinrich)

7/12/2021 Haiti Police Arrest Suspect In President’s Assassination by Andre Paultre and Sarah Marsh
FILE PHOTO: Suspects in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, who was shot dead early Wednesday
at his home, are shown to the media in Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 8, 2021. REUTERS/Estailove St-Val
    PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haitian police said on Sunday they had arrested one of the suspected masterminds in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, a Haitian man whom authorities accused of hiring mercenaries to oust and replace Moise.
    Moise was shot dead early on Wednesday at his Port-au-Prince home by what Haitian authorities describe as a unit of assassins formed of 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans, plunging the troubled Caribbean nation deeper into turmoil.
    National Police Chief Leon Charles told a news conference the arrested man, 63-year-old Christian Emmanuel Sanon, flew to Haiti on a private jet in early June, accompanied by hired security guards, and wanted to take over as president.
    He did not explain Sanon’s motives beyond saying they were political, but added that one of those in custody had contacted him upon being arrested.    Sanon, in turn, contacted two other “intellectual authors” of the assassination, Charles added.
    “The mission of these attackers was initially to ensure the safety of Emmanuel Sanon, but later the mission was changed…and they presented one of the attackers with an arrest warrant for the president of the republic,” Charles said.
    Public records online show a man with Sanon’s name worked as a doctor in Florida, but it was not immediately clear if it was the same man.
    Nor was it clear why Sanon would want to topple Moise, whose murder is the latest in a string of reverses for the struggling country, which has sought international help.
    Washington has rebuffed Haiti’s request for troops, though a senior U.S. official said on Sunday it was sending a technical team to assess the situation.
    Haitian police have arrested 18 Colombians and 3 Haitian Americans, including Sanon, over the murder, Charles said. Five Colombians are still at large and three were killed, he added.
    The suspected assassins told investigators they were there to arrest him, not kill him, the Miami Herald and a person familiar with the matter said earlier on Sunday.
    A source close to the investigation said two Haitian Americans, James Solages and Joseph Vincent, told investigators they were translators for the Colombian commando unit that had an arrest warrant.    But when they arrived, they found him dead.
    The news follows reports that some of the Colombians had said they had gone to work as security personnel on Haiti, including for Moise himself.
    The Miami Herald reported that the detained Colombians said they were hired to work in Haiti by Miami-based company CTU Security, run by Venezuelan emigre Antonio Enmanuel Intriago Valera.
    Charles indicated that CTU had been used to hire at least some of the Colombian suspects, but gave no details.
    Neither CTU nor Intriago could immediately be reached for comment.
    One phone number associated with the company in public records sent calls to an answering machine that made a reference to the fictional TV character Jack Bauer, who fought terrorism in the series “24.”
    The recorded message ran, “Thank you for calling CTU Security.    For Tony Intriago, please leave a message or send a text. For Jack Bauer, wait for the next season.    Thank you for calling and have a great day.”
    Social media profiles that appeared to belong to Intriago included a Facebook photo showing a man in tactical gear pointing a high-powered rifle.    Instagram pictures showed ammunition, guns, and people engaged in tactical training.
VIOLENT END
    Photos and X-ray images posted on social media at the weekend said to be from Moise’s autopsy showed his body riddled with bullet holes, a fractured skull and other broken bones, underscoring the brutal nature of the attack.
    Reuters could not independently confirm their authenticity.
    Via social media, Haitians in parts of the capital Port-au-Prince were planning protests this week against the interim prime minister and acting head of state Claude Joseph.
    Joseph’s right to lead the country has been challenged by other senior politicians, threatening to exacerbate the turmoil engulfing the poorest country in the Americas.
    On Saturday, one of Haiti’s top gang leaders, Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer known as Barbecue, said his men would take to the streets to protest the assassination.
    Cherizier, boss of the so-called G9 federation of nine gangs, said police and opposition politicians had conspired with the “stinking bourgeoisie” to “sacrifice” Moise.
    Gunfire rang out overnight in the capital, which has suffered a surge in gang violence in recent months, displacing thousands and hampering economic activity.
(Reporting by Andre Paultre in Port-Au-Prince and Sarah Marsh in Havana; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal in Wilmington, Delaware, Linda So and Chris Prentice in Washington and Peter Szekely in New York; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Clarence Fernandez)

7/12/2021 EU Wants Lebanese Sanctions Regime Framework By End July
European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell arrives to attend the G20 meeting of foreign
and development ministers in Matera, Italy, June 29, 2021. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
    PARIS (Reuters) – The European Union said on Monday it wanted to agree by the end of July the legal framework for a sanctions regime targeting Lebanese leaders, but cautioned that the measure would not be immediately implemented.
    Led by France, the EU is seeking to ramp up pressure on Lebanon’s squabbling politicians after 11 months of a crisis that has left Lebanon facing financial collapse, hyperinflation, electricity blackouts, and fuel and food shortages.
    The move is part of broader international efforts to force a stable government capable of carrying out crucial reforms to emerge from nearly a year of political chaos and economic collapse following a blast that ravaged Beirut port.
    “I can say that the objective is to complete this by the end of the month.    I am not talking about the implementation of the regime, just the building of the regime according to sound legal basis,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters in Brussels.
    Nearly a year after the Aug. 4 explosion, which killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands and devastated swathes of the capital, Lebanon is still headed by a caretaker government.
    “Lebanon has been in self-destruct mode for several months,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters in Brussels.    “Now there is a major emergency situation for a population that is in distress.”
    The EU first needs to set up a sanctions regime that could then see individuals hit by travel bans and asset freezes, although it may also decide to not list anybody immediately.
    Le Drian said there was now a consensus among the bloc’s 27 nations for a regime.
    Criteria for EU sanctions such as travel bans and assets freezes for Lebanese politicians are likely to include corruption, obstructing efforts to form a government, financial misdeeds and human rights abuses, according to a diplomatic note seen by Reuters.
(Reporting by Richard Lough and John Irish; writing by Michel Rose and John Irish; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Marguerita Choy)

7/13/2021 Living With COVID-19: Israel Changes Strategy As Delta Variant Hits by Maayan Lubell
FILE PHOTO: A teenager receives a dose of a vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) after Israel approved the usage of the vaccine
for youngsters aged 12-15, at a Clalit healthcare maintenance organisation in Ashkelon, Israel June 6, 2021. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Four weeks ago, Israel was celebrating a return to normal life in its battle with COVID-19.
    After a rapid vaccination drive that had driven down coronavirus infections and deaths, Israelis had stopped wearing face masks and abandoned all social-distancing rules.
    Then came the more infectious Delta variant, and a surge in cases that has forced Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to reimpose some COVID-19 restrictions and rethink strategy.
    Under what he calls a policy of “soft suppression,” the government wants Israelis to learn to live with the virus – involving the fewest possible restrictions and avoiding a fourth national lockdown that could do further harm to the economy.
    As most Israelis in risk groups have now been vaccinated against COVID-19, Bennett is counting on fewer people than before falling seriously ill when infections rise.
    “Implementing the strategy will entail taking certain risks but in the overall consideration, including economic factors, this is the necessary balance,” Bennett said last week.
    The main indicator guiding the move is the number of severe COVID-19 cases in hospital, currently around 45.    Implementation will entail monitoring infections, encouraging vaccinations, rapid testing and information campaigns about face masks.
    The strategy has drawn comparisons with the British government’s plans to reopen England’s economy from lockdown, though Israel is in the process of reinstating some curbs while London is lifting restrictions.
    The curbs that have been reinstated include the mandatory wearing of face masks indoors and quarantine for all people arriving in Israel.
Bennett’s strategy, like that of the British government, has been questioned by some scientists.
    Israel’s Health Ministry advocates more of a push for stemming infections, Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of public health at Israel’s Health Ministry, told Kan Radio on Sunday.
    “It’s possible that there won’t be a big rise in the severely ill but the price of making such a mistake is what’s worrying us,” she said.
    But many other scientists are supportive.
    “I am very much in favour of Israel’s approach,” said Nadav Davidovitch, director of the school of public health at Israel’s Ben Gurion University, describing it as a “golden path” between Britain’s easing of restrictions and countries such as Australia that take a tougher line.
THE VIRUS ‘WON’T STOP’
    Israel’s last lockdown was enforced in December, about a week after the start of what has been one of the world’s fastest vaccination programmes.
    New daily COVID-19 infections are running at about 450. The Delta variant, first identified in India, now makes up about 90% of cases.
    “We estimate that we won’t reach high waves of severe cases like in previous waves,” the health ministry’s director-general, Nachman Ash, said last week.    “But if we see that the number and increase rate of severe cases are endangering the (health) system, then we will have to take further steps.”
    Around 60% of Israel’s 9.3 million population have received at least one shot of the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine.    On Sunday, the government began offering a third shot to people with a compromised immune system.
    Ran Balicer, chair of the government’s expert panel on COVID-19, said Israel had on average had about five severe cases of the virus and one death per day in the last week, after two weeks of zero deaths related to COVID-19.
Noting the impact of the Delta variant, he said the panel was advising caution over the removal of restrictions.
    “We do not have enough data from our local outbreak to be able to predict with accuracy what would happen if we let go,” Balicer said.
    Some studies have shown that though high, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine’s effectiveness against the Delta variant is lower than against other coronavirus strains.
    Drawing criticism from some scientists, Pfizer and BioNTech SE have said they will ask U.S. and European regulators to authorise booster shots to head off increased risk of infection six months after inoculation.
    Israel is in no rush to approve public booster shots, saying there is no unequivocal data yet showing they are necessary.    It is offering approval only to people with weak immune systems on a case-by-case basis.
    Authorities are also considering allowing children under 12 to take the vaccine on a case-by-case basis if they suffer from health conditions that put them at high risk of serious complications if they were to catch the virus.
    Only “a few hundred” of the 5.5 million people who have been vaccinated in Israel have later been infected with COVID-19, Ash said.
    Before the Delta variant arrived, Israel had estimated 75% of the population would need to be vaccinated to reach “herd immunity” – the level at which enough of a population are immunized to be able to effectively stop a disease spreading.    The estimated threshold is now 80%.
    Such data ensure doctors remain concerned.
    “…the virus won’t stop.    It is evolving, it’s its nature.    But our nature is to survive,” said Dr Gadi Segal, head of the coronavirus ward at Sheba Medical Centre near Tel Aviv.
(Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Timothy Heritage)

7/13/2021 Israel Wants Voucher System For Foreign Aid To Gaza – Minister by Dan Williams
FILE PHOTO: An aid convoy's trucks loaded with supplies send by Long Live Egypt Fund are seen at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt
and the Gaza Strip, in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on May 23, 2021. The Egyptian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS.
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel wants foreign aid to Gaza disbursed through a voucher system, as a safeguard against donations being diverted to bolster the Palestinian enclave’s Hamas rulers and their arsenal, a government minister said on Tuesday.
Humanitarian agencies put the latest reconstruction costs for the impoverished Gaza Strip at $500 million following 11 days of cross-border fighting in May.
    Qatar bankrolled more than $1 billion worth of construction and other projects in Gaza, some of it in cash, after a war in 2014. The payments were monitored and approved by Israel, and Doha pledged another $500 million in late May.
    New Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett wants a shift in policy, Internal Security Minister Omer Barlev said.
    “The Qatari money for Gaza will not go in as suitcases full of dollars which end up with Hamas, where Hamas in essence takes for itself and its officials a significant part of it,” he told Israel’s Army Radio.
    He said Bennett envisaged “a mechanism where what will go in, in essence, would be food vouchers, or vouchers for humanitarian aid, and not cash that can be taken and used for developing weaponry to be wielded against the State of Israel.”
    Hamas, which has previously denied using Gaza aid for its military, did not immediately comment.     Mohammed Al-Emadi, the Qatari aid envoy to Gaza, could not immediately be reached for comment.
    A Palestinian official told Reuters: “Nothing is final yet.”
    Barlev said the proposed aid mechanism should run mainly through the United Nations. He did not rule out continued donations from Qatar, and raised a possibility of European Union assistance.
    “Should the mechanism be like this, I have no doubt that Israel would help in the improvement of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip,” he said.
    The EU, United States and some other countries have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.
(Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Dan Williams, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

7/13/2021 Looting, Violence Spreads In South Africa As Grievances Boil Over
Demonstrators loot a shopping centre during protests following the imprisonment of former
South Africa President Jacob Zuma, in Katlehong, South Africa, July 12, 2021. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
    JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -Rioters looted shops and threw stones at police on Tuesday as violent protests triggered by the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma spread across South Africa.
    The military prepared to send in 2,500 troops as outnumbered police seemed helpless to prevent attacks on businesses in Zuma’s home province KwaZulu-Natal and in Gauteng province, where the country’s biggest city, Johannesburg, is located.
    At least 30 people have been killed in days of unrest that broke out last week when Zuma handed himself over to authorities. The protests have been fuelled further by frustration over poverty, inequality and the economic impact of COVID-19 restrictions.
    Nearly 500 people have been arrested, while shops, petrol stations and government buildings have been forced to close.
    “What we are witnessing now are opportunistic acts of criminality, with groups of people instigating chaos merely as a cover for looting and theft,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in an address on Monday night.
    Zuma, 79, was sentenced last month for defying a constitutional court order to give evidence at an inquiry investigating high-level corruption during his nine years in office until 2018.
    The decision to jail him resulted from legal proceedings seen as a test of post-apartheid South Africa’s ability to enforce the rule of law, including against powerful politicians.
    But any confrontation with soldiers risks fuelling charges by Zuma and his supporters that they are victims of a politically motivated crackdown by Ramaphosa, his successor.
    The violence worsened as Zuma challenged his 15-month jail term in South Africa’s top court on Monday.    Judgement was reserved until an unspecified date.
    Four of the confirmed dead were in Gauteng, the national intelligence body NatJOINTS, said, and 26 in KwaZulu-Natal, the province’s premiere said.
    The unrest broke out as South Africa’s economy struggles to emerge from the damage wrought by Africa’s worst COVID-19 epidemic, forcing it to repeatedly impose restrictions on businesses that have hurt an already fragile recovery.
    The crisis may have widened the gulf between haves and the have-nots.    Growing joblessness has left people ever more desperate. Unemployment rose to a new record high of 32.6% in the first quarter this year.
    The National Prosecuting Authority said on Monday that those found guilty of looting would be punished.
(Reporting by Tim Cocks and Alexander Winning, Additional reporting by Wendell Roelf in Cape Town and Tanisha Heiberg in Johannesburg, Editing by Angus MacSwan)

7/13/2021 Death Toll In Iraq COVID Hospital Fire Rises As Anger Mounts by Ahmed Rasheed and Maher al-Saih
Mourners react next to the coffins of victims, who were killed in a fire that broke out at al-Hussain coronavirus
hospital in Nassiriya, during a funeral in Najaf, Iraq, July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani
    NASSIRIYA, Iraq (Reuters) – The death toll in a fire that spread through a coronavirus hospital in southern Iraq rose to 66, health officials said on Tuesday, as an angry crowd blaming local authorities for negligence gathered near the city’s morgue.
    More than 100 others were injured in Monday night’s fire in the city of Nassiriya, which an initial investigation showed began when sparks from faulty wiring spread to an oxygen tank that then exploded, local police and civil defence authorities said.
    In April, a similar explosion at Baghdad COVID-19 hospital killed at least 82 and injured 110. The head of Iraq’s semi-official Human Rights Commission said Monday’s blast showed how ineffective safety measures in a health system crippled by war and sanctions still were.
    “To have such a tragic incident repeated few months later means that still no (sufficient) measures have been taken to prevent them,” Ali Bayati said.
    Anger spread among people gathered at Nassiriya’s morgue as they waited to receive relatives’ bodies.
    “No quick response to the fire, not enough firefighters.    Sick people burned to death.    It’s a disaster,” said Mohammed Fadhil, who was waiting there to receive his bother’s body.
    Two health officials said the dead from Monday’s fire included 21 charred bodies that were still unidentified.
    The blaze trapped many patients inside the hospital’s coronavirus ward, who rescue teams struggled to reach, a health worker told Reuters on Monday before entering the burning building.
    Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi had ordered the suspension and arrest of health and civil defence managers in Nassiriya on Monday, as well as the al-Hussain hospital’s manager, his office said.
(Reporting by Maher al-Saih and Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by John Stonestreet)

7/14/2021 Turkey And Israel Want To Improve Ties After Presidents’ Call – Turkish Ruling Party
FILE PHOTO: A Turkish flag flutters atop the Turkish embassy as an Israeli flag is seen
nearby, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 26, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo
    ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey and Israel have agreed to work towards improving their strained relations after a rare phone call between their presidents, a spokesman for Turkey’s ruling AK Party said on Wednesday.
    The two countries expelled ambassadors in 2018 after a bitter falling-out.    Ankara has condemned Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and its treatment of Palestinians, while Israel has called on Turkey to drop support for the militant Palestinian group Hamas which rules Gaza.
    Both sides say the other must move first for any rapprochement.
    President Tayyip Erdogan called Israel’s new president, Isaac Herzog, on Monday to congratulate him on taking office.    Israel’s presidency is a largely ceremonial office.
    “A framework emerged after this call under which advances should be made on several issues where improvements can be made, and where steps towards solving problematic areas should be taken,” spokesman Omer Celik said after an AK Party meeting.
    Celik singled out the Palestinians as one of many issues Turkey wants to discuss with Israel, adding that areas such as tourism and trade should be a “win-win” for both nations.    Bilateral trade has remained strong amid the political disputes.
    During the call, which came a day after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited Ankara, Erdogan told Herzog he valued maintaining dialogue and said Turkish-Israeli relations were key for regional stability.
    Erdogan also reiterated his support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding “positive steps” would also help Turkey’s ties with Israel, his office said.
    In May, Erdogan called Israel a “terror state” after Israeli police shot rubber bullets and stun grenades towards Palestinian youths at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque.
    Israel accuses Turkey of aiding members of Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organisation by Israel and its Western allies.
    Turkey has also recently been trying to repair its frayed ties with Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
    Monday’s call came a month after Naftali Bennett became Israeli prime minister, replacing Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom Erdogan had frequently traded barbs.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Daren Butler; Editing by Gareth Jones)

7/14/2021 S.African Govt Plans Troop Surge To Quell Unrest - Reports by Rogan Ward and Siyabonga Sishi
FILE PHOTO: A self-armed local looks for looters inside a supermarket following protests that have widened into looting,
in Durban, South Africa July 13, 2021, in this screen grab taken from a video. Courtesy Kierran Allen/via REUTERS
    DURBAN, South Africa (Reuters) -South Africa plans to deploy up to 25,000 soldiers in two provinces where security forces are struggling to quell days of looting, arson and violence, its defence minister told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday, according to local news channel eNCA.
    A military surge of that size would increase tenfold the number of soldiers deployed in the hot spots of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces, where the police and army have been battling unrest for days.
    “We have now submitted a request for deployment of (about) 25,000 members,” according to a video recording of Defence and Military Veterans’ Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula shown on eNCA.
    Triggered by the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma last week, after he failed to appear at a corruption inquiry, protests have widened into an orgy of looting and an outpouring of anger over the hardship and inequality that persist in South Africa 27 years after the end of apartheid.
    More than 70 people have been killed in the unrest, the worst in South Africa for years, and hundreds of businesses wrecked. Food and fuel supplies are running short.
    Shopping malls and warehouses have been ransacked or set ablaze in several cities, mostly in Zuma’s home in the KwaZulu-Natal province, especially the Indian Ocean port city of Durban, and the financial and economic centre Johannesburg and surrounding Gauteng province.
    But in signs of a public backlash, residents in some areas on Wednesday turned suspected looters into police, blocked entrances to malls and in some cases armed themselves as vigilantes to form road blocks or scare them away.
    In Vosloorus, southern Johannesburg, minibus taxi operators, many of whom have guns, fired bullets into the air to scare off looters.
    “We can’t just allow people from nowhere to come and loot here,” said Paul Magolego, Vosloorus taxi association spokesperson, adding that taxi drivers had had no business since Monday because of the unrest.
    Underscoring the inherent dangers in such vigilantism, a 15-year-old boy was killed by a stray bullet in Vosloorus, according to a Reuters photographer who saw the body.    Magolego said the taxi owners arrived on the scene after he was dead.
    In Alexandra township in northern Johannesburg, one of the city’s poorest neighbourhoods, a Reuters correspondent saw soldiers moving door-to-door to confiscate stolen items, with the help of civilians opposed to the looting.
    Citizens armed with guns, many from South Africa’s white minority, blocked off streets to prevent further plundering, in Durban, Reuters TV footage showed.
    Others were forming online groups to help clean up and rebuild devastated neighbourhoods.
‘WE HAVE NOTHING’
    Security forces say they have arrested more than 1,200 people, while President Cyril Ramaphosa met political party leaders on Wednesday to discuss the unrest.
    The violence appeared to have abated in some areas, but in others, there was renewed burning and looting.
    Some rich Durban residents chartered small planes and helicopters out of the city, a Reuters photographer reported.
    Though triggered by Zuma’s imprisonment, the unrest reflects growing frustration at failures by the ruling African National Congress to address inequality decades after the end of white minority rule in 1994 ushered in democracy.
    “It’s not about Zuma, it’s about poverty,” a man who gave his name as Elijah said, as soldiers confiscated stolen items from his house in Alexandra.
    “I grabbed things I could take like those cold drinks and some paint.    I guess the real reason is because we actually have nothing.”
    Half the population lives below the poverty line, according to the latest government figures from 2015, and growing joblessness since the coronavirus pandemic began has left many desperate.    Unemployment stood at a new record high of 32.6% in the first three months of 2021.
    The unrest also disrupted hospitals struggling to cope with a third wave of COVID-19.
    The National Hospital Network (NHN), representing 241 public hospitals already under strain from Africa’s worst COVID-19 epidemic, said it was running out of oxygen and drugs, most of which are imported through Durban, as well as food.
    The mayor of Ethekwini, a municipality that includes Durban, estimated that 15 billion rand ($1 billion) had been lost in damage to property and another billion in loss of stock.
    “I appeal to the Zulu nation to withdraw from the participation in the destruction of our country,” The Zulu King Misuzulu said in an address – many of the affected areas are predominantly Zulu, the nation to which Jacob Zuma belongs.
    Zuma, 79, was sentenced last month for defying a court order to give evidence at an inquiry investigating high-level looting during his nine years in office until 2018.
    He has pleaded not guilty in a separate case on charges including corruption, fraud, racketeering and money laundering.
($1 = 14.7161 rand)
(Additional reporting by Nqobile Dludla, Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, Tanisha Heiberg, Promit Mukherjee, Alexander Winning and Tim Cocks in Johannesburg, and Wendell Roelf in Cape TownWriting by Tim CocksEditing by Angus MacSwan and Toby Chopra)

7/14/2021 Protests Flare Up In Haiti, Still Reeling From President’s Killing by David Alire Garcia
People walk on a street after tires were set on fire by protesters upset with growing violence in the Lalue neighborhood, a week
after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 14, 2021. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo
    PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – Scattered protests broke out in Haiti’s capital on Wednesday as gasoline shortages added to concerns over insecurity and access to basic goods a week after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise pitched the Caribbean nation into uncertainty.
    Nearly all the gas stations in Port-au-Prince were closed and long lines formed outside the few that were still operating, with residents blaming the criminal gangs that control key supply routes for paralyzing distribution into Haiti’s biggest city.
    Some protesters set tires ablaze in the middle of gritty city streets, which remain quieter than usual in the aftermath of Moise’s killing early last Wednesday.
    Moise was shot dead at his home by what Haitian authorities describe as a unit of assassins, including 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans.    A third Haitian American, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, was arrested https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/american-arrested-haitian-presidents-killing-had-us-law-enforcement-ties-source-2021-07-12 on Sunday by Haitian authorities, who accused him of being a mastermind of the attack.
    Prosecutors are also preparing to question the head of Moise’s security team, Dimitri Herard.
    The killing came amid a surge in gang violence in recent months that has displaced thousands and hampered economic activity in what is already the poorest country in the Americas.    In the justice ministry where Herard is to be questioned, graffiti spray-painted on the wall declared, ‘We reject the power of the gangs.’
    Eugene France, 63, said he was struggling to sell any of the men’s dress shoes he had slung around his neck and feared more violence.
    “No one is safe, not even the police,” he said, speaking outside the ministry.    “I’m scared because the gangs just keep killing people and I can’t sell anything.”
    In New York, Haiti’s U.N. Ambassador Antonio Rodrigue on Wednesday appealed for international help.
    “At this uncertain time, Haiti needs the support of the international community more than ever,” he told the 193-member U.N. General Assembly, where ambassadors stood to mark a moment’s silence to honor Moise.
    Rodrigue listed organizing democratic elections and the government’s ability to meet Haiti’s socio-economic needs as challenges facing the nation.
    The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said a U.S. delegation recently in Haiti had called for dialogue to help enable free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections.
    Moise’s killing has sparked confusion about who is the legitimate leader of the country of 11 million people.
(Reporting by David Alire Garcia in Port-au-Prince and Michelle Nichols in New York, Writing by Daina Beth Solomon, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)

7/14/2021 U.S. Probes Ties Of Colombian Suspects In Haiti President’s Assassination - Source by Mark Hosenball
FILE PHOTO: Passports, tools and other items are being shown to the media along with suspects in the assassination of President
Jovenel Moise, who was shot dead early Wednesday at his home, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 8, 2021. REUTERS/Estailove St-Val
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. investigators are studying the backgrounds of Colombian mercenaries accused of assassinating Haiti’s president last week to see if any of them had past ties to U.S. government agencies, a U.S. source familiar with the investigation said.
    Seventeen Colombians and two Haitian-Americans were arrested last week by Haitian authorities and accused of shooting President Jovenel Moise dead in his home, an event that further destabilized the poor Caribbean nation.
    The source said that so far U.S. investigators have not found hard evidence of any connections between the Colombian suspects, who include former members of the Colombian military, and the U.S. government.    But they believe some evidence of links are likely to turn up.
    One of the two Haitian-American men arrested and accused of taking part in the assassination was a former informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the DEA said on Monday. Two U.S. government sources identified him as Joseph Vincent, 55, of Florida.
    Vincent and the other Haitian-American man accused of joining the assassination, James Solages, 35, told a source they acted as interpreters.
    Meanwhile, court documents and a defense lawyer said that a Haitian living in Florida who Haitian investigators want to talk to about Moise’s murder cooperated with the DEA in a large-scale drug trafficking investigation.
    Rodolphe Jaar, who was jailed by U.S. federal authorities in 2015 for his alleged role in a conspiracy to smuggle cocaine via Haiti, is the subject of a wanted poster which Haitian police issued related to the assassination.
    Documents filed in Federal court in Miami, Florida, allege that Jaar “conspired to have a portion of a 420 kilogram cocaine load that arrived in Haiti,” from Colombia or Venezuela in February 2012 and was ultimately headed for the United States set aside “for his personal gain/interest.”
    At a sentencing hearing in 2014, a federal prosecutor told the court that Jaar “was cooperating with the DEA at the time of the offense, making them aware of a drug shipment that was coming into Haiti,” and that “because of his efforts” the DEA was able to seize more than half of the drugs and make an arrest.    Prosecutors recommended a reduced prison sentence for Jaar due to his cooperation.
    A third Haitian-American, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, was arrested on Sunday by Haitian authorities, who accused him of being a mastermind of the attack.
(Reporting By Mark Hosenball; Editing by Scott Malone and Marguerita Choy)

7/14/2021 UAE Opens Embassy In Tel Aviv
UAE Ambassador to Israel, Mohamed Al Khaja, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and other officials press a button to start the stock
exchange market during the opening ceremony of the Emirati embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel July 14, 2021. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
    TEL AVIV (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates opened its embassy in Israel on Wednesday, with Israel’s president attending the inaugural ceremony.
    The embassy is situated in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange building and its opening followed the inauguration of Israel’s embassy in the UAE last month.
(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Jeffrey Heller)

7/14/2021 Egypt’s Sisi Offers Support As Lebanon’s Hariri Visits Cairo
FILE PHOTO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks during a joint news conference with French President
Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee palace, France December 7, 2020. Michel Euler/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
    CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expressed full support on Wednesday for visiting Lebanese Prime Minister-Designate Saad al-Hariri in his efforts to form a cabinet and resolve a crippling economic and political crisis.
    Lebanon is battling an economic meltdown dubbed by the World Bank as one of the deepest depressions in modern history.
    The financial crisis, which has propelled more than half of the population into poverty and seen the value of the currency drop by more than 90% in nearly two years, has been deepened by political deadlock.
    Egypt holds diplomatic weight in the region and has provided some aid to Lebanon during the crisis.    It is allied with Sunni Gulf powers that long channelled funds into Lebanon but have recently become alarmed by the rising influence of the Iran-backed armed Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah.
    Under a sectarian power-sharing system, Lebanon’s president must be a Maronite Christian and the prime minister a Sunni Muslim.
    Veteran Sunni politician Hariri has been at loggerheads for months with President Michel Aoun, a Hezbollah ally, over forming a new government.    He is due to meet Aoun at the Baabda presidential palace on his return from Cairo.
    Earlier on Wednesday, Aoun said he hoped he hoped Hariri would carry “positive indications” to the meeting, adding that efforts were still under way to form a cabinet.
    In Egypt, Sisi welcomed Hariri, “reaffirming Egypt’s full support for Hariri’s political path which aims at restoring stability to Lebanon,” and for his attempts to deal with challenges including the formation of a government, a presidency statement said.
    Amid speculation that Hariri would stand down this week, Egypt urged him not to give up on forming a cabinet, Saudi Arabian state-owned broadcaster Al Hadath said, citing unnamed sources.
    Cairo would coordinate Arab efforts to help chart a way out of the crisis, the channel reported.
    Hariri also met Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who stated Egypt’s support for Lebanon’s “exit from the current situation, and the necessity for all Lebanese parties to prioritise Lebanon’s highest interest over any narrow interests,” according to tweets from Hariri and the Egyptian foreign ministry.
(Reporting by Mohamed Waly and Nadine Awadalla in Cairo and Maha El Dahan in Beirut; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Alison Williams and Nick Macfie)

7/15/2021 Hundreds Of Tigrayans Detained In Ethiopian Capital In Recent Weeks, Witnesses Say by Dawit Endeshaw and Maggie Fick
FILE PHOTO: Residents walk past Adi Harush Refugee camp in Mai Tsberi town in Tigray Region, Ethiopia, June 26, 2021. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
    ADDIS ABABA/NAIROBI (Reuters) – Ethiopian police have detained hundreds of ethnic Tigrayans in Addis Ababa since federal government forces lost control of the Tigray region’s capital on June 28, according to some of those who say they were released.
    The detentions in the Ethiopian capital are the third wave of what dozens of Tigrayans, rights groups and lawyers have described as a nationwide crackdown on ethnic Tigrayans since November, when fighting erupted between the military and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in Tigray, the country’s northernmost region.
    City authorities in Addis Ababa say they have recently closed a number of Tigrayan-owned businesses over alleged links to the TPLF, which was designated by the government as a terrorist organization in May but had dominated Ethiopian politics for three decades until 2018.
    But Addis Ababa police spokesperson Fasika Fanta said he had no information on the arrests or business closures.
    Federal police spokesperson Jeylan Abdi said: “People might be suspected of a crime and be arrested, but no one was targeted because of ethnicity.”
    Ethiopia’s attorney general has previously said there is nogovernment policy to “purge” Tigrayan officials.    He has said he cannot rule out that some innocent individuals might be swept up in arrests but that the TPLF has a big network in Addis Ababa and Ethiopia must err on the side of caution.
    Officials in the prime minister’s office, the attorney general’s office and a government task force on Tigray did not respond to requests for comment on the released detainees’ reports of a wave of arrests, or on individual cases.
    Tesfalem Berhe, a Tigrayan lawyer from a Tigrayan opposition party, told Reuters he knew of at least 104 Tigrayans arrested in the past two weeks in Addis Ababa and five in the eastern city of Dire Dawa.
    The names were provided by colleagues, friends or family members, and most of those detained are hotel owners, merchants, aid workers, daily workers, shopkeepers or waiters, he said.
    He had not spoken to the detainees directly, and said he was not representing them although he was passing the information to organisations such as the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.
    “They are not appearing before the court within (the legally mandated period of) 48 hours and we do not know their whereabouts – their family or lawyers cannot visit them,” he said.
    The arrests intensified, he said, after the military withdrew from Tigray’s capital, Mekelle, and declared a unilateral ceasefire after nearly eight months of fighting.
    A spokesperson for the rights commission confirmed it had received reports of detentions and was monitoring them. ARRESTS
    Nigusu Mahari, a Tigrayan street trader, told Reuters that city police and men in civilian clothes had arrested him and 76 other Tigrayans on July 5.
    “They beat us all with sticks,” Nigusu said.
    Police asked if he had been sent by the TPLF, he said.
    The group was taken to a military camp on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, he said, and the number of Tigrayans detained there later passed 100.    He said he was held there for two days and given six pieces of bread a day.
    Reuters could not independently verify Nigusu’s account.
    Police and military officials did not respond to questions about Nigusu’s case and other individual accounts.
    Last week, Reuters visited 10 Tigrayan-owned coffee shops, bars and restaurants in Addis Ababa that had notices posted on their doors saying they had been closed by city authorities.
    A notice posted at a coffee shop in the Haya Hulet area said it had been closed for “disturbing the area.”
    Another’s doors were papered shut by a notice stamped by the Peace and Security Office of Addis Ababa’s Bole district.    No reason was given.
    Lidia Girma, deputy head of Addis Ababa City Peace and Security department, told Reuters the government had acted against businesses connected to the TPLF.
    “It wasn’t random and has nothing to do with ethnicity.    It was based on investigations,” she said.
RESTAURANT WORKERS HELD
    A Tigrayan resident of Addis Ababa told Reuters his family restaurant had been shut down last week, and his younger brother and their 80-year-old father arrested along with 25 employees.
    They were released after two days, he said, requesting anonymity for safety reasons.
    A Tigrayan woman said police came to her house in Addis Ababa before dawn on July 1, searched it, and took her to a camp in the city’s Kality district that is usually used for vagrants where she said hundreds of Tigrayans were being held.
    She said they were fed only one serving of bread per day but she was not beaten or questioned.
    She said she was not told why she was detained, paid 3,000 birr to a policeman and was released five days later.
($1 = 43.8932 birr)
(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw;Additional reporting by Katharine Houreld in Nairobi; Writing by Maggie Fick; editing by Katharine Houreld and Timothy Heritage)

7/15/2021 Analysis-When Erdogan’s Turkish Economic Miracle Began Failing by Jonathan Spicer
FILE PHOTO: People shop at a fish market at Karakoy district in Istanbul, Turkey, January 8, 2021. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
    ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Five years after President Tayyip Erdogan saw off a coup, his chances of extending his rule into a third decade may depend on whether he can reverse an economic decline that has seen Turks’ prosperity https://tmsnrt.rs/2TaYZu5, equality https://tmsnrt.rs/3jhqMnU and employment https://tmsnrt.rs/3x6AXj1 fall since 2013.
    Erdogan faces elections in 2023 – the Turkish Republic’s centenary.    Polls suggest his support has slipped following a currency crisis, a sharp recession and the coronavirus pandemic in the last three years.
    Some show the ruling coalition trailing an informal opposition alliance, even as Erdogan’s AK Party (AKP) remains popular, with a strong base among rural and working class conservatives.
    This year, economic growth has shot back up after Turkey was one of only a few countries to avoid a contraction in 2020.
    But the damage of recent years has included a return to inflation of 20% or more on food and other basic goods.
    “If you look at President Erdogan’s polling ratings together with a difficult economic backdrop, it’s quite hard to really imagine the conditions over the next 12 months for them to think an election looks favourable,” said Douglas Winslow, Fitch Ratings’ director of European sovereigns.
    The World Bank estimates more than 1.5 million Turks fell below the poverty line last year.
    And a Gini index of income and wealth distribution shows inequality has risen since 2011 and accelerated since 2013, wiping out big gains made in 2006-2010, during Erdogan’s first decade in charge.
    For an inequality index see: https://tmsnrt.rs/3jhqMnU
    For per-capita GDP see: https://tmsnrt.rs/2TaYZu5
A DECADE OF PROSPERITY
    Modern Turkey’s longest-serving leader, Erdogan’s infant AKP won power in 2002 following the worst slump since the 1970s on a promise to break with the mismanagement and recessions that had long frustrated Turks anxious for a better life.
    Then-prime minister Erdogan leveraged the economic rebound and a diplomatic pivot to the West to bring about a decade of prosperity.
    Poverty and unemployment plunged. Inflation that was in triple digits a decade earlier touched 5%, boosting the Turkish lira’s appeal for locals and foreigners.
    Erdogan seemed untouchable.
    Things started changing in 2013, when unprecedented anti-government protests swept Turkey and emerging markets globally saw a painful financial exodus as larger economies gained steam.
    A Reuters analysis shows that year marked a turning point for per capita GDP, unemployment and other measures of economic well-being.
    The year 2013 was also the high water mark for foreign investment https://tmsnrt.rs/3dYGn8i, according to official bond holdings statistics and Turkey Data Monitor. The value of the lira https://tmsnrt.rs/36ehjWv has since plunged, sapping Turks’ global purchasing power.
    For foreign investor holdings see: https://tmsnrt.rs/3dYGn8i
    For unemployment see: https://tmsnrt.rs/3x6AXj1
CRACKDOWN AND ISOLATION
    Erdogan shocked many when his government quashed the 2013 protests that began in Istanbul’s Gezi Park.
    The crackdown “crystallized the AKP as the new establishment and showed the popular tide was turning against them,” said Ates Altinordu, assistant professor of sociology at Sabanci University.
    The attempted coup of July 15, 2016 then prompted a harsh state of emergency that analysts say drove Turks’ economic well-being further south.
    “Since 2013, the AKP and Erdogan have moved to further increase authoritarianism, which probably hurt the economy in various ways,” Altinordu said.
    “They entered a more isolated and centralized decision-making mode, with less media freedom.    So you probably end up making more policy mistakes, you lose your responsiveness, and there is much more room for corruption.”
VOTER BASE
    Other key measures such as healthcare remain robust after improving dramatically since Erdogan took office in 2003.
    As austerity imposed under a 2001-2 International Monetary Fund programme eased, Erdogan embraced free-market policies required to join the European Union – then a central AKP goal.
    The 2008-9 global financial crisis hit Turkey but also brought a rush of investors seeking returns in emerging markets.
    Cheap foreign credit helped drive a construction-fuelled economic boom that has helped the AKP win eight consecutive national elections.
    Erdogan has a “base of adoring and loyal supporters (because) citizens enjoyed significantly better living standards than under Kemalists for most of the 20th century,” wrote Soner Cagaptay in a report for The Washington Institute.
    He noted that before Erdogan came to power Turkey’s infant mortality rate was comparable to pre-war Syria’s, and is now similar to Spain’s.
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL STRAINS
    But other gauges of well-being began to creak in 2013 when the U.S. Federal Reserve’s hint that it might start removing stimulus sucked funds out of emerging markets.
    Political strains intensified thereafter as Erdogan turned to nationalist allies, and later won a referendum on adopting a presidential system that concentrated power at his palace.
    Some key economic officials left the AKP in opposition to the power grab.    Analysts say cracks then started emerging in its policies, including pressure on the central bank to lower interest rates even as the lira tipped into crisis in 2018.
    The currency has shed 75% of its value against the dollar since 2013, more than half in the last three years.    Many Turks now choose to store their wealth in foreign currencies.
    “On the political side, since 2013, there is a sense that Turkey and the West have been drifting apart,” said Roger Kelly, lead regional economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
    “Yes, we have seen a deterioration since 2013, but we have to see it in the context of the positive steps that happened before that.”
    For currency depreciation see: https://tmsnrt.rs/36ehjWv
(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Catherine Evans)

7/15/2021 Ethiopia Conflict Heats Up As Amhara Region Vows To Attack Tigray Forces by Dawit Endeshaw
FILE PHOTO: Civilians ride a cart along a street in Humera town, Ethiopia July 1, 2021. Picture taken July 1, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer
    ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) -Ethiopia’s war in the northern region of Tigray looked set to intensify on Wednesday as the prime minister signalled the end of a government ceasefire and the neighbouring Amhara region said it would go on the offensive against Tigrayan forces.
    The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which has recaptured most of its home region in the past three weeks after an abrupt reversal in an eight-month war, has vowed to retake western Tigray, an expanse of fertile territory controlled by Amhara forces who seized it during the conflict.
    Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed abruptly pulled central government troops out of most of Tigray last month, citing a unilateral ceasefire that the TPLF mocked as “a joke” designed to justify his forces’ retreat.    Wednesday’s statement marked a shift in rhetoric, as Abiy said the ceasefire had failed to deliver.
    A spokesman for the Amhara regional government also said the authorities there were rallying their own forces for a counter-attack against Tigrayan forces.
    “The regional government has now transitioned from defensive to offensive,” Amhara spokesperson Gizachew Muluneh was quoted as saying by the region’s state-run Amhara Media Corporation.    “Amhara militia and special forces have been systematically trying to defend but now our patience has run out and as of today we have opened an offensive attack.”
    He did not respond to requests for further comment.    On Tuesday the National Movement of Amhara, a major regional political party, called on irregular volunteer militia – known as Fano – to mobilise.
    Western Tigray has long been home to large populations of both Tigrayans and Amhara, and renewed fighting between two of Ethiopia’s biggest ethnic groups over the territory could drive another wave of refugees from a conflict that has already forced 2 million from their homes.
    When Abiy sent troops to fight the TPLF last year, Amhara militia fought on the central government’s side, using the opportunity to take control of a swathe of territory administered by Tigrayans for decades.
    Since Abiy’s abrupt withdrawal on June 28, the TPLF has pushed steadily outwards, recapturing most of Tigray.    Its forces retook Alamata, the main town in the south, on Monday and pushed across the deep ravine of the Tekeze River to take Mai Tsebri from Amhara control on Tuesday.
    But a tougher fight could loom for western Tigray, which the Amhara consider a reclaimed part of their own historic homeland and have vowed to keep under their control.
ABIY STEPS BACK FROM CEASEFIRE
    Abiy’s more forceful remarks in a statement on Wednesday suggested his government was abandoning its three-week-old emphasis on its ceasefire declaration, proclaimed as government troops abandoned regional capital Mekelle to the advancing TPLF.
    “The ceasefire could not bear the desired fruits,” he said.    “The TPLF…poses a great danger to the sovereignty of the country.    The federal government, through mobilising the people of Ethiopia, is determined to curb this threat.”
    He blamed the TPLF for choosing to fight rather than allow in aid or observe the ceasefire, and accused them of recruiting, drugging and deploying child soldiers.
    TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda dismissed the claim.
    “We don’t have child soldiers because mature soldiers are never in short supply,” he told Reuters via satellite phone.
    Getachew also repeated that the TPLF welcomes aid, and would not observe a ceasefire while parts of Tigray remained under control of the central government or its allies.
REFUGEES STUCK IN THE MIDDLE
    Caught in the middle of the fighting are 23,000 Eritrean refugees sheltering in two camps near the town of Mai Tsebri.
    Many have already fled the Tigrayan war once when two other refugee camps were destroyed, and told Reuters they had seen refugees kidnapped and killed during previous fighting.
    One refugee from Adi Harush camp told Reuters Tigrayan militia were searching refugees’ homes and confiscating cell phones.
    “There is still shooting all around the camp,” he said.
    Tigrayan militia took about 19 refugees from Adi Harush on Wednesday to an unknown location and one refugee – a Muslim man – was killed after they told him to carry some weapons and he refused, another refugee told Reuters.
    “Our forces are not after Eritrean refugees. We will make sure refugees are protected and we are more than ready to investigate any claims,” TPLF’s Getachew said, adding refugees would be permitted to leave the area if they wished.
    Tesfahun Gobezay, head of Ethiopia’s refugee agency, said they wanted to relocate the refugees away from fighting as fast as possible.
    “We will bring refugees into the high schools as we try to build shelters,” he said.
(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; additional reporting by Katharine Houreld in Nairobi; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Toby Chopra and Sonya Hepinstall)

7/15/2021 Haitians Protest, Pay Tribute As Country Grapples With President’s Killing by David Alire Garcia
People walk on a street after tires were set on fire by protesters upset with growing violence in the Lalue neighborhood, a week
after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 14, 2021. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo
    PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Scattered protests broke out in Haiti’s capital on Wednesday as gasoline shortages added to concerns over insecurity and police announced new arrests a week after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise pitched the already-troubled Caribbean nation into political chaos.
    Nearly all the gas stations in Port-au-Prince were closed and long lines formed outside the few that were still operating, with residents blaming both the criminal gangs that control key supply routes and opportunistic black market fuel sellers paralyzing distribution into Haiti’s biggest city.
    Some protesters set tires ablaze in the middle of gritty streets, which remained quieter than usual in the aftermath of Moise’s killing early on July 7.
    Moise was shot dead at his home by what Haitian authorities describe as a unit of assassins, including 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans. Eighteen of the Colombians were detained, three were killed by police and five were still on the run, Haitian police said.    A third Haitian-American, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, was arrested https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/american-arrested-haitian-presidents-killing-had-us-law-enforcement-ties-source-2021-07-12 on Sunday by Haitian authorities, who accused him of being a mastermind of the attack.
    Haitian police announced Wednesday that they arrested two more men after searching their homes and finding weapons.
    Police said at a news conference that 24 police officers have been subjected to “precautionary” measures and four were in isolation as part of the investigation.
    National Police chief Leon Charles identified former Haitian Senator John Joel Joseph as a key player in the plot.    He supplied weapons and planned meetings, Charles said, adding that police were searching for him.
    Charles also pointed a finger at a company he identified as World Wide Capital Lending Group as being responsible for fundraising “to execute this criminal act.”
    World Wide Capital Lending Group, which is based in Florida, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    Colombian news outlet Semana reported that one of the Colombians in custody confessed on Wednesday afternoon to Haitian authorities that seven of the Colombian suspects were what it called the “killers” of Moise, without elaborating.
    Semana did not provide a source for the apparent confession, which it said the retired soldier had made “in tears.”    The report was not verified by Reuters, and Colombian officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    Prosecutors have been preparing to question the head of Moise’s security team, Dimitri Herard.    It was not clear if the questioning has yet taken place.
    Moise’s killing came amid a surge in gang violence in recent months that has displaced thousands and hampered economic activity in the poorest country in the Americas.    At the justice ministry where Herard was to be questioned, graffiti spray-painted on the wall declared: “We reject the power of the gangs.”
    Eugene France, 63, speaking outside the ministry, said he was struggling to sell any of the men’s dress shoes he had slung around his neck and feared more violence.
    “No one is safe, not even the police,” he said.    “I’m scared because the gangs just keep killing people and I can’t sell anything.”
    Outside the national palace, a small crowd gathered at a makeshift memorial with flower arrangements, rows of white candles and a Haitian flag at half staff in front of a large photograph of Moise.
    Damy Makenson, a 30-year-old office worker, slowly approached the memorial, laid down some flowers and solemnly made the sign of the cross over his head and chest.
    “He died working to remake Haiti, and I want you to know that his ideas did not die with him,” Makenson said, comparing Moise to Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a Haitian founding father and military leader who helped put an end to French colonial rule in the early 1800s.
    In New York, Haiti’s U.N. ambassador, Antonio Rodrigue, on Wednesday appealed for international help.
    “At this uncertain time, Haiti needs the support of the international community more than ever,” he told the 193-member U.N. General Assembly, where ambassadors stood to mark a moment’s silence to honor Moise.
    Rodrigue listed organizing democratic elections and the government’s ability to meet Haiti’s socio-economic needs as challenges facing the nation.
    The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said a U.S. delegation recently in Haiti had called for dialogue to help enable free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections.
    The United States is still evaluating Haiti’s request for assistance, and its focus is helping the Haitian government “with navigating the investigation into the assassination of President Moise,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
    “The Department of Justice will continue to support Haitian authorities in their review of the facts and the circumstances surrounding this attack,” Price said at a news briefing on Wednesday.
(Reporting by David Alire Garcia in Port-au-Prince, Michelle Nichols in New York and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington; Additional reporting by Oliver Griffin in Bogota; Writing by Daina Beth Solomon and Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Leslie Adler)

7/15/2021 Amnesty Says Migrants In Libyan Camps Forced To Trade Sex For Clean Water by Robin Emmott
FILE PHOTO: Activists take part in a flash mob in Prague, Czech Republic, organised by Amnesty International to
draw attention to inhuman treatment of migrants in Libya, June 20, 2018. REUTERS/David W Cerny/File Photo
    BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Amnesty International said on Thursday that migrants held in Libyan detention camps are subject to horrific sexual violence at the hands of guards, including being forced to barter sex for clean water, food and access to sanitation.
    The report, which focused on migrants intercepted in the Mediterranean and who disembarked in Libya in 2020 and 2021, suggests worsening conditions in the camps despite being recently placed under the control of the Libyan interior ministry.
    Pope Francis and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have called for their closure.
    Camp guards say, “maybe you want fresh water and beds … let me have sex with you, so I can free you,” a woman told Amnesty, one of several who said guards inside raped or coerced women into sex in exchange for their release or clean water.
    The findings come from interviews with 53 refugees and migrants, aged between 14 and 50, from countries such as Nigeria, Somalia and Syria, mostly who were still in Libya who had been able to flee camps or had access to telephones.
    Some pregnant women inside the camps told Amnesty they had been repeatedly raped by guards, while men said they were forced to wear only underwear in an attempt to humiliate them. Others, including boys, described being groped, prodded and violated.
    The inhuman treatment follows multiple reports since 2017 of beatings, torture and a lack of sanitation and food.
    European Union-funded Libyan coast guards have intercepted at sea and returned to Libya some 15,000 people in the first six months of this year, Amnesty said, more than in all of 2020.    While data is unreliable, Amnesty said some 6,100 people were transferred to camps by the end of June.
    Despite a truce between Libya’s warring factions since October as part of a U.N.-backed peace plan following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, armed groups still hold power on the ground, with some controlling migrant camps.
    Some EU lawmakers have urged the European Commission, the EU executive, to stop funding the coast guards, saying that Libya was not a “safe country” for migrants.
(Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Nick Macfie)

7/15/2021 Residents Count Cost As South Africa Looting Starts To Die Down by Nqobile Dludla
Volunteers clean up the streets after days of looting, in Durban, South Africa, July 15, 2021. REUTERS/Rogan Ward
    JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africans counted the cost of an orgy of arson and looting that has destroyed hundreds of businesses and killed at least 70 people as the spasm of violence began to ebb on Thursday.
    Pockets of unrest remained, notably in the port city of Durban, where looters again pillaged shops and racial tensions flared.
    But in the main commercial city Johannesburg, shopkeepers and other residents sifted through debris, cleared up trash and assessed what remained of their ruined enterprises.
    Also on Thursday, the military called up all its reservists to bolster army and police who have struggled to contain the unrest.
    Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said on Wednesday she wanted to deploy up to 25,000 soldiers in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces, which bore the brunt of the several days of violence.
    About 5,000 troops are already on the streets, authorities said, and security forces have so far arrested at least 1,350 people.
    The rioting first broke out in response to the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma last week for his failure to appear at a corruption inquiry.
    It swiftly degenerated into looting and destruction, driven by widespread anger over the hardship and inequality that nearly three decades of democracy since the end of apartheid have failed to address.
    In some neighbourhoods, vigilante groups have sprung up to protect their property. But there was also evidence the latest chaos may be exacerbating the racial tensions that are a legacy of the apartheid system.
    In Durban’s Phoenix neighbourhood, home to many South Africans of Indian descent, authorities reported conflict between them and Black citizens.
    “There are ugly scenes playing out on the streets of Phoenix, the racial direction that these unrests are taking must be arrested speedily,” Police Minister Beki Cele said.
    Fifteen people have been killed in Phoenix since the start of the violence last week, Cele said in a statement, without elaborating on who was killed or how.
    The ransacking of stores has left food and other essentials in short supply, and the closure of many petrol stations has also hit transport supply lines.
    At Diepkloof Mall in Soweto, South Africa’s biggest township, about 50 people swept up broken glass and packed empty shoe boxes into plastic rubbish bags, a Reuters reporter said.
    Clothing stores were empty, with racks and naked mannequins scattered across the floor.    Looted ATM machines lay strewn around.
    “It’s heartbreaking.    Very, very heartbreaking. Everything is gone.    It’s going to take months to be back up again,” said Ricardo Desousa, manager of a ransacked butcher shop in Soweto’s Bara Mall.
    His staff were helping clean up the damage.    “They’re not going to get paid,” he said.    “There’s no money.”
    An unknown number of people have been forced out of work due to the destruction of businesses, which is likely to exacerbate the poverty and desperation that partly fuelled the riots.
    Half of South Africans are below the official poverty line and unemployment stood at a record high of 32.6% in the first three months of 2021, thanks partly to the impact of COVID-19 on the economy.
    Pillaging continued on Thursday in Durban, where a Reuters reporter saw crowds in the Mobeni neighbourhood rolling away trolleys loaded with maize meal and other looted staples.
POLITICAL COST
    Zuma, 79, was sentenced last month for defying an order to give evidence at a judicial inquiry probing high-level graft during his time in office from 2009 to 2018.
    He has pleaded not guilty in a separate case on charges including corruption, fraud, racketeering and money laundering. He says he is the victim of a witch-hunt by his political foes.
    Zuma’s fall from grace has opened up a power struggle within the African National Congress (ANC), which has ruled since the end of apartheid in 1994.    Zuma loyalists make up the strongest faction opposed to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
    William Gumede, a professor in governance at the University of the Witwatersrand, said the chaos was likely to cost the ANC in lost votes.    Local government elections are set for October.
    “Black people lost the most.    Small and medium-sized businesses were affected, with mainly Black employees without work,” he said.    “So, you can imagine the anger towards the ANC among many former supporters.”
    The unrest has also disrupted hospitals struggling to cope with a third wave of COVID-19.    They say they are running out of oxygen and drugs, most of which are imported through Durban.    Some vaccination centres have been forced to shut.
(Additional reporting by Siyabonga Sishi in Durban, Wendell Roelf in Cape Town, and Shafiek Tassiem, Alexander Winning, Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, Siphiwe Sibeko and Tim Cocks in Johannesburg; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

7/15/2021 Analysis: Jordan’s King Reasserts Rule After Crisis But Economic Strains Linger by Suleiman Al-Khalidi
FILE PHOTO: Jordan's King Abdullah II listens during a meeting in Amman, Jordan, May 26, 2021. Alex Brandon/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
    AMMAN (Reuters) – King Abdullah has moved swiftly to shore up his grip on Jordan in the three months since an alleged plot surfaced to replace him with his half-brother, leaving his rule secure for now but still wrestling with big economic challenges.
    The crisis ignited by Prince Hamza’s alleged leadership ambitions seems to have been put to bed with a military court this week sentencing two men accused of conspiring with him, and the prince himself ostracized in a palace.
    Away from the court proceedings, King Abdullah has sought to reassert his influence over powerful tribes that underpin his rule and for whose loyalty Prince Hamza was accused of competing, visiting their areas and raising his profile.
    Officials talk of a king now composed and at ease, in contrast with his apparent anxiety in the first weeks of the crisis, described by the king as “the most painful” because it came from both inside the royal family and outside it.
    The trial appears to have passed off without any apparent diplomatic fallout from Saudi Arabia, where the prime defendant, Bassem Awdallah, worked as a top adviser to Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, having previously served as the closest adviser to King Abdullah for many years.
    The prosecution charge sheet said the accused had agreed that Awadallah would seek foreign backing for Hamza’s ambitions, using his ties in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, and that Hamza had asked Awadallah whether Riyadh would help him if something happened to him in Jordan.
    But the Jordanian authorities never suggested a Saudi role in the plot.
    Meanwhile, the support of Jordan’s most important ally, the United States, has seemed unwavering, after an uncomfortable spell during the term of ex-President Donald Trump, whose Middle East peace plan was seen in Amman as an existential threat.
    “I just called to tell him he has a friend in America. Stay strong,” President Joe Biden said he told the king in an April 7 call at the height of the crisis.
    King Abdullah will next week become the first Arab leader to meet Biden at the White House.
    “The king probably has never been stronger than today – internally very solid support, externally very solid support,” said Fares Braizat, a former minister and head of NAMA Strategic Intelligence Solutions think tank.
    “The message (of the trial) is to meddle with stability of the country cannot be tolerated.”
ROYAL RIVALRIES
    The episode has offered a rare glimpse of rivalries in the Hashemite family that has ruled Jordan since it became a British protectorate in 1921.
    In line with the wishes of his father, the late King Hussein, Abdullah made Hamza crown prince when he ascended the throne in 1999.    But he removed him from the position in 2004 and later appointed his son, Prince Hussein, to the post.
    Hamza was spared conviction after pledging allegiance to King Abdullah. Initially put under house arrest, he is now isolated in a palace with his family and banned from any public role, people familiar with the situation told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
    The military court issued its verdicts against Awadallah and Sherif Hassan Zaid, a distant relative of Abdullah, after seven sessions, saying they sought to create chaos and sedition.
    The men, who were each sentenced to 15 years in jail, both pleaded not guilty.
    With defence requests to call witnesses denied, the swift trial was a message to King Abdullah’s opponents that he would never tolerate any threat to his rule, politicians say.
    Critics say the trial lacked due process and aimed chiefly to undermine Hamza, accused by his opponents of exploiting the grievances of tribes in order to incite them against the king.
    “This is a court that doesn’t have the minimum prerequisites of justice … It’s a political trial and an indictment of Hamza in front of public opinion,” said Lamis Andoni, a political analyst.
    A U.S. lawyer for Awadallah said his client had suffered beatings and psychological torture and feared for his life.
    The Jordanian authorities denied this.
    The U.S. State Department said it was monitoring Awadallah’s case closely and that it took seriously any allegation of abuse.
    An economist of Palestinian origin with U.S. citizenship, Awadallah is a divisive figure. He was long vilified by a ruling elite drawn from the country’s tribal chiefs for his influence over the monarch and for his free-market reforms which they saw as a threat to their privileges.
TRIBES
    Jordan’s powerful tribes dominate the army and security forces and their loyalty to the Hashemites has been repaid for decades with generous state benefits.
    King Abdullah has stepped up his engagement with the tribes since the crisis erupted. So has Prince Hussein.
    During a visit to the Red Sea city of Aqaba last month, Prince Hussein, 27, criticised maladministration – one of the issues Prince Hamza complained about publicly.    Several local officials were dismissed this week.
    Economic troubles in Jordan, including diminished aid from Gulf Arab states, have put the patronage system under strain.
    The economy was particularly hard hit last year by COVID-19 shutdowns, with unemployment at a record 24%.
    Jordan is hopeful Washington will be extending a $1.5 billion annual support programme after the IMF praised economic reforms that will help the kingdom get more financing.
    The king is seeking to enact economic reforms but faces resistance from the conservative establishment.
    “The challenges facing us from hunger, poverty and unemployment and the loss of confidence in state institutions means the fallout of (the Hamza affair) is still with us,” said Khaled Ramadan, a politician and former deputy.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Tom Perry, William Maclean)

7/15/2021 Hariri Abandons Cabinet Formation, Plunging Lebanon Deeper Into Crisis
FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri speaks at the presidential palace
in Baabda, Lebanon March 18, 2021. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
    BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese politician Saad al-Hariri abandoned his effort to form a new government on Thursday, saying it was clear he would not be able to reach an agreement with President Michel Aoun, plunging the country deeper into crisis.
    Lebanon is suffering an economic depression the World Bank has described as one of the most severe in modern history.    Its currency has lost more than 90% of its value in less than two years, leading to spiraling poverty and crippling shortages.
    “It is clear we will not be able to agree with his Excellency the president,” Hariri told reporters after meeting Aoun for barely 20 minutes.    “That is why I excuse myself from government formation.”
    With no obvious alternative for the post, which must be filled by a Sunni Muslim in Lebanon’s sectarian system, there is little hope of a government that can start fixing the economic situation.
    Hariri said Aoun had requested fundamental changes to a cabinet line-up he had presented to him on Wednesday.    Aoun had told Hariri that they would not be able to agree, Hariri said.
    There was no immediate comment from the presidency.
    Hariri was designated to form the new government in October, after the resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab in the aftermath of the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion.    Diab continues in a caretaker capacity.
(Reporting By Beirut Bureau, writing by Maha El Dahan; Editing by Toby Chopra and Philippa Fletcher)

7/15/2021 Iraqi Cleric Sadr Says He Won’t Take Part In October Election by Ahmed Rasheed
FILE PHOTO: A poster of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq
June 21, 2021. The text at the top left of the poster reads 'The Solid Structure'. The text at the bottom right
of the poster reads 'Saraya al-Salam, operation command of holy Samarra'. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad/File Photo
    BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Thursday he will not take part in elections in October and withdrew his support from the government, distancing himself from the state at a time when deadly hospital fires have angered Iraqis.
    One of the most influential figures in Iraq, Sadr led a political bloc that emerged as the biggest in the 2018 parliamentary election, with 54 seats in the 329 seat legislature, and his movement has big sway.
    The impact of his announcement was difficult to assess.    Sadr, a long-time adversary of the United States who also opposes Iranian influence in Iraq, typically wields power without holding elected office.    He has withdrawn from frontline politics before, without dismantling his powerful movement.
    Even if he does not run, candidates loyal to him could stand, allowing him to retain his influence.
‘TERRIBLE MANAGEMENT’
    Dozens of people were killed this week by a fire at a COVID-19 hospital in the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya, the second such fire in Iraq in three months, and many Iraqis blame the government for both.    The results of an investigation will be announced within a week, the prime minister’s office said on Tuesday.
    Sadr’s move appeared aimed at deflecting popular discontent over the hospital fires, and over power and water cuts which have sparked protests, said Hamdi Malik, an associate fellow at the Washington Institute.
    “Sadr is trying to distance himself from the terrible management of Iraqi officials,” said Malik, predicting Sadr’s party would take part and do well in the election, despite his promise not to stand personally.
    Sadr’s main rivals are Iran-backed Shi’ite groups, which have blamed his party over state failings.    Sadr has millions of followers and, like his Tehran-backed rivals, an armed militia.
    “I inform you that I will not participate in these elections.    The nation is more important than all of that,” Sadr said, adding that he was “withdrawing his hand from those who belong to this current government and the following one.”
    In a televised speech, Sadr said Iraq was being subjected to a “satanic regional scheme to humiliate the country and to bring it to its knees.”
    “Watch out before Iraq’s fate becomes like that of Syria, Afghanistan or other states that have fallen victim to internal, regional and international policies,” he said.
    A source close to Sadr told Reuters the decision followed a campaign by Iran-backed Shi’ite groups to sully the reputation of Sadr’s movement, worried that it would sweep the vote.
    In reference to his Iran-backed rivals, Sadr had told followers at a recent meeting there were “factions ready to burn Iraq to prevent the Sadrists from forming the next government,” the source said.
(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Tom Perry, John Stonestreet, Peter Graff)

7/16/2021 Ramaphosa To Visit Worst-Hit Province As South Africa Violence Eases
FILE PHOTO: Community members monitor access to a suburb after several days of looting following the imprisonment
of former South Africa President Jacob Zuma, in Durban, South Africa, July 15, 2021. REUTERS/Rogan Ward
    JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was due to visit KwaZulu-Natal province – one of the flashpoints of a spasm of violence and heartland of support for his predecessor Jacob Zuma – on Friday as the unrest appeared to abating.
    Some companies worked to restart operations after days of looting and arson that destroyed hundreds of businesses and left more than 100 people dead.
    Calm was returning in parts of the main commercial city Johannesburg, even though most shops remain closed, and operations at the ports of Durban and Richards Bay were improving.
    Ramaphosa’s office said the president would visit KwaZulu-Natal to assess the impact of the violence.
    The rioting broke out in several parts of the country following the jailing of Zuma last week for his failure to appear at a corruption inquiry.
    It swiftly degenerated into looting and destruction, driven by widespread anger over the poverty and inequality that persist nearly three decades after the end of white minority rule.
    The military called up all its reservists to bolster army and police who have struggled to contain the unrest, with the number of troops to be deployed doubling to 10,000 since Wednesday.
    But pockets of unrest remained, with eNCA television reporting that a business park was torched overnight in Isipingo, a town south of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal.
    State logistics group Transnet said operations at the ports of Durban and Richards Bay, which had been hit by the unrest, were improving even though road closures and fuel and food shortages were constraining its supply chain.
    “The Port of Richards Bay has managed to clear all shipping backlogs. Terminal operations at the Port of Durban continue to improve,” Transnet said.
    The government said on Thursday the death toll had risen to 91 deaths in KwaZulu-Natal, Zuma’s home province where his support is greatest, and stood at 26 in Gauteng, which includes Johannesburg, making a total of 117 killed so far.
(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

7/16/2021 Pandemic Disruptions Push Millions Of Nigerians Into Hunger by Libby George and Estelle Shirbon
Women queue for food parcels during distribution by volunteers of the Lagos food bank initiative
in a community in Oworoshoki, Lagos, Nigeria July 10, 2021. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja
    LAGOS/LONDON (Reuters) – Shehu Ismaila Gbadebo has worked as a barber for two decades.    The money he made at his rented stall in a bustling suburb of Nigeria’s megacity, Lagos, used to be plenty for him to pay bills and set aside some savings.    Now, he relies on donated food and sometimes skips meals to feed his family.
    Since COVID-19 hit Africa’s most populous nation and biggest economy, prices for some staples such as eggs, onions and palm oil, have risen by 30% or more. Fewer people can afford a haircut, and those who can are demanding discounts off Gbadebo’s 500 naira ($1.22) rate.
    “The money I have is not enough for what we need,” Gbadebo, 38, told Reuters after tending a customer.
    Millions of Nigerians like Gbadebo, who were once on solid financial footing, can no longer reliably feed themselves or their families.     Roughly 18% of households in Nigeria have at least one adult who does not eat for an entire day at a time, compared with 6% before the pandemic, according to the World Bank.    Inflation is near an all-time high, and food prices account for almost 70% of the rise.
(GRAPHIC: Food price inflation pressures consumers – https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/NIGERIA-HUNGER/xlbvgqeezvq/chart.png)
    The U.N. food agency has warned that food import costs worldwide are expected to surge to records this year, as price increases for nearly all agricultural commodities and a rally in energy prices boost production and shipping costs.
    But in Nigeria, galloping inflation is combining with the impact of a teetering economy, rising unemployment and insecurity in farming regions to pull even the formerly middle class into dire straits.
    Some experts warn of worsening malnutrition and the potential for unrest.
    “What we are experiencing in Nigeria is different from what is being experienced all over the world,” said Idayat Hassan, director of the     Abuja-based think-tank Centre for Democracy and Development, adding that the nation’s limited social safety net left millions with little help.
    “Crime is actually skyrocketing on daily basis, because people are trying to make ends meet.”
(GRAPHIC: High unemployment worsens inflation pressure – https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/NIGERIA-HUNGER/xlbpgqeajpq/chart.png)
DOUBLE THE COST
    On a cloudy Saturday afternoon, dozens of women lined up in the Oworonshoki neighbourhood on the edge of the Lagos lagoon as the Lagos Food Bank Initiative distributed packs of rice, oil and other essentials.
    Food bank president Michael Sunbola said demand was 40% higher than before the pandemic.    The distribution in mixed-income Oworonshoki, where brick apartment blocks buttress ramshackle shanties, was new.
    “Middle class families, people who would ordinarily not imagine queuing up for food, are now in that category of people that we serve,” Sunbola said.
    The World Bank estimates that price shocks in 2020 pushed 7 million additional Nigerians into poverty, an increase of nearly 10%.    Marco Hernandez, the World Bank’s lead economist for Nigeria, said the weakening naira, trade restrictions and land border closures targeting smuggling also boosted prices.
    Cost increases hit the food bank too; a 100-kg (220-lb) bag of beans that cost it 30,000 naira before COVID-19 hit now takes 65,000 naira, forcing it to cut the amount of food in each pack.
(GRAPHIC: Staple food costs rise dramatically – https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/NIGERIA-HUNGER/qzjvqxzbgpx/chart.png)
PRECIPITATING A CRISIS
    Beans and other staples are grown mainly in Nigeria’s increasingly unstable north. Legislators warned in April the nation was “on fire” due a wave of violence and lawlessness.
    In November, Islamist militants beheaded dozens of farmers in northeastern Borno state, and in the northwest, armed gangs kidnapping for ransom are driving farmers to abandon their fields.
    An official in northwestern Kaduna state warned insecurity had already hit crop yields and was “precipitating a food crisis.”
    Back in Lagos, Gbadebo the barber said his wife, currently at home with their three children, including a one-month-old baby, would soon start working to help support the family.
    “It’s not easy,” he said.    “Before COVID everything was a bit better.”
(Reporting by Libby George in Lagos and Estelle Shirbon in London; Additional reporting by Nneka Chile and Seun Sanni in Lagos; Editing by Alex Richardson)

7/17/2021 Syria’s Assad Says Funds Frozen In Lebanese Banks Biggest Impediment To Investment
FILE PHOTO: Syria's President Bashar al-Assad addresses the new members of parliament in Damascus, Syria
in this handout released by SANA on August 12, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
    BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Saturday the main impediment to investment in the country was money stuck in ailing Lebanese banks.
    In a speech after being sworn in as president for a fourth term, Assad said estimates suggested the frozen funds were worth between $40 billion and $60 billion.
    “Both figures are enough to depress an economy like ours,” he said.
    Lebanon is in the throes of a deep economic meltdown that is threatening its stability.    Lebanese banks have locked depositors out of their accounts and blocked transfers abroad since the start of the country’s crisis in late 2019.
    Many Syrian front companies had long circumvented Western sanctions by using Lebanon’s banking system to pay for goods which were then imported into Syria by land.
    Assad also said Syria would continue working to overcome difficulties caused by the Western sanctions imposed over its decade-long war.
    “Sanctions haven’t prevented us from securing our basic needs but they have created some choke points,” he said.
    “We will continue to work to overcome them without announcing what methods we used before to do that or what we will use in the future.”
    Syrian authorities blame Western sanctions for widespread hardship, including soaring prices and people struggling to afford food and basic supplies.
    Assad secured a fourth term in office in a May election, winning more than 95% of the votes.
    Opponents and the West say the election was marked by fraud but the government said it showed the country was functioning normally despite the long war.
    Assad’s biggest challenge, now that he has regained control of around 70% of the country, is an economy in decline.
(Writing By Maha El Dahan; Editing by Catherine Evans, Kirsten Donovan)

7/17/2021 South Africa President: Country Returning To Calm by OAN Newsroom
Residents of Alexandra Township begin cleaning up after several days of looting on
July 15, 2021 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by James Oatway/Getty Images)
    The President of South Africa announced the country has regained stability after a week of bedlam.    In a nationwide address on Friday, President Cyril Ramaphosa reported a drastic decline in incidents of rioting and looting that caused widespread turmoil after the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma.
    Over 2,500 people have reportedly been arrested for inciting violence that resulted in over 212 deaths and property loss that has so far been incalculable.
    “At least 212 people have lost their lives,” he stated.    “…The South African Police Service, led by Commissioner Sitole, here, is investigating 131 cases of murder and have opened inquest dockets in respect of 81 deaths.”
    Ramaphosa said those investigations have been centered on 12 individuals who have been suspected of provoking a political insurrection.    Although Ramaphosa declined to name those individuals or draw a connection to former President Zuma, he claimed the recent events were a “deliberate, coordinated” and well-planned attack to subvert democracy in South Africa.
    “It’s quite clear that all these incidents of unrest and looting were instigated,” he explained.    “…There were people who planned it.    They coordinated it and our intelligence services and our police have now got a line of sight of what actually was happening here with the instigation.”
    At the heart of the insurrection attempt was the goal to sabotage the economy and the country’s critical infrastructure.    Rioters targeted the Port of Durban by blocking roadways connecting it with the economic capital of Johannesburg and halted operations of the country’s largest oil refinery.
Cash machines were destroyed at a shopping centre on July 13, 2021 in
Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by James Oatway/Getty Images)
    These obstructions to commerce threatened the supply of public essentials, while looters and arsonists destroyed public spheres.    However, Ramaphosa reassured citizens there was no food shortage and no need to allow fear to perpetuate turmoil in the country.
    “I want to emphasize that there is no shortage of food or supplies in most parts of the country,” he stated.    “There is therefore, no need to go on panic buying because doing so will only worsen the situation.”
    For a hopeful President Ramphosa, the attempts to undermine South Africa’s democracy have ultimately failed and order will be restored.

7/17/2021 Secy. Of State Blinken Meets With Kenyan Diplomat by OAN Newsroom
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gestures as Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ambassador Raychelle Omamo
looks on at the State Department in Washington, DC, July 16, 2021. (Photo by TOM BRENNER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
    Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed Kenyan diplomats with efforts to bolster a bilateral relationship with the African state.    On Friday, Blinken met with Kenya’s foreign minister to discuss how both countries could move forward in the post-pandemic era.
    According to Blinken, the U.S. is expected to send its first shipments of COVID-19 vaccines to Kenya in the coming days amid a surge in cases across the African continent.
    “We’re very pleased to have been able to help with COVID and vaccines.    There are 1.7 million vaccines that are en route soon to Kenya,” he stated.    “We’re grateful for the strategic partnership that we have much work to be done on the continent and beyond.”
    This comes as the U.S. has shipped more than 53 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to other countries as a part of the Biden administration’s global vaccination efforts.

7/18/2021 Turkey Condemns EU Court Ruling On Headscarf Ban As Violation Of Freedoms
FILE PHOTO: The towers of the Court of Justice of the European Union are seen in Luxembourg,
January 26, 2017. Picture taken January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo
    ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey on Sunday slammed a ruling by a top European Union court allowing the banning of headscarves under certain conditions as a “clear violation of religious freedoms,” adding the move would exacerbate prejudices against Muslim women in Europe.
    The Luxembourg-based EU Court of Justice (CJEU) ruled on Thursday that companies in the bloc can ban employees from wearing a headscarf under certain conditions, if they need to do so to project an image of neutrality to customers.
    The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement the ruling was a sign of rising Islamophobia at a time when it said Muslim women in Europe are being subjected to increasing discrimination for their religious beliefs.
    “The CJEU decision, at a time when the Islamophobia, racism and hatred that have taken Europe hostage are rising, disregards religious freedom and creates a basis and legal cover for discrimination,” the ministry said.
    On Saturday, the Turkish presidency’s communication director Fahrettin Altun condemned the move, saying “this wrong decision is an attempt to grant legitimacy to racism.”
    The issue of the hijab, the traditional headscarf worn around the head and shoulders, has been divisive across Europe for years, underlining sharp differences over integrating Muslims.
    Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted AK Party, which came to power in 2002 blending a pro-Western, democratic market approach, has been criticised by Western allies in recent years for increasing authoritarianism and religious intolerance.    The United States, Greece, Russia and church leaders expressed concern last year over his government’s move to convert Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia into a mosque last year.
    Ankara has repeatedly accused European nations of not doing enough to prevent discrimination against Muslims, saying it will start publishing an annual report on what it calls examples of Islamophobia around the world.
    In response to whether headscarf bans at work represented a violation of the freedom of religion, the CJEU said such bans were possible if justified by an employer’s need to present a neutral image.
    Ties between Ankara and the bloc have been strained over a host of issues, namely over a dispute between EU member Greece and Turkey over maritime jurisdiction and energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Frances Kerry)

7/18/2021 Jewish Visits, Opposed By Palestinians, Spark Clashes At Jerusalem Holy Site
The Dome of the Rock is seen in the background as Israeli security forces guard after brief clashes erupted between
Israeli police and Palestinians at al-Aqsa Mosque over visits by Jews on the Tisha B'Av fast day to the compound known
to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City, July 18, 2021. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Brief clashes erupted on Sunday between Israeli police and Palestinians at Al Aqsa mosque over visits by Jews to the compound revered in Judaism as the site of two destroyed Biblical temples.
    No serious injuries were reported in what police described as stone throwing early in the day by several Palestinian youngsters who it said were then dispersed.
    Palestinian officials said police forcefully evacuated Muslim worshippers to clear the way for Jewish visitors and fired rubber-coated bullets during the confrontation in one of the most sensitive venues in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
    All was quiet by the time Muslim noon prayers were held, but the incident drew condemnation by the Palestinian Authority, which administers limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank.
    Israeli media reports put the number of Jewish visitors who walked through the Jerusalem plaza at around 1,300.
    They were mostly religious Jews, some with children in tow, who toured the site under heavy police guard on the Tisha B’Av fast day marking the razing of the temples.
    In a statement, the Palestinian Authority said it held “the Israeli occupation government fully responsible for the escalation resulting from the Israeli incursion in the Al Aqsa mosque complex in occupied Jerusalem.”
    The Authority called the Jewish visits provocative and a “serious threat" to “security and stability.”
    After the spate of violence, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett directed that Jewish visits there “continue, while maintaining order at the site,” an official statement said.
    Israeli police monitor and regulate Jewish visits to the flashpoint plaza, known in Judaism as Temple Mount.    Muslims refer to the compound, where Al Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, and the Dome of the Rock shrine are located, as the Noble Sanctuary.
    The area is in Jerusalem’s walled Old City and part of the territory Israel captured in a 1967 Middle East war.    Violence there led in part to an 11-day Israel-Gaza war in May.
(Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

7/18/2021 After War With Israel, A Grieving Gaza Marks Eid Al-Adha Holiday by Nidal al-Mughrabi
A Palestinian sells socks on a stall near the rubble of his old store that has been destroyed in an Israeli air strike,
ahead of Eid Al-Adha Muslim holiday, in Gaza City, July 14, 2021. Picture taken July 14, 2021. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
    GAZA (Reuters) – For Palestinians who lost loved ones in the fighting between Gaza militants and Israel two months ago, there is little cause for celebration during the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha.
    Known as the Feast of Sacrifice, it commemorates for the faithful the prophet Ibrahim’s readiness to sacrifice his son to show his dedication to God.
    The holiday, coinciding with Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, begins on Tuesday, and Muslims traditionally mark the occasion by slaughtering sheep or cows and exchanging gifts.
    For this year’s four-day festival, Mahmoud Issa, a 73-year-old retired teacher, bought new clothes for his grandchildren and took them to a farm to choose an animal to slaughter.
    But he mourns the death of his daughter Manar, 39, and her daughter, Lina 13, who he said were killed by an Israeli missile that destroyed their house in the Bureij refugee camp on May 13.    Manar’s husband and three other children survived.
    “As adults, we are still haunted by pain, but we must get the children out of this atmosphere and make them live the atmosphere of Eid, so that they forget the pain of losing their mother and their eldest sister,” Issa said, sitting next to a large mural of Manar.
    Gaza’s Hamas Islamist-run government says 2,200 homes were destroyed and 37,000 damaged by Israeli bombing during the 11 days of cross-border fighting in May.
    More than 250 Palestinians were killed in hundreds of Israeli air strikes in Gaza that were launched after Hamas began firing rockets at Israel in retaliation for what the group said were rights abuses against Palestinians in Jerusalem.
    Thirteen people were killed in Israel during rocket barrages that disrupted life and sent people running for shelter.
POOR SALES
    In Gaza’s livestock markets, breeders and farmers reported poor sales ahead of the holiday.    At one market in the town of Khan Younis, some customers loaded animals onto donkey carts to take them home.
    “This year, the purchase of animals is weak because of the blockade, war and the coronavirus,” said merchant Saleem Abu Atwa, referring in part to tight border restrictions imposed by Israel and Egypt, which cite security concerns for the measures.
    “We hope calm continues.    It is for the sake of everyone,” he added.
    At a street stall in Gaza’s busy Rimal neighbourhood, Mohammad Al-Qassas laments the destruction of his shoe store in the fighting as he sells goods that he salvaged from the rubble.
    The 23-year-old fears that an Egyptian-brokered truce that ended the most serious hostilities between Gaza militants and Israel in years might not last.
    “Another war would be a disaster,” he told Reuters.
(Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Pravin Char)

7/18/2021 Immunised Pilgrims Gather For Haj As COVID Restrictions Limit Numbers
Pilgrims keeping social distance perform their Umrah in the Grand Mosque during the annual Haj pilgrimage,
in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, July 17, 2021. Saudi Ministry of Media/Handout via REUTERS
    MECCA, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) – Muslim pilgrims vaccinated against COVID-19 gathered on Sunday for the annual haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, which has barred worshippers from abroad for a second year running due to the pandemic and has also restricted entry from inside the kingdom.
    Clad in white and carrying umbrellas against the blistering summer sun, 60,000 Saudi citizens and residents are performing the rite, a once-in-a-lifetime duty for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it, compared with some 2.5 million in 2019.
    “I ask God to end the coronavirus, it made us very scared and made the situation very difficult,” said Palestinian pilgrim Hassan Jabari.
    Saudi Arabia, which last year allowed a few thousand to perform the haj, is home to Islam’s holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, and the country strives to ensure a peaceful haj, which has been marred in the past by deadly stampedes, fires and riots.
    With the coronavirus the main concern this year, authorities have restricted access to pilgrims aged 18 to 65 who have been fully vaccinated or immunised against the virus and do not suffer from chronic diseases.
    Robots are being used to disinfect the Grand Mosque in Mecca and its courtyard and also to distribute bottles of zamzam water, pumped from a holy well in Mecca, to reduce human interaction and ensure physical distancing.
    Thermal cameras at entrances to the Grand Mosque monitor people’s temperatures.    Around 3,000 electric carts have been provided for pilgrims, who also wear electronic identification bracelets connected to GPS.
    Small groups of pilgrims wearing masks have since Saturday been circling the Kaaba – a stone structure that is the most sacred in Islam and the direction which Muslims face to pray – as health professionals monitor their movements.
    The pilgrims then made their way to Mina, 7 km northeast of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, where they will spend the day in prayer before heading to Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Mohammad gave his last sermon.
    Around 500 health volunteers are available to offer medical assistance and 62 screens were installed to broadcast awareness messages in different languages.
    Over the years, the kingdom has spent billions of dollars on making one of the world’s biggest religious gatherings more secure.    It is a major revenue earner for Saudi Arabia from worshippers’ lodging, transport, fees and gifts.
(Reporting by Marwa Rashad in London, Ghaida Ghantous in Dubai and Reuters multimedia team in Mecca; Editing by Jane Merriman)

7/18/2021 Saudi Commentators Go Public In Criticising UAE Role In Yemen
FILE PHOTO: General view in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June 21 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri/File Photo
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Pro-government commentators in Saudi Arabia are publicly criticising the United Arab Emirates’ role in Yemen, a rare move that reflects political and economic tensions between the two Gulf allies that also led to an open standoff over oil policy.
    Saudi Arabia is trying to contain a power struggle in southern Yemen between the recognised government backed by Riyadh and the main separatist group supported by the UAE – which risks broadening a war that Saudi Arabia is struggling to exit.
    “If Abu Dhabi does not help in implementing the Riyadh agreement regarding the south Yemen crisis, and keeps obstructing it, I think that Saudi-Emirati ties will continue to be tested,” political writer Suleiman al-Oqeliy, who often reflects official Saudi positions, said in a Twitter post on Saturday.
    “The Kingdom, government and people, will not allow anyone to tamper with Yemen’s security and harm it.    Its patience may be great but it has limits,” tweeted Abdullah al-Hatayla, deputy editor of Saudi Arabia’s semi-official Okaz newspaper.
    Social media is closely monitored by authorities in the Gulf Arab region and pro-government commentators in Saudi Arabia usually refrain from criticising the kingdom’s allies.
    Saudi and UAE authorities did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.
    The UAE is a member of the military coalition led by Riyadh that intervened in Yemen in 2015 against the Iran-aligned Houthis who ousted the government from the capital Sanaa.
    Abu Dhabi ended its military presence in 2019, saddling Riyadh with a costly and unpopular war, but continues to hold sway through Yemeni fighters it armed and trained.
    Among them are forces of the Southern Transitional Council, also members of the coalition, who have twice seized the southern port of Aden, the interim headquarters of the Saudi-backed government, prompting Riyadh to broker a power-sharing deal which has yet to be fully implemented.
    The criticism by the commentators comes after a public dispute between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi that disrupted policy setting by OPEC+, a group that includes OPEC and its allies.    OPEC+ secured agreement to boost oil supplies when it reconvened on Sunday after the two Gulf producers reached an understanding.
    However analysts say increasing economic competition is laying bare differences between Saudi Arabia and the UAE as the kingdom moves to challenge its neighbour’s dominance as the region’s business, trade and tourism hub.
    The regional alliance that saw Saudi Arabia and the UAE join forces to project power in the Middle East and beyond and combat Islamist groups – coordinating use of financial clout, and in Yemen, military force – has loosened as national interests come to the fore.
(Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi and Marwa Rashad; Editing by Frances Kerry)

7/19/2021 Israeli Firm’s Spyware Used To Target Journalists’ Cell Phones – Reports
FILE PHOTO: A hooded man holds a laptop computer as blue screen with an exclamation mark is projected on him
in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An Israeli company’s spyware was used in attempted and successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, government officials and human rights activists around the world, according to an investigation by 17 media organizations published on Sunday.
    One of the organizations, The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2021/nso-spyware-pegasus-cellphones/?itid=lk_inline_manual_14, said the Pegasus spyware licensed by Israel-based NSO Group also was used to target phones belonging to two women close to Jamal Khashoggi, a Post columnist murdered at a Saudi consulate in Turkey in 2018, before and after his death.
    The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/18/revealed-leak-uncovers-global-abuse-of-cyber-surveillance-weapon-nso-group-pegasus, another of the media outlets, said the investigation suggested “widespread and continuing abuse” of NSO’s hacking software, described as malware that infects smartphones to enable the extraction of messages, photos and emails; record calls; and secretly activate microphones.
    The investigation, which Reuters did not independently confirm, did not reveal who attempted the hacks or why.
    NSO said its product is intended only for use by government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to fight terrorism and crime.
    The company issued a statement https://www.nsogroup.com/Newses/following-the-publication-of-the-recent-article-by-forbidden-stories-we-wanted-to-directly-address-the-false-accusations-and-misleading-allegations-presented-there on its website denying the reporting by the 17 media partners led by the Paris-based journalism nonprofit Forbidden Stories.
    “The report by Forbidden Stories is full of wrong assumptions and uncorroborated theories that raise serious doubts about the reliability and interests of the sources.    It seems like the ‘unidentified sources’ have supplied information that has no factual basis and are far from reality,” the company said in the statement.
    “After checking their claims, we firmly deny the false allegations made in their report,” the statement said.
    NSO said its technology was not associated in any way with Khashoggi’s murder.    NSO representatives were not immediately available to provide additional information to Reuters on Sunday.
    In a statement https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/07/the-pegasus-project, rights group Amnesty International decried what it termed “the wholesale lack of regulation” of surveillance software.
    “Until this company (NSO) and the industry as a whole can show it is capable of respecting human rights, there must be an immediate moratorium on the export, sale, transfer and use of surveillance technology,” the rights group said in a statement.
    The targeted phone numbers were on a list provided by Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International to the 17 media organizations.    It was not clear how the groups obtained the list.
    The numbers on the list were not attributed, but reporters identified more than 1,000 people spanning more than 50 countries, the Post said.    They included several Arab royal family members, at least 65 business executives, 85 human rights activists, 189 journalists and more than 600 politicians and government officials – including several heads of state and prime ministers.
    The Guardian said the numbers of more than 180 journalists were listed in the data, including reporters, editors and executives at the Financial Times, CNN, New York Times, the Economist, Associated Press and Reuters.
    “We are deeply troubled to learn that two AP journalists, along with journalists from many news organizations, are among those who may have been targeted by Pegasus spyware,” said Director of AP Media Relations Lauren Easton.
    “We have taken steps to ensure the security of our journalists’ devices and are investigating,” she added.
    Reuters’ spokesman Dave Moran said, “Journalists must be allowed to report the news in the public interest without fear of harassment or harm, wherever they are.    We are aware of the report and are looking into the matter.”
    The other media organizations could not be immediately reached for comment on Sunday.
(Writing by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Diane Craft)
[OF COURSE THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WANTS TO BLAME EVERYTHING THEY ARE DOING ON ISRAEL.].

7/19/2021 Biden To Host Jordan’s King Abdullah For Broad Array Of Middle East Talks by Steve Holland
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks in a speech at National Constitution
Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday will host Jordan’s King Abdullah, a key U.S. ally in a volatile region, in what will be the first of three face-to-face meetings with leaders from the Middle East expected soon.
    Abdullah, who faced down a challenge to his authority in April from his half-brother, Prince Hamza, will have his first Oval Office talks with Biden since the U.S. president took power in January.
    He will also have a working breakfast with Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday at the vice president’s residence.    He will meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department on Tuesday.
    Abdullah plays a unique role in the Middle East, seen by U.S. officials as a moderate and pragmatic leader who can play a mediating role.
    Abdullah is the first Middle East leader to visit the Biden White House, to be followed on July 26 by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.    U.S. and Israeli officials are working on scheduling a meeting soon between Biden and new Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
    A senior Biden administration official said the president’s talks with the king are expected to include the way forward for Israel and the Palestinians with Bennett having recently replaced Benjamin Netanyahu as Israeli prime minister.
    Tensions remain high in the wake of the 11-day war in May between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.
    Abdullah’s standing in his own country may come up in the talks.    Jordan’s image as an island of stability in the turbulent Middle East was called into question after Prince Hamza was accused of a plot to destabilize the country in April.
    Biden has offered full support to Abdullah, who will be joined at the White House by his wife, Queen Rania.
    “We have great confidence in the king’s leadership, and I think the visit over the course of the coming days will just reaffirm that confidence,” a senior Biden administration official said.
    Other topics likely to come up are the future of the Trump-era Abraham Accords, the normalization deals reached between Israel and four Arab states, negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program and Syria’s humanitarian crisis, the official said.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

7/19/2021 Israel Says Spyware Exports Are For Lawful Use Only
FILE PHOTO: A man types on a computer keyboard in Warsaw in this February 28, 2013
illustration file picture. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel’s Defence Ministry said on Monday that the export of cyber products, like spyware sold by NSO Group, was for lawful use and with the sole purpose of fighting crime and countering terrorism.
    An investigation by 17 media organisations published on Sunday said NSO’s spyware was used in attempted and successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, government officials and rights activists. Reuters was not able to verify the accusations independently.
    NSO has denied what it called “the false allegations” raised by the organizations and said it sells technology only to law enforcement and intelligence agencies of vetted governments.
    “Our technologies are being used every day to break up pedophilia rings, sex and drug-trafficking rings, locate missing and kidnapped children, locate survivors trapped under collapsed buildings, and protect airspace against disruptive penetration by dangerous drones,” the company said.
    The Defence Ministry said in its own statement that Israel approves the export of cyber products “i>exclusively to governmental entities, for lawful use, and only for the purpose of preventing and investigating crime and counter terrorism.”
    “In cases where exported items are used in violation of export licenses or end use certificates, appropriate measures are taken,” the ministry said, without elaborating.
    Earlier in the day, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, head of the liberal Meretz party and a member of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s decision-making security cabinet, told reporters he would meet Defence Minister Benny Gantz on Thursday to discuss the exports by NSO Group.
    Speaking during a televised Meretz faction meeting, lawmaker Mossi Raz called on the party to demand that Israel halt NSO exports, which he likened to “exporting weaponry, which is forbidden to non-democratic countries.”
    But another Meretz lawmaker, former Israeli military deputy chief Yair Golan, was more circumspect, saying the reporting on NSO “looks tendentious, with a commercial motivation” and adding: “It is not just NSO that does such things.”
(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Maayan Lubell and Steve Orlofsky)

7/19/2021 Lebanon Says Consultations On New Government Will Start Next Week
FILE PHOTO: Lebanese national flag flutters in Beirut, Lebanon, August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
    BEIRUT (Reuters) -Lebanon’s presidency said parliamentary consultations to choose a new prime minister will begin on July 26, in another attempt to push Lebanon’s fractious political class to form a government to rescue the country from financial meltdown.
    Lebanon has been run by a caretaker administration for nearly a year, while its currency has collapsed, jobs have vanished and banks have frozen accounts in what lenders have called one of the most severe financial crises of modern times.
    Veteran Sunni Muslim politician Saad al-Hariri abandoned his effort to form a new government last week after nearly 10 months of failing to agree its makeup with President Michel Aoun, a Maronite Christian allied with the Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim group Hezbollah. Hariri and Aoun blamed each other.
    A statement by the presidency on Monday said Aoun would be holding formal consultations in the presidential palace to designate a new premier.
    Under Lebanon’s sectarian system, the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim.    Aoun is required to choose the candidate with the greatest support from lawmakers in parliament, where Iran-backed Hezbollah and its political allies have a majority.
    Hariri, Lebanon’s leading Sunni Muslim politician, was designated in October to assemble a government after Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned in August, in the wake of the Beirut port explosion that killed nearly 200 people.
    Donor countries say Lebanese politicians must form a government to reform the corrupt state before it can receive any bailout funds.
(Reporting by Maha al DahanEditing by Andrew Heavens, William Maclean, Peter Graff)

7/19/2021 Ethiopia’s Tigray Forces Enter Neighbouring Afar Region, Afar Says by Dawit Endeshaw and Maggie Fick
FILE PHOTO: A tank damaged during the fighting between Ethiopia's National Defense Force (ENDF) and Tigray Special Forces
stands on the outskirts of Humera town in Ethiopia July 1, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo/File Photo
(Fixes typo in 6th para and adds second byline)
    ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) -Forces from Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region have mounted attacks in neighbouring Afar region, a spokesman for Afar said on Monday, marking an expansion of an eight-month-old conflict into a previously untouched area.
    Tigrayan fighters crossed into Afar on Saturday and Afar forces and allied militias were still fighting them on Monday, Afar spokesman Ahmed Koloyta said.
    “Now (Ethiopian military forces) are on their way and we will work with them to eliminate (the Tigrayan forces),” he said.
    Getachew Reda, a spokesman for the Tigrayan forces, confirmed they had been fighting over the weekend in Afar.
    “We are not interested in any territorial gains in Afar, we are more interested in degrading enemy fighting capabilities,” he said via satellite phone.     He said that Tigrayan forces had repelled militias from Ethiopia’s Oromiya region who had been sent to fight alongside the Afar regional forces.
    Reuters could not independently confirm his account.
    A military spokesman and offficials in Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office and a government taskforce on Tigray did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
    Thousands of people have died in the Tigray conflict so far.    About 2 million people have been forced to flee their homes and more than 5 million are relying on emergency food aid.
    Ethiopia has a federal system with 10 regions and in the past week the conflict in Tigray has drawn in regional forces around the country as they deploy to support the federal military.
    Fighting erupted in November between the region’s ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the military.    Three weeks later, the government declared victory when it seized the regional capital Mekelle, but the TPLF kept fighting.
    At the end of June, the TPLF retook Mekelle and most of Tigray after the government withdrew soldiers and declared a unilateral ceasefire.
    The spillover of the war into another part of Africa’s second most populous nation may pile more pressure on Abiy.
    He won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize but is facing international criticism over the conflict amid reports of atrocities committed by federal forces and troops from neighbouring Eritrea who have fought alongside them.    His government says it is investigating such reports.
    The TPLF dominated Ethiopia for decades as the strongest force in a multi-ethnic coalition, until Abiy took power two years ago.    They say they were forced into conflict after attempts to mediate with Abiy and ensure their region’s autonomy in line with the constitution broke down.
    The government designated the TPLF a terrorist organization in May.
AID CONVOY ATTACKED
    TPLF leaders have said they will keep fighting until they regain control of disputed territory in the south and west of Tigray, which was seized during the fighting by the government’s allies from Amhara region.
    On Sunday, Abiy said the Ethiopian military was prepared to defeat Tigrayan forces.
    Forces from Amhara region, which has a border dispute with Tigray, have been supporting the military since the beginning of the conflict.    On Friday, three other regions said that they were sending forces to support the army.
    On Sunday, the Somali region said it was also sending troops, as did Benishangul-Gumuz region on Monday.    Gambella and Harari regions have also said they were sending troops, state-run Ethiopia Broadcasting Corporation reported.
    Afar is strategically important because the road and railway linking the capital Addis Ababa to the sea port of Djibouti run through it.    Djibouti is landlocked Ethiopia’s main access to the sea.
    Over the weekend, the head of the TPLF said that Tigrayan forces had released around 1,000 government soldiers captured during recent fighting.
    The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Sunday it had begun visiting soldiers being detained in Tigray.
    The United Nations’ World Food Programme on Monday said its convoy of nine trucks were attacked on Sunday morning while moving aid into Tigray.
    The convoy was attacked 115 km ( 70 miles) from the town of Semera in Afar, the agency said.    WFP has suspended movement of all convoys from Semera until security can be assured.
(Additional reporting and writing by Maggie Fick in Nairobi; editing by Katharine Houreld and Angus MacSwan)

7/19/2021 De Facto UAE Leader Visits Saudi Crown Prince Amid Tensions
FILE PHOTO: Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan receives Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman at the Presidential Airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates November 27, 2019. WAM/Handout via REUTERS.
    DUBAI (Reuters) -The United Arab Emirates’ de facto ruler held talks in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Monday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, at a time of tensions between the two Gulf allies that led this month to an open standoff over oil policy.
    “My brother Mohammed bin Salman and I discussed ways to further deepen the fraternal bond and strategic cooperation between our nations.    The partnership between the UAE and Saudi Arabia continues to be strong and prosperous,” Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan tweeted.
    A public dispute between the two states this month disrupted policy setting by OPEC+, an oil producers’ group that comprises OPEC and a number of allies.    On Sunday, OPEC+ secured agreement to boost oil supplies after the two Gulf producers reached an understanding.
    Analysts say increasing economic competition is laying bare differences between Saudi Arabia and the UAE as the kingdom tries to challenge its smaller neighbour’s dominance as the region’s business, trade and tourism hub.
(Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

7/19/2021 Masked Haj Pilgrims On Mount Arafat Pray For COVID-Free World by Mohammed Benmansour
Muslim pilgrims gather at the plain of Arafat during the annual Haj pilgrimage, outside
the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia July 19, 2021. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
    ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) -Thousands of face-masked Muslims gathered on Saudi Arabia’s Mount Arafat on Monday, praying for an end to the pandemic and faster vaccination as the annual haj pilgrimage reached its climax.
    Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, has barred worshippers from abroad for a second year running and restricted entry from within the kingdom to guard against the coronavirus and new variants.
    Only 60,000 Saudi citizens and residents, aged 18 to 65, who have been fully vaccinated or have recovered from the virus and who do not suffer from chronic diseases, were selected for the rite, a once-in-a-lifetime duty for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it.
    “It is an indescribable feeling that I got selected among millions of people to attend the haj.    I pray for God to put an end to these hard times the whole world has gone through under the coronavirus,” said Um Ahmed, a Palestinian pilgrim who lives in the Saudi capital Riyadh and said she lost four family members to the virus.
    At the Namira mosque, pilgrims sat two meters apart on their prayer mats, some shedding tears and others raising both hands as they prayed at noon.
    Karimullah al-Sheikh, from India, said he was praying for his country, which has seen a surge in infections, to get rid of the virus and for everyone there to get vaccinated promptly.
    Hafiz Kadiku, an American working in Saudi, said he had broader wishes: “There is so much racism … I pray to Allah to make everyone love one another.”
    In previous years, more than two million pilgrims would cover the rocky mound on the Arafat plain, sitting close to each other in the scorching heat of the desert city of Mecca, carrying umbrellas and fans to keep cool.
    This year pilgrims, dressed in white robes to signify purity, observed social distancing and wore face masks on Mount Arafat, the hill where Islam holds God tested Abraham’s faith by commanding him to sacrifice his son Ismail, and where the Prophet Mohammad gave his last sermon.
    Sheikh Bandar Balila, delivering the Arafat sermon during the haj’s most important rite, praised the efforts of Saudi authorities to ensure safety and prevent the gathering from becoming a focus of the pandemic.
    Arafat, Mina and Muzdalifa, a few kilometres east of Mecca, are the main sites of haj.
    After spending the day on Mount Arafat, pilgrims move to Muzdalifa on Tuesday, the first day of Eid al-Adha, or the feast of sacrifice.    There they gather pebbles to throw at stone columns symbolising the devil.
    “The first prayer is to ask God to lift this pandemic, this curse and this grief for all humanity and for Muslims, so in the next years they are able to attend haj and for millions to refill these holy sites,” said Maher Baroody, a Syrian pilgrim.
(Reporting by Marwa Rashad in London, Ghaida Ghantous in Dubai, and Reuters multimedia team in Mecca; writing by Marwa Rashad, Editing by Giles Elgood)

7/19/2021 Turkey’s Erdogan Says Taliban Should End “Occupation” In Afghanistan
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during an action plan meeting to prevent violence
against women, in Ankara, Turkey July 1, 2021. Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS
    ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that the Taliban should “end the occupation of their brothers’ soil”, and played down a warning from the militant group of consequences if Turkish troops remain in Afghanistan to run Kabul airport.
    The Taliban ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001 and have fought for 20 years to topple the Western-backed government in Kabul and reimpose Islamic rule.    They are making a fresh push now to gain territory as foreign forces pull out.
    “(The Taliban) need to end the occupation of their brothers’ soil and show the world that peace is prevailing in Afghanistan right away,” Erdogan told reporters before leaving for a trip to northern Cyprus.
    He said the Taliban’s approach was not the way that Muslims should deal with each other.
    Ankara, which has offered to run and guard Kabul airport in the capital after NATO withdraws, has been in talks with the United States on financial, political and logistical support for the deployment.
    Last week the Taliban warned Turkey against those plans to keep some troops in Afghanistan to run the airport, calling the strategy reprehensible and warning of consequences.
    “In the statement made by the Taliban there is no phrase ‘We don’t want Turkey’,” Erdogan said when asked about the comments.
    Separately, Erdogan said that he hoped to raise in talks with U.S. President Joe Biden at this year’s U.N. General Assembly the issue of international recognition for Kosovo and would propose joint work on the issue to increase the number of countries which recognise it.
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen and Daren Butler; Editing by Dominic Evans)

7/19/2021 Biden Meets With Jordan’s King To Discuss Bilateral Cooperation by OAN Newsroom
Joe Biden, right, meets with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, left, in the Oval Office
of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
    Joe Biden met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in the first series of meetings with Middle Eastern leaders.    On Monday, Oval Office talks discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation and appreciation for the king and his leadership in the region.
    A senior Biden administration official said Biden’s talks with Abdullah would “include the way forward for Israel and the Palestinians.”    Jordan has reportedly been in a tough position after an alleged plot against Abdullah earlier this year involving his half-brother.
    However, Biden aimed to maintain his relationship with Abdullah and hoped to lean on him to mediate if a conflict were to break out on the region.
    “I want to thank you, Your Majesty, for your enduring and strategic relationship with the United States,” Biden expressed.    “You’ve always been there and we will always be there for Jordan.”
    The meeting comes days after the U.S. sent 500,000 COVID-19 vaccines to Jordan.
    Abdullah is the first Middle Easter leader to meet with Biden at the White House.    The Iraqi prime minister is expected to meet with Biden on July 26 and the Israeli prime minister is reportedly scheduled to meet later this summer.

7/20/2021 Israel PM Warns Unilever Of “Severe Consequences” From Ben & Jerry’s Decision by Dan Williams
FILE PHOTO: Tubs of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, a Unilever brand, are seen at their shop
in London, Britain, October 5, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel warned consumer goods giant Unilever Plc on Tuesday of “severe consequences” from a decision by subsidiary Ben & Jerry’s to stop selling ice cream in Israeli-occupied territories, and urged U.S. states to invoke anti-boycott laws.
    The Ben & Jerry’s announcement on Monday followed pro-Palestinian pressure on the South Burlington, Vermont-based company over its business in Israel and Jewish settlements in the West Bank, handled through a licensee partner since 1987.
    Ben & Jerry’s said it would not renew the license when it expires at the end of next year.    It said it would stay in Israel under a different arrangement, without sales in the West Bank, among areas where Palestinians seek statehood.
    Most world powers deem Israel’s settlements illegal.    It disputes this, citing historical and security links to the land, and has moved to penalise anti-settlement measures under Israeli law while securing similar legal protection in some U.S. states.
    Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office said he spoke with Unilever CEO Alan Jope about the “glaring anti-Israel measure” by the ice cream maker.
    “From Israel’s standpoint, this action has severe consequences, legal and otherwise, and it will move aggressively against any boycott measure targeting civilians,” Bennett told Jope, according to the statement from his office.
    Britain’s Unilever did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
    Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, said he had raised the Ben & Jerry’s decision in a letter sent to 35 U.S. governors whose states legislated against boycotting Israel.
    “Rapid and determined action must be taken to counter such discriminatory and antisemitic actions,” read the letter, tweeted by the envoy, which likened the case to Airbnb’s 2018 announcement that it would delist settlement rental properties.
    Airbnb reversed that decision in 2019 following legal challenges in the United States, but said it would donate profits from bookings in the settlements to humanitarian causes.
    Palestinians welcomed the Ben & Jerry’s announcement.    They want the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip for a future state.    Israel deems all of Jerusalem its capital – a status not recognised internationally.
(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Raissa Kasolowsky)

7/20/2021 Erdogan Calls For U.S. Funding To Back Kabul Airport Mission
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a ceremony to mark the fifth anniversary
of failed coup attempt, in Ankara, Turkey July 15, 2021. Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS
    NICOSIA (Reuters) – President Tayyip Erdogan called on the United States on Tuesday to meet “conditions” including financial, logistical and diplomatic support, so that Turkey can run and guard Kabul airport after other foreign troops withdraw from Afghanistan.
    Turkey has offered to deploy troops to the airport after NATO fully withdraws and has been in talks with the United States for several weeks.
    The Taliban, who have gained territory as U.S.-led foreign forces pull out, have warned Turkey against it.
    Erdogan, speaking in northern Cyprus, acknowledged that the Taliban had reservations but said Turkey would nonetheless carry out the mission as long as the United States, a NATO partner, meets three specific Turkish requirements.
    “If these conditions could be met, we are thinking of taking over the management of Kabul airport,” he said, listing diplomatic backing for Turkey as well as the U.S. handover of facilities and logistics in Afghanistan.
    “There will be serious financial and administrative difficulties … (the United States) will give the necessary support to Turkey in this respect as well,” Erdogan added, after attending morning prayers during the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.
    Turkey hopes the airport mission will help soothe U.S. ties that are strained on several fronts including its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defences.
    The Taliban ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001 and have fought for 20 years to expel foreign forces, topple the Western-backed government in Kabul and re-impose Islamic rule.
    The Taliban, emboldened by the departure of foreign forces by a September target, have called Turkey’s plan reprehensible.    Ankara and others have said the airport must stay open to preserve diplomatic missions there.
    Before leaving for Cyprus on Monday, Erdogan said the Taliban should “end the occupation.”    On Tuesday, he said Turkey-Taliban talks would overcome any problems and should be more comfortable than past U.S.-Taliban talks.
    As part of his visit, Erdogan unveiled plans to build a new government complex for Turkish Cypriots as part of a two-state plan that is opposed by the European Union, Greece and the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government.
(Reporting by Yesim Dikmen and Michele Kambas; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Robert Birsel)

7/20/2021 S. Africa Court Adjourns Zuma’s Arms Deal Corruption Trial To Next Month
FILE PHOTO: South African former President Jacob Zuma speaks to supporters after appearing
at the High Court in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, May 17, 2021. REUTERS/Rogan Ward
    JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A South African court on Tuesday adjourned former president Jacob Zuma’s arms deal corruption trial to Aug. 10, after the ex-leader applied for a postponement to appear in person rather than virtually.
    Zuma is currently in prison after earlier this month starting a 15-month sentence for contempt of court.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning and Wendell Roelf; editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo)

7/20/2021 Turkey Says Part Of Cyprus Ghost Town To Reopen; EU, UK Object by Michele Kambas
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gives a statement after a cabinet meeting
in Ankara, Turkey, May 17, 2021. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
    NICOSIA (Reuters) -Turkish Cypriot authorities announced on Tuesday a partial reopening of an abandoned
town for potential resettlement, drawing a strong rebuke from rival Greek Cypriots of orchestrating a land-grab by stealth.
    Varosha, an eerie collection of derelict high-rise hotels and residences, has been deserted since a 1974 war which split the island, a military zone nobody has been allowed to enter.
    Turkish Cypriot authorities opened a small area for day visits in November 2020, and on Tuesday said a part of it would be converted to civilian use with a mechanism in place for people to potentially reclaim their properties.
    “A new era will begin in Maras which will benefit everyone,” said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who was visiting breakaway north Cyprus on Tuesday.    Maras is the Turkish name for Varosha.
    Greek Cypriots fear a change to the area’s status displays a clear intent of Turkey to appropriate it.    Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades described the move as “illegal and unacceptable.”
    “I want to send the strongest message to Mr Erdogan and his local proxies that the unacceptable actions and demands of Turkey will not be accepted,” Anastasiades said.
    Greece’s foreign ministry said it condemned the move “in the strongest terms,” while the United Kingdom, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, said it would be discussing the issue as a matter of urgency with other Council members, saying it was “deeply concerned.”
    “The UK calls on all parties not to take any actions which undermine the Cyprus settlement process or increase tensions on the island,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said.
    EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also expressed concern.    “(The) unilateral decision announced today by President Erdogan and (Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin) Tatar risks raising tensions on the island & compromising return to talks on a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue,” he said on Twitter.
    United Nations resolutions call for Varosha to be handed over to U.N. administration and to allow people to return to their homes.
    Anastasiades said that if Turkey’s “real concern was returning properties to their legal owners … they should have adopted U.N. resolutions and hand the city over to the U.N., allowing them to return in conditions of safety.”
    Tuesday marked the 47th anniversary of a Turkish invasion mounted in 1974 after a Greek Cypriot coup engineered by the military then ruling Greece. Peace efforts have repeatedly floundered, and a new Turkish Cypriot leadership, backed by Turkey, says a peace accord between two sovereign states is the only viable option.
    Greek Cypriots, who represent Cyprus internationally and are backed by the European Union, reject a two-state deal for the island which would accord sovereign status to the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state that only Ankara recognises.
    “A new negotiation process (to heal Cyprus’ division) can only be carried out between the two states. We are right and we will defend our right to the end,” Erdogan said in a speech in the divided Cypriot capital of Nicosia.
    Varosha has always been regarded as a bargaining chip for Ankara in any future peace deal, and one of the areas widely expected to have been returned to Greek Cypriot administration under a settlement.    The Turkish Cypriot move renders that assumption more uncertain.
(Reporting by Michele Kambas in Nicosia; Additional reporting by Jonathan Spicer in Istanbul and William Schomberg in London, Editing by Gareth Jones and Grant McCool)

7/20/2021 UK Concerned By Erdogan’s Announcement On Partial Reopening Of Varosha
FILE PHOTO: People walk inside an area fenced off by the Turkish military since 1974 in the abandoned coastal area of
Varosha, a suburb of the town of Famagusta in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus, October 8, 2020. REUTERS/Harun Ucar
    (Reuters) – UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Britain was deeply concerned by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s announcement on the partial reopening of Varosha, saying it ran contrary to UN Security Council resolutions.
    “This runs contrary to UN Security Council resolutions & risks undermining the Cyprus Settlement process.    We are discussing this urgently with Security Council members,” Raab said on Twitter.
    Turkish Cypriot authorities announced on Tuesday a partial reopening of an abandoned town for potential resettlement, drawing a strong rebuke from rival Greek Cypriots of orchestrating a land-grab by stealth.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese)

7/20/2021 Iraqi President On List For Potential Pegasus Surveillance – Washington Post
FILE PHOTO: Iraqi President Barham Salih speaks during a news conference at the Elysee Palace
in Paris, France, February 25, 2019. Christophe Ena/Pool via REUTERS
    CAIRO (Reuters) – The phone of Iraq’s President Barham Salih was on a list of 50,000 numbers selected for possible surveillance in the Pegasus spyware case, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
    The Post said that it had not been possible to determine if Israeli company NSO Group’s signature spyware, Pegasus, had infected Salih’s phone or whether there had been any attempt to do so.
    Salih was among three presidents, 10 prime ministers and a king whose phone numbers were on the list of potential surveillance targets.
    The findings are part of an international investigation involving the Post and 16 other media organisations.    An NSO spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Washington Post report.
(Reporting by John Davison; Editing by Peter Graff)

7/21/2021 U.S. Condemns Announcement On Transfer Of Town To Turkish Cypriot Control
FILE PHOTO: Antony J. Blinken, of New York, speaks during his confirmation hearing to be Secretary of State before the U.S.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, U.S. January 19, 2021. Graeme Jennings/Pool via REUTERS
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States condemned the announcement on Tuesday that parts of an abandoned town in Cyprus would be transferred to Turkish Cypriot control, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Sandra Maler)

7/22/2021 Israeli Lawmaker Eyes Spyware Export Curbs As Macron Convenes Cabinet by Dan Williams
FILE PHOTO: Israeli cyber firm NSO Group's exhibition stand is seen at "ISDEF 2019," an international
defence and homeland security expo, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 4, 2019. REUTERS/Keren Manor
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel’s parliamentary review panel may recommend changes to defence export policy over high-profile allegations that spyware sold by Israeli cyber firm NSO Group has been abused in several countries, a senior lawmaker said on Thursday.
    Among suspected targets of NSO’s Pegasus software is French President Emmanuel Macron, who planned to convene his cabinet on Thursday over calls for investigations.
    “We certainly have to look anew at this whole subject of licences granted by DECA,” Ram Ben-Barak, head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, told Israel’s Army Radio, referring to the government-run Defence Export Controls Agency.
    Israel has appointed an inter-ministerial team to assess reports published since Sunday following an investigation by 17 media organisations, which said Pegasus software had been used in attempted and successful hacks of smartphones belonging to journalists, government officials and human rights activists.
    Other world leaders among those whose phone numbers the news organisations said were on a list of possible targets include     Pakistani Prime Minister Imram Khan and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI.
    NSO has rejected the reporting by the media partners as “full of wrong assumptions and uncorroborated theories.”    Reuters has not independently verified the reporting.
TARGETING TERRORISTS, CRIMINALS
    The Israeli government team “will conduct its checks, and we will be sure to look into the findings and see if we need to fix things here,” said Ben-Barak, a former deputy chief of the national intelligence agency Mossad.
    “Truth be told, this system (Pegasus) has uncovered a lot of terrorist cells and criminal families and helped a great many people.    If it has been used wrongly, or it it was sold to irresponsible parties, that is something that needs checking.”
    DECA is within Israel’s Defence Ministry and oversees NSO exports.    Both the ministry and the firm have said that Pegasus is meant to be used to track terrorists or criminals only, and that all foreign clients are vetted governments.
    NSO says it does not know the specific identities of people against whom clients use Pegasus, but that if it receives complaints it can acquire the target lists and unilaterally shut down the software for any clients found to have abused it.
    After Army Radio also aired an interview on Thursday with Szabolcs Panyi, a Hungarian journalist who said Pegasus had been found on his cellphone, NSO chief Shalev Hulio vowed to investigate.
    “If he was indeed a target, I can assure you already that we will cut off the systems of whoever took action against him, because it’s intolerable for someone to do something like this,” Hulio told the station.
    In keeping with NSO and Defence Ministry reticence about identifying client countries, Hulio stopped short of confirming that Hungary had bought Pegasus.    He said NSO has worked with 45 countries and rejected around 90 others as potential clients.
    The company has shut down five Pegasus systems for abuse, Hulio said, adding that the software cannot be used against Israeli or U.S. mobile phones.
    Asked on Thursday whether the Hungarian government had purchased Pegasus, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff Gergely Gulyas said details concerning secret intelligence gathering were “not public information.”    He added that all such intelligence gathering was conducted lawfully.
(Additional reporting by Gergely Szakacs in BudapestWriting by Dan WilliamsEditing by Gareth Jones)

7/22/2021 Analysis: Mozambique’s Gas Ambitions Rest On Distant Hope Of Peace by Emma Rumney and David Lewis
FILE PHOTO: The logo of French oil and gas company TotalEnergies is pictured at an electric car charging station and petrol station
at the financial and business district of La Defense in Courbevoie near Paris, France, June 22, 2021. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
    JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The future of Mozambique’s gas ambitions hinges on its ability to end a deadly insurgency linked to Islamic State, but if peace is the answer the southern African country and French energy giant TotalEnergies may have a problem.
    Four months after gunmen overran Palma, a town housing TotalEnergies contractors near its Afungi site in Cabo Delgado province, the insurgents still control swathes of territory and a key port while the army is in tatters, security experts, military personnel, company officials and insiders told Reuters.
    TotalEnergies has said its $20 billion gas project will remain on hold until security is restored in the province in a “verifiable and sustainable manner.”    At the end of April, it estimated the delays would last at least a year.
    The Mozambican government says Palma itself is now pacified and it is working to ensure peace in Cabo Delgado.
    But as recently as June, the United Nations refugee agency said people fleeing areas adjacent to the TotalEnergies site reported ongoing insecurity and gunfire.
    “A year strikes me as very optimistic,” said Sam Ratner, an analyst with Cabo Ligado, a media and civil society project tracking the violence in northern Mozambique.    An even bigger project led by Exxon Mobil is now also on hold with minority partner Galp telling Reuters that re-establishing security was essential and that it would not move forward until TotalEnergies returns.
    TotalEnergies declined to comment for this article.    An Exxon spokesperson said the company continues to evaluate the security situation. Government officials did not respond to questions.
    Mozambique’s gas reserves are estimated at some 100 trillion cubic feet, putting the country 11th in world rankings, and the two liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects are at the heart of the transformation plan of one of the world’s poorest countries.
    TotalEnergies and Exxon, meanwhile, hope Mozambique will help plug LNG shortfalls expected in the middle of the decade.    TotalEnergie’s project was due to produce 12.9 million tonnes per annum initially from 2024 which Credit Suisse estimates is equivalent to about a year’s worth of global LNG demand growth.
NO MATCH
    Security analysts, however, say the military deficiencies that allowed the insurgency to take hold in the north of Mozambique won’t be easily reversed.    They say soldiers are ill-equipped, undisciplined and poorly paid, leading to low morale.
    “We are nowhere near a match for them,” one soldier said of the Islamists after the Palma attack, adding that the insurgents also knew the terrain better.
    The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has agreed to send soldiers to the region after it secured a concession from Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi, who had initially resisted any foreign intervention.    Some Rwandan troops have also started to arrive in Cabo Delgado.    But SADC has no counter-insurgency experience, nor has it provided details of troop numbers, deployment dates or the mission’s scope.    Its initial budget of $12 million is tiny given the scale of the task, said Alexandre Raymakers, senior Africa analyst at Verisk Maplecroft.
    SADC did not respond to a request for comment.    The United States, Portugal and European Union have also offered help with training, logistics and intelligence to tackle the Islamist insurgency, which erupted in 2017 and has killed thousands of civilians, soldiers and militants.
    But experts – pointing to examples such as France’s decade-long counter-insurgency efforts in West Africa’s Sahel region – warn such assistance could take years to show results.
    And if the attack on Palma is anything to go by, the local forces will need more training.
RUNNING AWAY
    After a spike in violence forced TotalEnergies to suspend work last year, it asked the government for a 1,000-strong force to protect its site and a 25 km (15 mile) security perimeter.
    But even as they sought to shore up Afungi, the insurgents were closing in. Hours after TotalEnergies announced the resumption of work on March 24, they attacked, eventually getting within 2 km of the site and forcing its evacuation.
    The troops protecting Afungi did not defend the town, a contractor whose firm was in communication with the company and a person with direct knowledge of TotalEnergies’ operation said.
    Hundreds of contractors supporting the project were caught in the violence.    At least one was killed trying to escape from a besieged hotel.    Five told Reuters they would not return without greater assurances from TotalEnergies about security.
    In the months ahead of the attack, government forces had left Mocimboa da Praia – a port just 80 km away – in insurgent hands since August, allowing them a launch pad from which some analysts believe they staged the Palma attack.    Footage posted by Islamic State’s Amaq news agency, which a Reuters’ analysis geolocated to the port town, showed fighters gathering there, probably in the days before the Palma attack.
    Security firms advising Palma-based contractors flagged nearby probing attacks ahead of the assault, internal messages seen by Reuters showed. But there was no noticeable increase in security in the town, said four contractors living there.
    During the fighting, two eye witnesses told Reuters they saw soldiers fleeing.    Those who stayed said they were out gunned.    Vehicles, businesses, contractors’ sites and banks were looted during the violence, analysts say, with some spoils carried off by the insurgents giving them a temporary boost.
FORT KNOX WON’T WORK
    The ordeal convinced TotalEnergies that the insecurity pervading Cabo Delgado province could no longer be tolerated.
    “It’s not Total that’s going to re-establish peace,” Patrick Pouyanne, chief executive of TotalEnergies, told investors in May.    “We’re not going to build a facility inside a Fort Knox … that won’t work.”    And military action alone won’t address the political and economic exclusion feeding the insurgents’ ranks, said Dino Mahtani of the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based research group.
    “Military action needs to take place, but in a measured way that dovetails with the efforts of the state to also remedy what is a grass roots problem,” he said.
    A TotalEnergies source told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the company’s engineers might look again at the option of moving the project offshore but that would have its own technical and political challenges.
    Such a move would require the government to accept missing out on the boost to local jobs and the poor northern region in general it is counting on for economic development, an official working with TotalEnergies said.
    Ultimately, success hinges on the Mozambican authorities, though time was running out, the official said.    “I don’t see a short-term solution … The government has failed so many times.”
(Reporting by Emma Rumney in Johannesburg and David Lewis in Nairobi; Additional reporting by Ron Bousso in London, Benjamin Mallet in Paris, Manuel Mucari in Maputo, Joe Bavier in Johannesburg and Eleanor Whalley in London; Editing by Joe Bavier and David Clarke)

7/22/2021 U.S. Set To Formalize Readjustment Of Troop Role In Iraq - Officials
FILE PHOTO: U.S. soldiers wearing protective masks are seen during a handover ceremony of Taji military base from US-led coalition
troops to Iraqi security forces, in the base north of Baghdad, Iraq August 23, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani/File Photo
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and Iraq are expected to formalize the end of Washington’s combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year and continue the transition toward training and advising Iraqi forces, U.S. officials said on Thursday.
    There are currently 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq focusing on countering the remnants of Islamic State.    The move is not expected to have a major impact since the United States has already moved toward focusing on training Iraqi forces.
    But the announcement, set to come after President Joe Biden meets his Iraqi counterpart in Washington next week, will be at a politically delicate time for the Iraq government and could be seen as a victory domestically in Baghdad.
    “The key point that you’re going to hear conveyed and I think is just incredibly important, is that the Biden administration wants to stay in Iraq because the Iraqi government has invited us and requested that we continue to do so,” a senior defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said.
    “The mission doesn’t change … how we support the Iraqi security forces in the defeat ISIS mission is what we’re talking about,” the official added.
    The official said there would be a focus on logistics, maintenance of equipment and helping Iraqi forces further develop their intelligence and surveillance capabilities.
    At home, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi faces increasing pressure from Iran-aligned parties and paramilitary groups who perceive him as siding with the United States.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

7/22/2021 Ex-UN Rights Boss To Head Probe Into Israel, Hamas Alleged Crimes
FILE PHOTO: Palestinians walk past the ruins of a building destroyed in an Israeli air strike in the recent
cross-border violence between Palestinian militants and Israel, in Gaza May 21, 2021. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem
    GENEVA (Reuters) -Former United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay will head an international commission of inquiry into alleged crimes committed during the latest conflict between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, the U.N.’s Human Rights Council said in a statement on Thursday.
    The council agreed in late May to open the investigation with a broad mandate to cover allegations not just in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but also in Israel during hostilities that were halted by a May 21 ceasefire.
    At least 250 Palestinians and 13 people in Israel were killed in the fierce fighting, which saw Gaza militants fire rockets towards Israeli cities and Israel carry out air strikes across the coastal enclave.
    Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, told the council at the time that deadly Israeli strikes on Gaza might constitute war crimes and that Hamas had violated international humanitarian law by firing rockets into Israel.
    Israel on Thursday reiterated its rejection of the probe.
    “Not surprisingly, the purpose of this mechanism is to find Israeli violations, while whitewashing the crimes committed by Hamas, a terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip,” Israel’s mission to the U.N. in Geneva said in a statement.
    “As Israel announced immediately following the special session, it cannot and will not cooperate with such an investigation,” it said.
    Pillay, a former South African judge who served as U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008-2014, will lead the three-person panel also composed of Indian expert Miloon Kothari and Australian expert Chris Sidoti, the Human Rights Council statement said.
    The investigators, who have been asked to try to identify those responsible for violations with a view to ensure they are held accountable, are due to present their first report in June 2022.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Grant McCool)

7/23/2021 Ethiopian Parents Appeal For Help To Evacuate Students Stranded By Tigray War by Dawit Endeshaw
FILE PHOTO: A burned tank stands near the town of Adwa, Tigray region, Ethiopia, March 18, 2021. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo
    ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – The parents of thousands of Ethiopian students stranded in the war-ravaged northern region of Tigray on Friday appealed for help to evacuate them after the main university warned it could not feed them for much longer amid food and cash shortages.
    Mekelle University, which gets its budget from the federal government, posted a notice on its Facebook page on Thursday saying its bank accounts have been blocked and the federal government has not sent its funds for this year.
    It said it was running out of money to feed students and that from July 27 it would stop taking responsibility for them.
    The ministry of higher education did not respond to Reuters requests for comment on the situation at the university.
    “We are asking the U.N. to bring our children from Tigray,” Berhanu Tegeneh, a representative of a parents’ committee, told Reuters as hundreds of parents flocked to the U.N. office in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa to deliver their request.
    Berhanu, from Addis Ababa, said he has been unable to speak to his daughter, a fourth-year student at Mekelle University, since phone lines went down on June 29, the day after Tigrayan forces retook the regional capital Mekelle.
    A spokesperson for the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the parents’ demands.
    The parents’ committee said students were stranded at four universities in Tigray, including Mekelle, after the conflict severed communications and transport links.    Banks are no longer functioning and more than 90 percent of Tigrayans need food aid, according to OCHA.    Food convoys have been suspended since Sunday, when trucks came under gunfire.
    War erupted in Tigray in November between the Ethiopian military and the region’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).    Three weeks later, the government declared victory when it captured Mekelle, but the TPLF kept fighting.
    At the end of June, the TPLF seized back control of Mekelle and most of Tigray after government soldiers withdrew.
    In its notice, Mekelle University said it had bussed about 5,000 students to the neighbouring state of Afar on July 18, but that education officials expected to receive them never showed up.    The buses returned to Mekelle, according to the university.
    Reuters could not independently verify that account.    Officials from Afar did not respond to requests for comment.
    The conflict spilled out of Tigray into Afar this week, threatening a key road linking the Ethiopian capital to the port of Djibouti.
(Editing by Elias Biryabarema, Katharine Houreld and Nick Tattersall)

7/23/2021 Over 71% Of Lebanon’s Population Risks Losing Access To Safe Water – UNICEF
FILE PHOTO: Children play outisde a UNICEF tent put in place to provide psychosocial support to people affected by a massive
explosion in Beirut's port area, Lebanon August 20, 2020. Picture taken August 20, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – The United Nations warned on Friday that more than four million people in Lebanon, including one million refugees risked losing access to safe water as shortages of funding, fuel and supplies affect water pumping.
    “UNICEF estimates that most water pumping will gradually cease across the country in the next four to six weeks,” a statement by the U.N. body said.
    Lebanon is battling an economic meltdown that has propelled more than half of its population into poverty and seen its currency lose over 90% of its value in less than two years.
    The financial crisis has translated into severe shortages of basic goods such as fuel and medicine as dollars run dry.
    UNICEF said that should the public water supply system collapse, water costs could jump by 200% a month as water would be secured from private water suppliers.
    The U.N. agency said it needed $40 million a year to secure the minimum levels of fuel, chlorine, spare parts and maintenance required to keep critical systems operational.
    “Unless urgent action is taken, hospitals, schools and essential public facilities will be unable to function,” UNICEF Representative in Lebanon, Yukie Mokuo, was quoted as saying in the statement.
(Reporting By Maha El Dahan; editing by Grant McCool)

7/24/2021 Turkey’s COVID-19 Cases Climb To 12,381, Highest Since Mid-May
FILE PHOTO: Tourists enjoy a sunny day during a two-day curfew amid the spread of the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Istanbul, Turkey, January 31, 2021. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
    ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey’s new coronavirus cases jumped to 12,381 on Saturday, the highest level since mid-May and nearly triple the low that was hit in early July, according to health ministry data, which also showed 58 people died due to COVID-19.
    Infections remain well down from a wave in April-May when new COVID-19 cases peaked above 60,000.    They fell to 4,418 on July 4 in the wake of a stringent lockdown that ended in mid-May. Most of the last restrictions were lifted this month.
(Reporting by Daren Butler; Editing by Edmund Blair)

7/25/2021 Lebanese Sunni Muslim Leaders Endorse Ex-PM Najib Mikati As Choice To Form New Government
Lebanese former prime ministers, Saad al-Hariri, Najib Mikati, Fouad Siniora and
Tammam Salam meet in Beirut, Lebanon July 25, 2021. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
    BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) – A club of former Lebanese prime ministers said on Sunday they endorsed the choice of another former premier, Najib Mekati, to form a new government in yet another attempt to bring Lebanon’s political deadlock to an end.
    Among Mikati’s endorsers was veteran politician Saad al-Hariri, who abandoned his effort to form a new government last week after nearly 10 months of failing to agree its makeup with President Michel Aoun.
    Aoun is due to meet parliamentary blocs on Monday for consultations on nominating a new prime minister.
    Lebanon has been run by a caretaker administration for nearly a year, while its currency has collapsed, jobs have vanished and banks have frozen accounts.    The economic freefall is Lebanon’s worst crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.
    In Lebanon’s political system, the post has to be held by a Sunni Muslim, while the presidency is held by a Maronite Christian.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Laila Bassam; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

7/25/2021 Protests Across Tunisia Target Ennahda Party Over Political Crisis by Tarek Amara
Demonstrators gather in front of police officers standing guard during an anti-government
protest in Tunis, Tunisia, July 25, 2021. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
    TUNIS (Reuters) - Police and protesters clashed in several Tunisian cities on Sunday as demonstrators demanding the government step down attacked offices of Ennahda, the moderate Islamist party that is the biggest in parliament.br>     Witnesses said protesters stormed or tried to storm Ennahda offices in Monastir, Sfax, El Kef and Sousse, while in Touzeur they set fire to the party’s local headquarters.
    The violence came as hundreds of protesters rallied in each of the main cities after a spike in COVID-19 cases that has aggravated economic troubles and exposed the failings of a squabbling political class.
    The protests, the biggest in Tunisia for months and the biggest to target Ennahda for years, were called by social media activists.    No political parties publicly backed the rallies.
    In Tunis, police used pepper spray against protesters who threw stones and shouted slogans demanding that Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi quit and parliament be dissolved.    There were other big protests in Gafsa, Sidi Bouzid and Nabeul.
    The protests raise pressure on a fragile government that is enmeshed in a political struggle with President Kais Saied, as the government tries to avert a looming fiscal crisis amid a weeks-long spike in COVID-19 cases and increased death rates.
    The pandemic has hammered the economy which was already struggling in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution that ousted long-time authoritarian leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
    Public support for democracy has waned amid surging unemployment and crumbling state services.
    “Our patience has run out… there are no solutions for the unemployed,” said Nourredine Selmi, 28, a jobless protester.    “They cannot control the epidemic … They can’t give us vaccines.”
    Last week, Mechichi sacked the health minister after chaotic scenes at walk-in vaccination centres during the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, where large crowds queued for inadequate supplies of vaccine.
    After a year of wrangling with Mechichi and the leader of Ennahda, Rached Ghannouchi, who is also parliament speaker, President Saied declared the army would take over the pandemic response.
    Some analysts saw the move as an attempt to expand his powers beyond the foreign and military role assigned to the president in the 2014 constitution.
    Ennahda, banned before the revolution, has been the most consistently successful political party since then and a member of successive government coalitions.    It has backed Mechichi, a political independent, in his disputes with the president.
    “The message of anger was well received… but violence and burning are unacceptable,” said party official Maher Mahioub.
    Government paralysis could derail efforts to negotiate an International Monetary Fund loan seen as crucial to stabilising state finances but which could also involve spending cuts that would aggravate economic pain for ordinary people.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Edmund Blair)

7/25/2021 Israel To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions To Meet Global Target
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the urban landscape of Tel Aviv, Israel October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel said on Sunday that by mid-century it would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 85% from 2015 levels, as part of an international push to limit global warming.
    The government approved the 2050 target and set an interim target of 2030 to reduce emissions by 27% from levels in 2015, the year when global climate accords were agreed in Paris.
    The Paris deal aims to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, and preferably by 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared with pre-industrial levels.
    “We set significant goals, we met our international commitment on time, and most importantly, we mobilised the entire government,” Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg said.
    Israel’s Foreign Ministry said national targets included a 96% reduction in carbon emissions from transport, an 85% reduction from the electricity sector and a 92% reduction in the municipal waste sector.
(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Edmund Blair)

7/25/2021 Israeli Airlines Start Direct Flights To Morocco After Improved Ties by Steven Scheer
An Israel El Al airlines plane is seen after its landing following its inaugural flight between Tel Aviv
and Nice at Nice international airport, France, April 4, 2019. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Two Israeli carriers on Sunday launched nonstop commercial flights to Marrakesh from Tel Aviv following the upgrading of diplomatic relations last year between Morocco and Israel.
    Israel and Morocco agreed last December to upgrade diplomatic ties and relaunch direct flights – part of a deal brokered by the United States that also included Washington’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
    “This route will help promote tourism, trade and economic cooperation between the two countries,” said Israeli Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov.
    Israir flight 61 took off at 8:15 a.m. (0515 GMT) for the 5 1/2 hour flight, with stewards wearing traditional Moroccan garb and serving Moroccan food.
    El Al Israel Airlines flight 553 took off at 11:35 a.m. (0835 GMT).
    El Al, Israel’s flag carrier which was hit hard last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said it will operate up to five flights a week to Morocco on Boeing 737 planes.
    Smaller rival Israir said it would operate two flights a week on its route to Marrakesh.
    Israel’s Arkia and Royal Air Maroc are also expected to start flights in the next month.
    Morocco was home to one of the largest and most prosperous Jewish communities in North Africa and the Middle East for centuries until Israel’s founding in 1948.    An estimated quarter of a million left Morocco for Israel from 1948-1964.
    Today only about 3,000 Jews remain in Morocco, while hundreds of thousands of Israelis claim some Moroccan ancestry.
    Moroccan officials describe their deal with Israel, including the opening of liaison offices, as a restoration of mid-level ties that Rabat cooled in 2000 in solidarity with Palestinians.
    In March, Moroccan Tourism Minister Nadia Fettah Alaoui said she expected 200,000 Israeli visitors in the first year following the resumption of direct flights.    That compares with about 13 million yearly total foreign tourists before the pandemic.
    Tourism revenue in Morocco fell by 53.8% to 36.3 billion dirhams ($3.8 billion) in 2020.
(Reporting by Steven ScheerEditing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

7/25/2021 Man Accused Of Attempted Assassination Of Mali President Dies In Custody
An assailant who attempted to stab Mali's interim president Colonel Assimi Goita, leader of
two military coups, during the Eid Al Adha prayer at a mosque in the capital Bamako, is seen lying in an army vehicle
after he was arrested in Bamako, Mali July 20, 2021.REUTERS/Stringer
    BAMAKO (Reuters) – A man accused of attempting to stab Mali’s interim President Assimi Goita last week has died in hospital while in the custody of security services, the government said in a statement on Sunday.     Security agents threw a man into the back of a military pickup truck, video obtained by Reuters showed, as Goita was ringed by bodyguards.
    “During the investigations … his state of health deteriorated,” the statement said.    He was taken to hospital, where he died, it said.
    An investigation is underway to determine the cause of death.
    Mali, the theatre of French-supported operations against al Qaeda and Islamic State-linked insurgents for a decade, was thrown into political turmoil after a military junta led by Goita toppled President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August 2020.
    Goita served as vice-president to transitional leader Bah Ndaw until the latter’s ouster in May.
(Reporting By Cheikh Amadou Diouara and Tiemoko Diallo, Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

7/25/2021 Iraq Prime Minister: We Don’t Need U.S. Combat Troops by OAN Newsroom
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Christian Marquardt – Pool/Getty Images)
    Iraq’s Prime Minister announced his country no longer needed a U.S. military presence.    Mustafa Al-Kadhimi said in an interview on Friday, the Islamic State group would continue to ask for U.S. training and military intelligence gathering without a U.S. presence.
    The prime minister has requested a timeline for withdrawal of troops as he said there was no longer a need for foreign forces on Iraq soil.    The White House estimated to have a timeline by the end of the year.
    “What we want from the American presence in Iraq is to support our forces in training, developing their efficiency and capabilities and in security cooperation,” Al-Kadhimi expressed.    “The Iraqi army and security forces today are ready and capable of defending themselves.”
U.S. soldiers with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment patrol a new ditch they have dug to protect the base from
attack on July 19, 2011 in Iskandariya, Babil Province Iraq. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
    The U.S. troop presence stands at 2,500 since President Trump ordered a reduction from 3,000 last year.

7/26/2021 Tunisian Democracy In Crisis After President Ousts Government by Tarek Amara and Angus McDowall
Crowds gather on the street after Tunisia's president suspended parliament, in La Marsa, near Tunis, Tunisia
July 26, 2021, in this still image obtained from a social media video. Layli Foroudi/via REUTERS
    TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisia faced its biggest crisis in a decade of democracy on Monday after President Kais Saied ousted the government and froze the activities of parliament, a move his foes labelled a coup that should be opposed on the street.
    In a statement late on Sunday, Saied invoked the constitution to dismiss Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/tunisian-president-relieves-prime-minister-his-post-2021-07-25 and decree a freeze of the parliament for a period of 30 days, saying he would govern alongside a new premier.
    The move came after a day of protests against the government and the biggest party in parliament, the moderate Islamist Ennahda, following a spike in COVID-19 cases and growing anger over chronic political dysfunction and economic malaise.
    It poses the greatest challenge yet to Tunisia after its 2011 revolution that triggered the “Arab spring” and ousted an autocracy in favour of democratic rule, but which failed to deliver sound governance or prosperity.
    In the hours after Saied’s announcement, huge crowds gathered https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/supporters-tunisian-president-celebrate-government-ousting-with-cheers-fireworks-2021-07-26 in his support in Tunis and other cities, cheering, dancing and ululating while the military blocked off the parliament and state television station.
    Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, the head of Ennahda, which has played a role in successive coalition governments, decried the moves as a coup and an assault on democracy.
    In the early hours of Monday, Ghannouchi arrived at the parliament where he said he would call a session in defiance of Saied, but the army stationed outside the building stopped the 80-year-old former political exile from entering.
    “I am against gathering all powers in the hands of one person,” he said outside the parliament building.    He earlier called Tunisians to come onto the streets, as they had done on the day of the revolution in 2011, to oppose the move.
    Dozens of Ennahda supporters faced off against Saied supporters near the parliament building, exchanging insults as the police held them apart, televised pictures afterwards showed.
    Saied, a political independent who swept to office https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/tunisian-president-is-political-outsider-accused-coup-2021-07-26/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=Social in 2019 after campaigning as the scourge of a corrupt, incompetent elite, rejected accusations that he had conducted a coup.
    He said his actions were based on Article 80 of the constitution and framed them as a popular response to the economic and political paralysis that have mired Tunisia for years.
    However, a special court required by the 2014 constitution to adjudicate such disputes between Tunisia’s branches of state has never been established after years of wrangling over which judges to include, allowing rival interpretations of law.
‘WORSE SITUATION’
    Two of the other main parties in parliament, Heart of Tunisia and Karama, joined Ennahda in accusing Saied of a coup. Former president Moncef Marzouki who helped oversee the transition to democracy after the revolution said it could represent the start of a slope “into an even worse situation”
    Saied, in his statement announcing the dismissal of Mechichi and the freezing of parliament, said he had also suspended the legal immunity of parliament members and that he was taking control of the general prosecutor’s office.
    He warned against any armed response to his actions.    “Whoever shoots a bullet, the armed forces will respond with bullets,” said Saied, who has support from a wide array of Tunisians including both Islamists and leftists.
    Crowds numbering in the tens of thousands backing the president stayed on the streets of Tunis and other cities, with some people setting off fireworks, for hours after his announcement as helicopters circled overhead.
    “We have been relieved of them,” said Lamia Meftahi, a woman celebrating in central Tunis after Saied’s statement, speaking of the parliament and government.    “This is the happiest moment since the revolution.”
    The president and the parliament were both elected in separate popular votes in 2019, while Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi took office last summer, replacing another short-lived government.
    Meanwhile the parliamentary election delivered a fragmented chamber in which no party held more than a quarter of seats.
    The president has been enmeshed in political disputes with Mechichi for a year, as the country grapples with an economic crisis, a looming fiscal crunch and a flailing response to the pandemic.
    Under the constitution, the president has direct responsibility only for foreign affairs and the military, but after a government debacle with walk-in vaccination centres last week, he told the army to take charge of the pandemic response.
    Tunisia’s soaring infection and death rates have added to public anger at the government as the country’s political parties bickered.
    Meanwhile, Mechichi was attempting to negotiate a new loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that was seen as crucial to averting a looming fiscal crisis as Tunisia struggles to finance its budget deficit and coming debt repayments.
    Disputes over the economic reforms, seen as needed to secure the loan but which could hurt ordinary Tunisians by ending subsidies or cutting public sector jobs, had already brought the government close to collapse.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara and Mohamed Argoubi in Tunis, writing by Angus McDowall, editing by Lincoln Feast.)

7/26/2021 Supporters Of Tunisian President Celebrate Government Ousting With Cheers, Fireworks by Tarek Amara
People react in the street after Tunisia's president dismissed the government and froze parliament, in La Marsa,
Tunisia, July 26, 2021 in this still image obtained from a social media video. Layli Foroudi/via REUTERS
    TUNIS (Reuters) – Soon after Tunisia’s President Kais Saied said he had ousted the government, tens of thousands of people poured into city streets to applaud a move decried by his critics as a coup.
    As they cheered, ululated, honked car horns and let off fireworks, Said’s supporters revelled in his decision and in the perceived downfall of the moderate Islamist Ennahda, the biggest party in parliament and his main political opponent.
    It showed how a decade after Tunisia’s 2011 revolution that introduced democracy, street activism remains a potentially powerful force – and one that could lead to confrontation after Ennahda called for people to protest against Saied.
    The crowds late on Sunday were defying a COVID-19 curfew as they gathered in local neighbourhoods and cities throughout the North African country and along the main Habib Bourguiba avenue in Tunis that has long served as the epicentre of any protests in the capital.
    Thousands of people including many families walked along the tree-lined avenue, raising national flags, dancing and lighting red flares.
    “The president was very brave… we know this is not a coup,” said Amira Abid, a woman in Tunis’ town centre as she kissed a Tunisian flag.
    Soon afterwards, Saied himself arrived to meet jubilant supporters in the very street where the biggest protests took place in 2011 during a revolution whose own democratic legacy now hangs in the balance.
    Saied’s critics fear his move to dismiss the government and freeze parliament is part of a shift away from democracy and a return to the autocratic rule of the past – concerns he rejected in public statements as he denied conducting a coup.
    As helicopters hovered above the crowds supporting his move, the people on the streets cast Ennahda as the cause of Tunisia’s failures over the past decade to overcome political paralysis and achieve prosperity.
    “Today, today, Ennahda ended today,” sang young men in the Omrane Superieur district of the capital.
    Nearby, as families stood with their children and raised their phones to the record the moment, a man walking with his daughter said “today is our Eid (holiday).”
(Reporting by Tarek Amara and Angus McDowall; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

7/26/2021 Tunisian President Ousts Government In Move Critics Call A Coup by Tarek Amara and Angus McDowall
A man reacts as police officers detain a demonstrator during an anti-government
protest in Tunis, Tunisia, July 25, 2021. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
    TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia’s president dismissed the government and froze parliament on Sunday in a dramatic escalation of a political crisis that his opponents labelled a coup, calling their own supporters to come onto the streets in protest.
    President Kais Saied said he would assume executive authority with the assistance of a new prime minister, in the biggest challenge yet to the democratic system Tunisia introduced in a 2011 revolution.
    Crowds of people quickly flooded the capital and other cities to support Saied, cheering and honking car horns in scenes that recalled the revolution https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sacking-tunisian-parliament-latest-step-along-bumpy-road-since-revolution-2021-07-25, which triggered the Arab Spring protests that convulsed the Middle East.
    As his supporters filled the central Habib Bourguiba Avenue, the epicentre of the 2011 revolution, Saied joined them in the street, state television pictures showed.
    However, the extent of backing for Saied’s moves against a fragile government and divided parliament was not clear, as Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi called on Tunisians to come into the streets to stop what he called a coup.
    Saied, in his televised statement announcing his move, had warned against any violent response.
    “I warn any who think of resorting to weapons… and whoever shoots a bullet, the armed forces will respond with bullets,” he said in a statement carried on television.
    Hours after the statement, military vehicles surrounded the parliament building as people nearby cheered and sang the national anthem, two witnesses said.    Local media reported that the army had also surrounded the state television building.
    Years of paralysis, corruption, declining state services and growing unemployment had already soured many Tunisians on their political system before the COVID-19 pandemic hammered the economy last year and coronavirus infection rates shot up this summer.
    Protests, called by social media activists but not backed by any of the big political parties, took place on Sunday with much of the anger focused on the moderate Islamist Ennahda party, the biggest in parliament.
    Ennahda, banned before the revolution, has been the most consistently successful party since 2011 and a member of successive coalition governments.
    Its leader the parliament speaker Ghannouchi, immediately labelled Saied’s decision “a coup against the revolution and constitution” in a phone call to Reuters.
    “We consider the institutions still standing, and the supporters of the Ennahda and the Tunisian people will defend the revolution,” he added, raising the prospect of confrontations between supporters of Ennahda and Saied.
    After calling for people to come onto the streets in protest in a video message later in the night, Ghannouchi said the parliament would meet in defiance of Saied’s move.
    The leader of another party, Karama, and former President Moncef Marzouki both joined Ennahda in calling Saied’s move a coup.
    “I ask the Tunisian people to pay attention to the fact that they imagine this to be the beginning of the solution.    It is the beginning of slipping into an even worse situation,” Marzouki said in a video statement.
DISPUTES
    Crowds numbering in the tens of thousands stayed on the streets of Tunis and other cities, with some people setting off fireworks, for hours after Saied’s announcement as helicopters circled overhead.
    “We have been relieved of them,” said Lamia Meftahi, a woman celebrating in central Tunis after Saied’s statement, speaking of the parliament and government.
    “This is the happiest moment since the revolution,” she added.
    Police used teargas to disperse people who tried to storm the Ennahda headquarters in Tunis late on Sunday.
    Saied said in his statement that his actions were in line with Article 80 of the constitution, and also cited the article to suspend the immunity of members of parliament.
    “Many people were deceived by hypocrisy, treachery and robbery of the rights of the people,” he said.
    The president and the parliament were both elected in separate popular votes in 2019, while Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi took office last summer, replacing another short-lived government.
    Saied, an independent without a party behind him https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/tunisian-president-is-political-outsider-accused-coup-2021-07-26, swore to overhaul a complex political system plagued by corruption.    Meanwhile the parliamentary election delivered a fragmented chamber in which no party held more than a quarter of seats.
    Disputes over Tunisia’s constitution were intended to be settled by a constitutional court.    However, seven years after the constitution was approved, the court has yet to be installed after disputes over the appointment of judges.
    The president has been enmeshed in political disputes with Mechichi for over a year, as the country grapples with an economic crisis, a looming fiscal crunch and a flailing response to the pandemic.
    Under the constitution, the president has direct responsibility only for foreign affairs and the military, but after a government debacle with walk-in vaccination centres last week, he told the army to take charge of the pandemic response.
    Tunisia’s soaring infection and death rates have added to public anger at the government as the country’s political parties bickered.
    Meanwhile, Mechichi was attempting to negotiate a new loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that was seen as crucial to averting a looming fiscal crisis as Tunisia struggles to finance its budget deficit and coming debt repayments.
    Disputes over the economic reforms, seen as needed to secure the loan but which could hurt ordinary Tunisians by ending subsidies or cutting public sector jobs, had already brought the government close to collapse.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara and Ahmed Tolba; writing by Angus McDowall; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

7/26/2021 Tunisian President Is A Political Outsider Accused Of A Coup by Angus McDowall
FILE PHOTO: Tunisia's President Kais Saied waves as he is welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron
(not pictured) before a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, June 22, 2020. REUTERS/Charles Platiau
    TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisia’s president described his election victory in 2019 as ‘like a new revolution’ – and on Sunday night he brought huge crowds of supporters onto the streets by sacking the government and freezing parliament in a move his foes called a coup.
    Kais Saied, a 63-year-old political independent and former constitutional lawyer with an awkward public manner and a preference for an ultra formal speaking style of classical Arabic, is now at the undisputed centre of Tunisian politics.
    Nearly two years after his election and a separate vote that created a deeply divided parliament, he has sidelined both the prime minister and parliament speaker with a move seen by critics as an unconstitutional power grab.
    However, as tens of thousands of people flooded the streets of major cities to celebrate, Saied appeared to be riding a wave of popular anger against a political elite that has for years failed to deliver the promised fruits of democracy.
    While the parliament speaker, Rached Ghannouchi, has been tainted with the messy compromises of a decade of democratic politics since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, Saied entered the scene in 2019 as a comparative newcomer.
    Presenting himself in his campaign as an ordinary man taking on a corrupt system, he fought the election without spending money and with a bare-bones team of advisers and volunteers – winning the backing of leftists, Islamists and youths alike.
    His supporters said he spent so little on the election that it cost only the price of the coffee and cigarettes he consumed meeting Tunisians and presented him as a paragon of personal integrity.
    Once elected, he appeared for a while shackled by a constitution that gives the president direct power over only the military and foreign affairs while daily administration is left to a government that is more answerable to parliament.
    Saied has made no secret of his desire for a new constitution that puts the president at centre stage – prompting critics to accuse him of wanting to emulate Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in stripping his foes of power.
POWER STRUGGLE
    As president, Saied quickly feuded with the two prime ministers who eventually emerged from the complex process of coalition building – first Elyes Fakhfakh and then Hichem Mechichi.
    However, the biggest dispute has been with the moderate Islamist Ennahda party and its veteran leader Ghannouchi, a former political prisoner and exile who returned to Tunisia in 2011.
    Over the past year, Saied and Mechichi, backed by Ghannouchi, have squabbled over Cabinet reshuffles and control over the security forces, complicating efforts to handle the pandemic and address a looming fiscal crisis.
    As protests erupted in January, however, it was the government and the old parties of parliament who faced the public’s wrath – a wave of anger that finally broke last week as COVID-19 cases spiked.
    A failed effort to set up walk-in vaccination centres led Saied to announce last week that the army would take over the pandemic response – a move seen by his critics as the latest step in his power struggle with the government.
    It set the stage for his announcement on Sunday following protests targeting Ennahda in cities around the country.
    During the 2011 revolution, his students and friends said, he used to walk the narrow streets of Tunis’ old city and the grand colonial boulevards downtown late at night, discussing politics with his students.
    Saied was one of the legal advisers who helped draft Tunisia’s 2014 democratic constitution, though he soon spoke out against elements of the document.
    Now, some of the main political inheritors of Tunisia’s revolution are casting him as its executioner – saying his dismissal of government and freezing of parliament are an attack on democracy.
(Reporting by Angus McDowall; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

7/26/2021 Sacking Of Tunisian Parliament Latest Step Along Bumpy Road Since Revolution
Supporters of Tunisia's President Kais Saied gather on the streets as they celebrate after he dismissed
the government and froze parliament, in Tunis, Tunisia July 25, 2021. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
    TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisian President Kais Saied sacked the government and froze parliament on Sunday in one of Tunisia’s biggest political crises since the 2011 revolution that introduced democracy.
    Here is a timeline showing Tunisia’s bumpy decade of democracy and the path to Saied’s decision.
* December 2010 – Vegetable seller Mohamed Bouazizi sets himself on fire after police confiscate his cart.    His death and funeral spark protests over unemployment, corruption and repression.
* January 2011 – Autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali flees to Saudi Arabia, as Tunisia’s revolution triggers uprisings across the Arab world.
* October 2011 – Moderate Islamist party Ennahda, banned under Ben Ali, wins most seats and forms a coalition with secular parties to plan a new constitution.
* March 2012 – Growing polarisation emerges between Islamists and secularists, particularly over women’s rights, as Ennahda pledges to keep Islamic law out of the new constitution.
* February 2013 – Secular opposition leader Chokri Belaid is assassinated, prompting street protests and the resignation of the prime minister.    Jihadists mount attacks on police.
* December 2013 – Ennahdha cedes power after mass protests and a national dialogue, to be replaced by a technocratic government.
* January 2014 – Parliament approves a new constitution guaranteeing personal freedoms and rights for minorities, and splitting power between the president and prime minister.
* December 2014 – Beji Caid Essebsi wins Tunisia’s first free presidential election. Ennahda joins the ruling coalition.
* March 2015 – Islamic State attacks on the Bardo Museum in Tunis kill 22 people.    In June a gunman kills 38 at a beach resort in Sousse.
    The attacks devastate the vital tourism sector and are followed by a suicide bombing in November that kills 12 soldiers.
* March 2016 – The army turns the tide against the jihadist threat by defeating dozens of Islamic State fighters who rampage into a southern town from across the Libyan border.
* December 2017 – The economy approaches crisis point as the trade deficit soars and the currency slides.
* October 2019 – Voters show dissatisfaction with the major parties, first electing a deeply fractured parliament and then political outsider Kais Saied as president.
* January 2020 – After months of failed attempts to form a government, Elyes Fakhfakh becomes prime minister but is forced out within months over a corruption scandal.
* August 2020 – Saied designates Hichem Mechichi as prime minister.    He quickly falls out with the president and his fragile government lurches from crisis to crisis as it struggles to deal with the pandemic and the need for urgent reforms.
* January 2021 – A decade on from the revolution, new protests engulf Tunisian cities in response to accusations of police violence and after the pandemic devastates an already weak economy.
* July 2021 – Saied dismisses the government, freezes parliament and says he will rule alongside the new prime minister citing an emergency section of the constitution that is dismissed by Ennahda and others in parliament as a coup.
(Reporting by Angus McDowall; editing by Diane Craft)

7/26/2021 Tunisian Democracy In Turmoil After President Sacks Government by Tarek Amara and Angus McDowall
Supporters of Tunisia's biggest political party, the moderate Islamist Ennahda, take cover from stones thrown at them by
supporters of President Kais Saied, outside the parliament building in Tunis, Tunisia July 26, 2021. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
    TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisia’s nascent democracy faced its worst crisis in a decade on Monday after President Kais Saied ousted the government and froze parliament with help from the army, a move denounced as a coup by the main parties including Islamists.
    It follows months of deadlock and disputes pitting Saied, seen as a political outsider, against Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and a fragmented parliament as Tunisia has descended into an economic crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
    The move risks a destabilising confrontation between the army-backed president and groups that say the step is undemocratic, including Islamists who were repressed for decades until the 2011 Tunisian revolt that sparked the “i>Arab Spring.”
    In a declaration late on Sunday, Saied invoked emergency powers under the constitution’s Article 18 to dismiss Mechichi and suspend parliament for 30 days, saying he would govern alongside a new premier. He rejected accusations of a coup.
    Large crowds poured into the streets in support, reflecting growing anger at the moderate Islamist Ennahda party – the biggest party in parliament – and the government over chronic economic malaise.    The economy shrank by 8% last year after the pandemic hit the tourism sector.
    Ennahda and other main parties said Saied’s actions breached the constitution.
    Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, the head of Ennahda which has been part of successive coalitions, decried it as an assault on democracy and urged Tunisians to take to the streets in opposition.
    “I am against gathering all powers in the hands of one person,” Ghannouchi said when he arrived at parliament early on Monday morning where soldiers surrounding the building stopped him from entering. He had said he would call a session in defiance of Saied.
    Nearby, supporters and opponents of the president threw stones at each other leading to injuries with one man sitting on the pavement bleeding from the head.    Tunisia’s hard-currency bonds tumbled.
    The army, which has yet to comment on Saied’s moves, barred workers from the government palace in the Kasbah and blocked off the state television building.
    Mechichi — also an independent — is at his home and not under arrest, one source close to him and two Tunisian security sources said.
    Saied, who has yet to say when the new premier will be appointed, said he would replace the defence and justice ministers.
    His actions followed a day of protests against the government and Ennahda for what is seen as a failure to curb the COVID-19 crisis and revive the economy.
‘NEW SISI’
    Though it has failed to deliver prosperity or good governance, Tunisia’s democratic experiment since 2011 has stood in stark contrast to the fate of other countries where Arab Spring revolts ended in bloody crackdowns and civil war.
    Outside parliament, supporters of Saied and Ennahda hurled insults and bottles at each other.
    “We are here to protect Tunisia.    We have seen all the tragedies under the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood,” said a young man who gave his name as Ayman.
    He was referring to the Islamist movement founded in Egypt in 1928 which inspired Sunni Islamists across the Arab world, including Ennahda.
    In recent years, Ennahda has sought to distance itself from the Brotherhood.
    Imed Ayadi, an Ennahda member, likened Saied to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, who deposed the Brotherhood’s Mohamed Mursi in 2013.
    “Saied is a new Sisi who wants to collect all authority for himself …We will stand up to the coup against the revolution,” he said.
    Saied has warned against any violent opposition would be met with force.    He swept to office in 2019 after campaigning as the scourge of a corrupt, incompetent elite.
    He framed his actions as a constitutional and popular response to the economic and political paralysis Tunisia has been mired in for years.    He said Article 80 gave him the power to dismiss the government and appoint a temporary administration and to freeze parliament and lift the immunity of its members.
    However, the article requires consultation with the prime minister and parliament speaker and Ghannouchi has denied having been consulted while Mechichi has not spoken in public.
    It also requires approval by a constitutional court that has not yet been set up.
    Two of the other main parties in parliament, Heart of Tunisia and Karama, joined Ennahda in accusing Saied of a coup.
    There has been a muted international response to Saied’s move but Turkey’s ruling, Islamist-rooted AK Party condemned his actions.    Qatar, which has supported Sunni Islamists such as the Muslim Brotherhood, called on all parties to avoid escalation and move towards dialogue.
    A spokesperson for the German Foreign Office said the suspension of parliament was based on a “a rather broad interpretation of the constitution.”
    “We do not want to call it a coup,” the spokesperson said in response to a journalist’s question.    “We will certainly seek talks with the Tunisian ambassador in Berlin.”
    The European Union also urged all political actors in Tunisia to respect the country’s constitution and avoid violence.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara and Mohamed Argoubi in Tunis, additional reporting by Robin Emmot in Brussels and Holger Hansen in Berlin; writing by Angus McDowall/Tom Perry, editing by Lincoln Feast and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

7/26/2021 Young Men In Ethiopia’s Amhara Start To Mobilise Against Tigray Forces by Maggie Fick and Dawit Endeshaw
FILE PHOTO: A tank damaged during the fighting between Ethiopia's National Defense Force (ENDF) and Tigray Special
Forces stands on the outskirts of Humera town in Ethiopia July 1, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
    NAIROBI/ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Residents of Ethiopia’s Amhara region said on Monday some young men were responding to a weekend call to arms by their president, as Amhara’s government denied that forces from neighbouring Tigray had advanced further into the region.
    An eight-month-old war between Ethiopia’s central government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that controls Tigray, has spread to neighbouring parts of northern Ethiopia, risking a further destabilisation of Africa’s second most populous nation.
    On Sunday Agegnehu Teshager, president of the Amhara regional government, had called on “all young people” to take up arms against TPLF fighters, who say they are advancing deeper south into Amhara territory.
    A resident of the town of Debark, 40 km south of Zarima in northern Amhara, told Reuters by phone that he had seen young people and government employees lining up on Monday in response to the president’s call.
    “For now, it is people who have weapons that are registering,” he said, adding that he had heard volunteers “will be given a short training.”
    Conflict broke out between the Ethiopian central government and the TPLF in November.    Three weeks later, the government seized control of Tigray’s capital Mekelle and declared victory.
    But the TPLF kept fighting, and in a stunning reversal of fortunes at the end of June retook Mekelle and most of Tigray after government soldiers withdrew.
    Last week, Tigrayan forces pushed into Afar, the region to the east of Tigray, where they said they planned to target Amhara troops fighting alongside the federal military.
    Afar is home to the main highway and railway linking landlocked Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa with the sea port of Djibouti.
CONTESTED CONTROL
    Getachew Reda, spokesperson for the TPLF, told Reuters on Monday its fighters had reached Zarima, about 140 km (87 miles) north of Gondar, one of Amhara’s largest cities.
    “The last time I had communications with them was yesterday evening, they were in Zarima,” Getachew said.    Earlier on Sunday, he said, the fighters had taken over the town of Chew Ber, which is about 115 km south of Adi Arkay, the first town in Amhara that     Tigrayan fighters seized over the weekend.
    Reuters was unable to independently verify his statement.
    Gizachew Muluneh, spokesperson to the Amhara regional government, said in a text message the statement was “false propaganda.”
    “All those areas you mentioned are under the control of our army, Amhara special forces and the militia,” said Gizachew.
    Spokespeople for Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian military and a government task force on Tigray did not return calls seeking comment.
    Getachew said the Tigrayan forces would continue to advance despite a call by Abiy for mobilisation.
    “We’ll go as far as we have to, we’ll move southward, westward, and eastward, we’ll continue to push as long as there is resistance,” he said.
RESIDENTS FLOOD SOUTH
    Some residents said Amhara’s mobilisation efforts were facing organisational and logistical challenges.     “The public is mobilizing but there is no formal structure,” said a member of the part-time volunteer militia Fano, which has no formal command structure but sometimes works alongside the Amhara military.
    “There is no one to organise the youth.    There is no one to supply weapons, bullets and food,” he said by phone from the town of Humera, in Amhara-controlled western Tigray. He spoke on condition of anonymity.
    Phone connections to Zarima and nearby towns were down, the Debark resident said, but people from Adi Arkay, Mai Tsebri, Zarima and Tsalemet towns were flooding into Debark, a town that usually serves as a gateway for tourists trekking in the dramatic Simien mountains.
    Tigrayan forces have also advanced south and have said they would push west and try to restore their region’s pre-war boundaries.    Western Tigray is currently controlled by Amhara forces, who say the land rightfully belongs to them.
    Thousands of people have died in the war, around 2 million have been forced from their homes and more than 5 million depend on emergency food aid.
(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw in Addis Ababa and Maggie Fick in Nairobi; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Alex Richardson)

7/26/2021 Lebanese PM-Designate Mikati Aims To Form Gov’t To Implement Reform Plan by Laila Bassam and Maha El Dahan
Lebanon's President Michel Aoun meets with leading businessman Najib Mikati at the presidential
palace in Baabda, Lebanon July 26, 2021. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
    BEIRUT (Reuters) -Lebanese businessman Najib Mikati secured enough votes in parliamentary consultations on Monday to be designated the next prime minister, and now faces the difficult challenge of forming a viable government to tackle a financial crisis.
    Mikati has been prime minister twice before and, unlike many Lebanese leaders, does not represent a political bloc or hail from a dynasty.    He received 72 votes out of a total of 118 members of parliament. [L1N2P20XW]
    Like previous nominee Saad al-Hariri, he must navigate the sectarian, power-sharing structure and secure agreement on a cabinet equipped to address the financial meltdown in Lebanon, one of the world’s most heavily indebted states.
    “I don’t have a magic wand and I can’t work miracles,” Mikati said after his nomination, but added that he had been studying the situation and had “the necessary international guarantees
    Mikati is the third person to be nominated since Hassan Diab’s government resigned after an explosion at Beirut’s port area on Aug. 4 last year that killed more than 200 people and flattened large areas of the city.
    Diab’s government has stayed on in a caretaker capacity since then, but Lebanon’s currency has collapsed, jobs have vanished and banks have frozen accounts in the country’s worst crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.
    Mikati said he was confident he could form a government, and its first priority would be to implement a reform plan by former colonial power France.
    The French roadmap envisioned a government of specialists capable of implementing reforms and engaging the International Monetary Fund.
LEBANON ‘HAS A CHANCE TODAY’
    Hezbollah, the heavily armed Shi’ite Islamist movement that the United States deems a terrorist group, nominated Mikati in Monday’s consultations.    Most of the main parliamentary blocs endorsed the choice.
    Muhammad Raad, the leader of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, told reporters there were signs hinting at the possibility of forming a government and “that’s why we named Mikati, to give an extra boost to facilitate forming a government.”
    Hezbollah is an ally of President Michel Aoun.
    Among Mikati’s endorsers was Hariri who, after nearly 10 months, abandoned efforts to form a government last week after failing to agree its composition with Aoun.
    Hariri told reporters after meeting Aoun that he hoped Mikati, a telecoms tycoon, would be chosen and succeed in forming a cabinet, adding: “The country has a chance today.”
    The news of Mikati’s likely designation boosted the Lebanese pound earlier on Monday on the unofficial parallel market, where dollars changed hands at around 16,500 pounds, compared to over 22,000 at the height of the deadlock over the government.
    In Lebanon’s political system, the post of prime minister has to be held by a Sunni Muslim, while the presidency is held by a Maronite Christian.
    Western governments have been piling pressure on Lebanon to form a government that can set about reforming the corruption-marred state.    They have threatened to impose sanctions and said financial support will not flow before reforms begin.
(Reporting by Laila Bassam and Maha al Dahan; Editing by Kevin Liffey, Toby Chopra and Timothy Heritage)

7/26/2021 Tanzanian Court Charges Opposition Leader With Terrorism-Related Crimes
FILE PHOTO: Freeman Mbowe (C), chairman of Chadema, Tanzania's main opposition party, arrives at
Kisutu Magistrate Court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Emmanuel Herman/File Photo
    DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – A court in Tanzania has charged the leader of the main opposition party with terrorism-related crimes, police said on Monday, following his arrest while preparing for a meeting to discuss proposals for a new constitution.
    Freeman Mbowe, head of the Chadema party, and 10 others were detained in the city of Mwanza on Wednesday, in what the party said was proof that President Samia Suluhu Hassan was continuing with the authoritarianism of her late predecessor John Magufuli.
    Jumanne Muliro, Dar es Salaam special zone police commander, said Mbowe had been charged at Dar es Salaam’s Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s court.
    “It is true that he was charged in court this afternoon for the charges that were initially reported by the police in a statement,” he told Reuters by phone.
    Police spokesperson David Misime said in a statement on Thursday that Mbowe was arrested for “accusations on plotting terrorist acts including conspiracy to kill government leaders where his six fellows have already been charged in court.”
    John Mnyika, Chadema’s secretary general, said Mbowe was charged without his lawyer or family members being present.
    “Police have misled lawyers and family members … that he has been sent to hospital.    The truth is that he has been sent to Kisutu court … and he has been charged for terrorism. They have sent him to prison,” Mnyika said on Twitter.
    However, Muliro said they had prosecuted him according to the law after completing the charge sheet.
    “There is nowhere in the law that says we should prosecute someone until there is his or her lawyer or family member, but it requires us to do so when interrogating him,” he said.
    The government has long denied opposition accusations of authoritarianism.
    Chadema says the constitution should be changed to protect democracy following the rule of Magufuli.
    Hassan, of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party, served as Magufuli’s vice president before succeeding him when he died in March of what the government called a heart condition.
    Magufuli had been Africa’s most prominent COVID-19 sceptic, dismissing the virus as harmless, resisting restrictions to halt its spread and rejecting vaccines.
(Reporting by Nairobi Newsroom; Editing by George Obulutsa and Giles Elgood)

7/27/2021 Tunisian Islamists Move To Ease Tensions, Unions Demand Roadmap by Tarek Amara
Police officers stand guard outside the parliament building in Tunis, Tunisia July 27, 2021. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
    TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisia’s leading Islamist party moved on Tuesday to ease the country’s political crisis, calling for dialogue and urging supporters not to protest after accusing President Kais Saied of launching a coup.
    Tunisia faced its worst political crisis in a decade of democracy after Saied, backed by the army, sacked the prime minister and froze parliament on Sunday, sparking concern in Western capitals that have praised its transition from autocracy since the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011.
    Influential civil society groups, including the powerful labour union, warned Saied not to extend extraordinary measures he announced on Sunday beyond a month and called on him to lay out “a participatory roadmap” out of the crisis.
    There was no sign of tension in the capital where supporters and opponents of Saied’s moves had scuffled on Monday.    The streets were calm, with no significant protests or heightened security presence.
    Saied’s actions followed months of deadlock and disputes pitting him against Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi – also a political independent – and a fragmented parliament as Tunisia suffered an economic crisis exacerbated by one of Africa’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks.
    Many Tunisians, tired of political paralysis and a moribund economy, took to the streets in a show of support for Saied on Sunday.    “We have been silent for 10 years and we live in distress for 10 years and now people are sick and don’t know how to treat themselves,” said Halma Talbi, a woman in Tunis.
    But the moderately Islamist Ennahda movement, the biggest party in parliament, and the next three largest parties have all denounced the moves as a coup.
    Reversing a call on its supporters on Monday to take to the streets against Saied, Ennahda urged dialogue and efforts to avoid civil strife.
    “The movement … calls on all Tunisians to increase solidarity, synergy and unity and to confront all calls for sedition and civil strife,” it said in a statement.
PROTECTING THE REVOLUTION’S GAINS
    Ennahda had already told supporters through party branches not to resume a sit-in outside parliament and to avoid protests.
    Though some senior party members wanted to retain a street presence, its leaders decided to avoid any further escalation and allow a period of calm, two Ennahda officials said.
    The area outside the parliament building, the site on Monday of confrontations between hundreds of supporters of Ennahda and Saied, was empty on Tuesday morning.    Ennahda’s supporters left on Monday evening and have not returned.
    Saied said his move was in line with a constitutional clause allowing extraordinary measures during an emergency.
    He said his move aimed to save Tunisia, saying public institutions were falling apart and warning of plans to ignite civil strife.    He did not say who was behind the plans.
    The White House said on Monday it had not yet determined whether Saied’s actions constituted a coup.
    U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Saied late on Monday and said he had urged him “to adhere to the principles of democracy and human rights.”
    The Tunisian civil society groups declared “the necessity of protecting all the gains of the Tunisian revolution, which were expressed as a revolution of freedom and dignity.”
    The signatories included the labour union which, with one million members, is one of Tunisia’s most powerful forces.
    A Tunisian political source said neighbouring Algeria had pushed both Saied and his opponents to step back from any confrontation to avoid further destabilisation or the intervention of any external forces.
    Though it has failed to deliver prosperity or good governance, Tunisia’s democratic experiment since 2011 has stood in stark contrast to the fate of other countries where Arab Spring revolts ended in bloody crackdowns and civil war.
    Saied has yet to announce an interim prime minister and has said he will replace the defence and justice ministers.    He has not said whether the other cabinet ministers will remain in place.
    He has not spelt out how he will handle the 30-day period during which he said parliament will be frozen.    The assembly remains legally in session but not able to meet according to Saied’s decree, with soldiers surrounding the building, government office and the television station.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara, writing by Angus McDowall/Tom Perry; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

7/27/2021 Food, Water Running Out In Tigray Refugee Camps – UN by Stephanie Nebehay
FILE PHOTO: A bus carrying displaced people arrives at the Tsehaye primary school, which was turned into a temporary shelter
for people displaced by conflict, in the town of Shire, Tigray region, Ethiopia, March 14, 2021. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo
    GENEVA (Reuters) - Some 24,000 Eritrean refugees are trapped in two camps in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, cut off from humanitarian aid, and their food rations may have run out, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
    Appealing for access to the Mai Aini and Adi Harush camps, the U.N. refugee agency said there was “a real danger of hunger” if the refugees did not receive supplies.
    Fighting that began between the Ethiopian central government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) last November has escalated in and around the camps, and two refugees have been killed this month, it said.
    “The last food distribution to the two refugee camps was done during the month of June, the ration supplies then were only enough for 30 days,” Babar Baloch, spokesman of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told a news briefing.
    “There is a real danger of hunger among these refugees if supplies do not resume as they may have already run out of food supplies that were given to them.”
    Clean drinking water is also running out, he said.
    David Beasley, head of the World Food Programme, said on Twitter the U.N. agency would run out of food in Tigray on Friday and that 170 trucks carrying food and other supplies were currently unable to reach them.
    An official state website said a unilateral government ceasefire aimed at enabling humanitarian aid was being hampered by TPLF “provocations.”    It called for pressure on the rebel group to open the route for cargo.
    Fadela Chaib, spokeswoman of the World Health Organization, said medical services in Tigray were “alarmingly limited,” leaving hundreds of thousands of people, including the wounded, without access to basic care.
    There has been a “significant and worrisome increase” in cases of severe acute malnutrition reported among children in Tigray, she said.
    UNHCR lost access to the camps on July 14, Baloch said.
(Additional reporting by George Obulutsa in Nairobi; editing by Giles Elgood and Timothy Heritage)

7/27/2021 Saudi Arabia Threatens 3-Year Travel Ban For Citizens Who Visit “Red List” States
FILE PHOTO: Saudi nationals scan their documents at a digital-Immigration gate at the King Khalid
International Airport, after Saudi authorities lifted the travel ban on its citizens after fourteen months due to
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 16, 2021. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
    LONDON (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia will impose a three-year travel ban on citizens travelling to countries on the kingdom’s ‘red list’ under efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus and its new variants, state news agency SPA said on Tuesday.
    It cited an unnamed interior ministry official as saying some Saudi citizens, who in May were allowed to travel abroad without prior permission from authorities for the first time since March 2020, had violated travel regulations.
    “Anyone who is proven to be involved will be subject to legal accountability and heavy penalties upon their return, and will be banned from travel for three years,” the official said.
    Saudi Arabia has banned travel to or transit at a number of countries including Afghanistan, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates.
    “The Ministry of Interior stresses that citizens are still banned from travelling directly or via another country to these states or any other that has yet to control the pandemic or where the new strains have spread,” the official said.
    The kingdom, the largest Gulf state with a population of some 30 million, on Tuesday recorded 1,379 new COVID-19 infections, bringing its total to 520,774 cases and 8,189 deaths.
    It saw daily infections fall from a peak above 4,000 in June 2020 to below the 100 mark in early January.
(Reporting by Marwa Rashad; additional reporting by Raya Jalabi; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

7/27/2021 Hundreds Of Civilians Killed In Attack In Ethiopia’s Somali Region, Local Government Says by Dawit Endeshaw and Giulia Paravicini
FILE PHOTO: An internally displaced Ethiopian girl walks back to her village Sariir
in Somali Region, Ethiopia January 13, 2020. REUTERS/Giulia Paravicini
    ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – The government of Ethiopia’s Somali region on Tuesday accused militia from the neighbouring Afar region of killing hundreds of civilians in an attack.
    The Somali regional government’s spokesperson Ali Bedel told Reuters that an armed militia from the Afar region carried out a “massacre” on Saturday in an area known as both Gedamaytu and Gabraiisa.    The area is one of several contested ones along the border between the Somali and Afar regions.
    Two senior officials from the Somali government also confirmed the attack, speaking on condition of anonymity.    They did not give a specific casualty toll.
    Afar regional government spokesperson Ahmed Koloyta did not immediately respond to comment requests.
    Reuters was unable to independently confirm details of the attack. One official said the government had dispatched health officials to the area to help the “high number” of injured people.
(Giulia Paravicini reported from Olbia, Italy; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Jon Boyle)

7/27/2021 Libya Headed Back To ‘Square One’ Of Post-Gaddafi Turmoil If Polls Delayed: Parliamentary Speaker by Ayman al-Werfali
FILE PHOTO: Parliament head Aguila Saleh attends a session to discuss approving new government,
in Sirte, Libya March 8, 2021. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori/File Photo
    QUBAH, Libya (Reuters) – Libya will return to “square one” and the turmoil of 2011 if national elections planned for December are delayed, the speaker of parliament said, with a new rival government likely to set itself up in the east.
    The elections are seen in the West as a critical step in efforts to bring stability to Libya, which has been in chaos since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.
    Libya, a major oil and gas producer, was divided in 2014 between an internationally recognised government in the west and a rival administration in the east that established its own institutions.
    A U.N.-led peace process led to a ceasefire last year after fighting between the rival factions and a unity government was formed in February and approved by parliament in March.
    Aguila Saleh, speaker of the House of Representatives, said he did not want to see further division.
    “If the elections are delayed, we will go back to square one,” Saleh told Reuters at his office in the eastern town of Qubah, warning that a new, parallel government could emerge in the east.
    The aim of the Government of National Unity (GNU) was to ensure public services and lead the country to general elections on Dec. 24.
    The peace process also led to a truce in September after the collapse of a 14-month offensive by Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army.    The truce called for all foreign forces and mercenaries to leave.
    “The president remains the one who decides the matter of foreign forces and mercenaries in the country,” Saleh said, adding there were difficulties in unifying the army due to outside interference.
    A senior official at the U.S. State Department said last month Turkey and Russia, which backed opposing sides in Libya, had reached an initial understanding to work towards a target of pulling out 300 Syrian mercenaries from each side of the conflict.
    Saleh said that the GNU had failed to unify Libya’s institutions and had become a “Tripoli government,” demanding it take care of the obligations of the two dissolved governments.
    This month, U.N.-sponsored talks aimed at paving the way for elections failed to find common ground.
    But Saleh said there was no need for the 75 committee members to meet.
    “We have a constitutional declaration,” he said.    “We do not need to go around and waste time. No bargaining.”
    Saleh also said that the government’s proposed 100 billion dinar ($22.15 billion) budget was too big and he expected a figure of up to 80 billion dinars to be approved.
(Writing by Ahmed Elumami; Editing by Nick Macfie)

7/27/2021 Pakistan, Saudi Arabia To Work On Easing Travel Restrictions by Asif Shahzad
FILE PHOTO: Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud arrives to attend the
G20 meeting of foreign and development ministers in Matera, Italy, June 29, 2021. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
    ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday discussed how to ease COVID-19 travel restrictions, which have stranded around 400,000 Pakistani workers back home, foreign ministers of the two countries told reporters.
    Islamabad took up the issue with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, who is on a one-day visit to Pakistan.
    Al Saud is the first high profile Saudi official to arrive in Pakistan after cracks in their historically friendly relations earlier this year.
    His Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi told a joint news conference in Islamabad that around 400,000 of over two million Pakistani workers in Saudi Arabia had been stranded at home due to travel restrictions.
    “They are facing challenges, you know the travel restrictions and you know the issues of vaccination,” he said.
    Saudi Arabia, which bars direct travel from Pakistan, has only approved the AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines, so anyone arriving without one of those shots is required to quarantine at a cost many Pakistani workers say they cannot afford.
    Most Pakistanis have received a Chinese vaccine, although Al Saud said his government had given COVID-19 shots to 1.7 million Pakistani workers.
    The Pakistani workforce in Saudi Arabia contributes $7 billion, or a quarter of the country’s total annual remittances.
    “We talked about the challenges that COVID-19 has imposed on all of us.    It has imposed challenges, travel restrictions, all of these we are working on,” Al Saud said.
    Would-be Pakistani expatriate workers, desperate to obtain a Pfizer/BioNTech or AstraZeneca COVID shot so they can travel to work in Saudi Arabia, have been holding violent protests, at times storming vaccination centres. [L2N2OA1Y6]
    Pakistan has lately started allowing people under 40 who have to travel for jobs abroad to obtain the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines, of which the country has limited supply obtained through the COVAX system.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad; Editing by David Holmes)

7/27/2021 Grim Aftermath Of Ethiopian Battle Offers Rare Clues About Brutal War by Giulia Paravicini and Maggie Fick
SENSITIVE MATERIAL. THIS IMAGE MAY OFFEND OR DISTURB Light filters through the bullet-ridden roof
of a classroom where the bodies of at least 27 dead soldiers from Ethiopia's military are lying in the village of
Sheweate Hugum in south-central Tigray, Ethiopia, July 10, 2021. REUTERS/Giulia Paravicini
    SHEWEATE HUGUM, Ethiopia (Reuters) – Burned-out military vehicles, boxes of ammunition and the bodies of scores of federal troops were still scattered along the dirt road that runs through the Ethiopian village of Sheweate Hugum three weeks after the fighting subsided.
    Beside them lay the leftovers of lives cut short: family photographs, school diplomas, Ethiopian flags. (for Photo Essay please click on: https://reut.rs/3kWbsOp)
    What happened here in mid-June was just one battle in an eight-month war between Ethiopia’s military and rebellious forces in the northern region of Tigray.
    But, in a conflict largely waged far from the world’s cameras, it sheds light on a key turning point.
    Nine days later, Tigrayan fighters regained the regional capital Mekelle, three hours’ drive to the east, in a major setback for the central government.    On the same day the city was retaken, Addis Ababa declared a unilateral ceasefire.
    Reuters spoke to two captured Ethiopian army officers, two leaders of the rebellious Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and three residents of Sheweate Hugum to get a picture of what happened in the village between June 17-19.
    Fighting broke out as federal troops were making advances in the area, according to Debretsion Gebremichael, head of the TPLF.    Tigrayan forces counter-attacked, he said.
    On the other side, Colonel Hussein Mohamed said he commanded 3,700 soldiers from the army’s 11th division at Sheweate Hugum.    He said at least 100 government soldiers died and 900 were captured over three days of fighting in the village.
    Reuters interviewed Hussein at a jail in Mekelle, where a journalist saw hundreds of captured soldiers being held by the TPLF.
    “There were a lot of dead people on both sides,” said Hussein, his gold tooth glinting as he chain smoked.
    Another Ethiopian officer in the cell, who asked not to be named, said heavy losses among government troops around Sheweate Hugum helped pave the way for Tigrayan forces to retake Mekelle.
    Reuters could not independently verify the accounts of the fighting at Sheweate Hugum.    Both officers were interviewed without the presence of guards, and the men said they were speaking voluntarily.
    Spokespeople for the Ethiopian military, the prime minister’s office and a government taskforce on Tigray did not return calls or messages seeking comment on what happened in Sheweate Hugum in mid-June and on the fate of any prisoners.
    Debretsion, speaking via satellite phone, declined to comment on TPLF casualties beyond saying some were killed but that they did not number in the “thousands.”
    Reuters did not see the bodies of TPLF fighters in and around the village.
LAST STAND
    Sheweate Hugum was largely abandoned when Reuters visited on July 10.    Only a few residents remained, holding shawls to their faces to keep out the stench from the bodies.
    Two residents said some Tigrayan fighters had been buried in local churches, but were unclear about numbers.    The bishop of Mekelle had no information on casualties.
    Tiebei Negash, 60, wept as she recalled how she and some neighbours had buried her husband, who she said was a resident not involved in the conflict, and five Ethiopian army soldiers.
    She said she didn’t see the fighters who shot through her front door the night of June 17, killing her husband in his sleep before setting fire to their house, but added that they spoke the national Amharic language, not Tigrinya spoken by Tigrayans.
    She expressed anger at the soldiers who deployed to Tigray in support of Prime Minister Ahmed Abiy’s government, but understood they were following orders.
    “I feel sorry for them because they died in this land that is not their home,” she said.    “They are human beings.”
    Fighting first broke out in Tigray in November when the government accused the TPLF of attacking military bases across the region – an accusation the group denied.
    The government declared victory three weeks later when it took control of Mekelle, but the TPLF kept fighting and has since taken back most of the region, including its capital on June 28.
    Ethiopian troops withdrew from most of Tigray in late June and declared a unilateral ceasefire on what the government said were humanitarian grounds when the TPLF retook Mekelle.
    Leaders of the TPLF derided the truce and said it was intended to cover up federal army losses.
    Tesfay Gebregziabher, logistics coordinator for around 6,000 Tigrayan fighters who he said fought at Sheweate Hugum, said he saw around 350 Ethiopian soldiers retreat into the village school during the fighting.
    His troops surrounded the building and killed those who didn’t surrender, he said during an interview in Mekelle.    Reuters could not independently confirm his version of events.
    In the two-room schoolhouse in Sheweate Hugum, Reuters saw more than two dozen bodies in Ethiopian military uniforms, including women, lying among upturned desks and charred books.
    They were illuminated by rays of sunlight through bullet holes in the roof and door.
    Open tins of food lay next to most of the bodies.
(Maggie Fick reported from Nairobi; Editing by Katharine Houreld and Mike Collett-White)

7/27/2021 Israel Defence Minister To Visit France To Discuss NSO, Iran
FILE PHOTO: Israel's Minister of Defense Benny Gantz arrives for the weekly cabinet
meeting in Jerusalem, June 27, 2021. Maya Alleruzzo/Pool via REUTERS
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz will travel to France this week to discuss spyware sold by Israeli cyber firm NSO that was allegedly used to target French President Emmanuel Macron.
    Macron’s phone was on a list of targets that were possibly under surveillance by Morocco, which used NSO Group’s Pegasus software, according to France’s Le Monde newspaper.    The French leader has called for an investigation.
    Gantz will meet French Defence Minister Florence Parly on Wednesday, an official Israeli statement said.
    “Gantz will discuss the crisis in Lebanon and the developing agreement with Iran.    He will also update the minister on the topic of NSO,” it said.
    Israel’s Defence Ministry oversees commercial exports of spyware and cyber-surveillance technologies like Pegasus.
    A global investigation published last week by 17 media organisations, led by the Paris-based non-profit journalism group Forbidden Stories, said Pegasus had been used in attempted and successful hacks of smartphones belonging to journalists, government officials and human rights activists.
    Israel has since set up a senior inter-ministerial team to assess any possible misuse of the spyware.
    NSO rejected the reports, saying it was “full of wrong assumptions and uncorroborated theories.”    Pegasus is intended for use only by government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to fight terrorism and crime, the company said.
    Gantz’s trip was planned before the NSO affair and was meant to focus on the growing economic crisis in Lebanon, which shares a border with Israel, and on world powers’ efforts to resume a nuclear deal with Iran, Israeli media said.
    Israel is concerned a revival of the deal may eventually allow its arch-foe Tehran to acquire atomic weapons.    Iran denies seeking the bomb.    Attempts to revive the 2015 accord, after then-President Donald Trump abandoned it in 2018, have been slow to make progress.
    France’s foreign ministry said on Monday that Iran was endangering the chance of concluding an accord with world powers over reviving the deal if it did not return to the negotiating table soon.
(Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Ari Rabinovitch and Nick Macfie)

7/27/2021 As Tigray War Intensifies, Ethiopia Parades New Army Recruits by Reuters staff
Recruits to join Ethiopia's Defense Force gather during the farewell ceremony at
the Meskel Square in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia July 27, 2021. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
    ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Thousands of Ethiopian army recruits paraded in Addis Ababa on Tuesday to bid farewell before leaving for training, potential future participants in a bloody eight-month-old conflict in the north that continues to spread and intensify.
    Young women and men wearing plastic sandals and baseball caps with slogans such as “Ethiopia is calling” danced in central Meskel Square at a ceremony attended by defence minister Kenea Yadeta and the capital’s deputy mayor, Adanech Abiebe.
    The mayor’s office said 3,000 young people would join the ranks of Ethiopia’s National Defence Force (ENDF). Some recruits spoke of pride in describing their motives.    Others mentioned economic need.
    Teku Shega said his father used to fight in the federal army, and he wants to pursue that heritage.
    “My father was a member of ENDF and retired 10 years ago.    I am here to continue his legacy,” the 25-year-old construction worker from the Amhara region said.
    For Girma Takele, the army is a chance to escape unemployment.
    “I am joining the National Army because I have been jobless for three years … now at least I will have a job,” said the 18-year-old, originally from Oromiya.
    The conflict between the central government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that controls the Tigray region, is spreading to other parts of northern Ethiopia, and youth from other parts of the country are joining federal forces in the fight.
    Fighting first broke out in Tigray in November when the government accused the TPLF of attacking military bases across the region – an accusation the group denied.
    The government declared victory three weeks later when it took the regional capital Mekelle, but the TPLF kept fighting and has since taken back most of Tigray.
    Ethiopian troops withdrew from most of Tigray in late June when the TPLF retook Mekelle.    The central government declared a unilateral ceasefire on what it said were humanitarian grounds.
    Last week, Tigrayan forces pushed into Afar, the region to the east of Tigray, where they said they planned to target Amhara troops fighting alongside the federal military.
    Afar is home to the main highway and railway linking landlocked Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa with the sea port of Djibouti.
    Thousands of people have died in the fighting, around 2 million have been displaced and more than 5 million rely on emergency food aid.
(Reporting by Addis Ababa newsroom, Writing by Giulia Paravicini, Editing by William Maclean)

7/28/2021 France Urges Tunisia To Name New PM As Crisis Simmers by Tarek Amara
Police officers patrol a street in Tunis, Tunisia, July 28, 2021. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
    TUNIS (Reuters) – France urged Tunisia on Wednesday to name a new prime minister and cabinet to replace the government removed by President Kais Saied when he froze parliament and assumed governing authority in a move decried as a coup by his opponents.
    A decade after ending autocratic rule through a popular uprising, Tunisia faces the sternest test yet to its democratic system and Western countries that have applauded its political transition have expressed concern.
    Saied, who says his actions are constitutional but has yet to set out his next steps, has been urged by the United States to stick to democratic principles. He met security chiefs on Wednesday, the presidency said.
    French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told his Tunisian counterpart Othman Jerandi that it was paramount that Tunisia quickly names a new prime minister and a cabinet, the French Foreign Ministry said.
    Backed by the army, Saied’s actions included suspending parliament for 30 days.    Opponents including the Islamist Ennahda party, parliament’s biggest, have accused him of a power grab.
    The head of Tunisia’s journalists’ syndicate Mahdi Jlassi said a foreign reporter had been briefly detained by police on Wednesday while reporting in a district of the capital.
    On Monday the U.S. State Department had said it was “particularly troubled” by police having raided the Al Jazeera news bureau in Tunis and urged “scrupulous respect for freedom of expression and other civil rights.”
    Saied’s moves followed protests by Tunisians who are fed up with years of economic malaise and political paralysis since the 2011 uprising that ignited the Arab Spring.
    Saied, an independent elected in 2019, has said he acted to save the country from corruption and plots to sow civil strife.
    His move followed months of deadlock and disputes pitting him against Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and a fragmented parliament, as Tunisia descended into an economic crisis exacerbated by one of Africa’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks.
JUDICIAL PROBE
    Potentially complicating the crisis further, the judiciary said it was investigating Ennahda and the second biggest party in parliament – Heart of Tunisia – on suspicion of receiving foreign funds during the 2019 election campaign.
    The judiciary, widely seen in Tunisia as independent from politics, said its investigation started 10 days before the president’s moves.
    A senior Ennahda official denied it had committed any violations.    Riadh Chaibi, the political adviser to Ennahda’s leader, told Reuters raising the issue now aimed “to incite against Ennahda and create a more tense atmosphere.”
    Heart of Tunisia could not be reached for comment.
    Though Ennahda called on Sunday for supporters to come out on the streets against Saied’s actions, it has since called for calm and sought national dialogue.
    There was no sign of protests or other disturbances on Wednesday though a heavier security presence was in place in central Tunis. The army also remains at the parliament, government and television buildings it surrounded on Sunday.
    Saied reiterated a long-standing rule banning gatherings of more than three people in public, but there was no sign it was being enforced as people moved and gathered normally.
    Saied has also tightened some existing COVID-19 restrictions including a nightly curfew and ban on travel between cities.
    Civil society organisations that have played a key role in politics since 2011 have not denounced Saied’s moves but have called on him to quickly lay out his plans and end the emergency period within a month.
(Additional reporting by Dominique Vidalon in Paris; Writing by Angus McDowall andTom Perry; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Alison Williams)

7/28/2021 Kuwait Bans Unvaccinated Citizens From Travelling Abroad
FILE PHOTO: A Kuwaiti passenger holding his luggage walks by the police and civil aviation personnel upon his arrival from Amman at Kuwait Airport,
following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kuwait City, Kuwait April 21, 2020. REUTERS/Stephanie McGehee
    CAIRO (Reuters) – Kuwait on Tuesday said only citizens who have been vaccinated for the coronavirus will be allowed to travel abroad starting on Aug. 1.
    A government statement said the rule excepted children under age of 16, those with a health ministry certificate saying they cannot be vaccinated, and pregnant women who have a pregnancy proof certificate from authorities.
    Also on Tuesday, the civil aviation authority said that all arrivals in Kuwait must have a negative COVID-19 PCR test before they board their flights and must not be showing any symptoms.
    All arrivals will have to be home quarantined for seven days unless they take a COVID-19 PCR test inside Kuwait that comes out negative.
    The Kuwaiti government on Monday eased some coronavirus related restrictions and resumed all activities except for gatherings which include conferences, weddings, and social events. (nL8N2P25M0)
(Reporting by Alaa Swilam and Nayera Abdallah; writing by Alaa Swilam; Editing by Grant McCool)

7/28/2021 Protesters Close Road, Rail Links Between Djibouti, Addis Ababa – Official by Giulia Paravicini and Maggie Fick
FILE PHOTO: President of the Somali Region Mustafa Muhumed Omer attends a Reuters interview in Jijiga,
Ethiopia January 14, 2020. Picture taken January 14, 2020. REUTERS/Giulia Paravicini/File Photo
    NAIROBI (Reuters) -Ethiopia’s Somali region said on Wednesday a vital road and rail trade route linking the landlocked capital of Addis Ababa to the sea port of Djibouti was blocked by youths angered by a deadly militia attack on their region.
    Around 95% of imports into the nation of around 110 million people are transported via that corridor, according to a 2018 study by the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development.
    Reuters could not independently verify the reported blockage.    The Ethiopian prime minister’s office and authorities in Djibouti could not immediately be reached for comment.     Somali region President Mustafa Muhumed Omer said the road and railway had been blocked by youths protesting against an attack on the region’s Gedamaytu town by militia from the neighbouring region of Afar.
    A spokesman for his administration said Saturday’s attack had caused hundreds of civilian deaths, and the town had been looted and many of its inhabitants displaced.    The violence is the latest flare-up in a local boundary dispute that adds to high tensions in the Horn of Africa nation.
    Reuters was unable independently to verify the report of hundreds killed, and Afar’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    A 30-year-old resident of the Somali region’s capital, Jigjiga, who only gave his name as Hassan for security reasons, said thousands took the streets on Wednesday to protest against the killing of Somalis on Saturday.    He said protesters were holding banners written in Amharic and Somali, one reading “children didn’t deserve to be slaughtered.”
    Local journalist Najib Dayib, director of the privately owned Ogedenia Media Agency, earlier told Reuters protesters numbered in the hundreds.    Reuters was unable to independently verify the demonstration, but viewed footage and images of the protest that indicated many hundreds had gathered.
CONTESTED BORDER AREAS
    In Addis Ababa, the impact of the reported blockage of the transport corridor on stocks of essential goods like fuel was not immediately clear.    Long lines at petrol stations are common in normal times.
    “We are working to open the Djibouti rail and road today,” Mustafa, the Somali region president, told Reuters in a text message.    “Discussing with the youth and people,” he added.
    After Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018 and eased the ruling coalition’s iron grip, the country experienced a surge in violence as regions and ethnic groups vied for more power and resources and tried to settle old scores.
    Abiy’s government has struggled to contain fighting along a number of contested border areas between ethnic groups, including the faultline where Saturday’s attack occurred.
    The most deadly violence, however, has been in the Tigray region. In November, a war broke out between Ethiopia’s central government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that controls Tigray.
    Last week, it spread to neighbouring parts of northern Ethiopia, risking a further destabilisation of the country.
    Abiy’s spokesperson told a news briefing in the capital on Wednesday that the lives of people in the Afar and Amhara regions “are being destabilised by the terrorist enterprise,” referring to the Tigrayan fighters.
    Getachew Reda, spokesman for the TPLF, told Reuters on Wednesday its fighters were near Debark, about 102 km (63 miles) north of Gondar, one of Amhara’s largest cities.    He also said that Tigrayan fighters had taken control of the town of Kobo, also in the Amhara region.
    A resident of Debark, a university town that acts as a gateway for hikers entering the famous Simien mountain national park, told Reuters:     “The town is still under government control and there were rumours that they (the TPLF) are near Debark but now the town is calm.    The national defence as well as federal police are in the town.”
    A resident of Kobo, speaking from the Amhara regional capital of Bahir Dar, said when he fled the town on Monday, “it was under TPLF control,” and that he managed to speak to friends who left on Tuesday who confirmed Tigrayan forces were still in Kobo, where the mobile phone network was still down.
    The resident spoke while outside Kobo, where there was a phone connection.
    Reuters was unable to independently verify his statement.
    Gizachew Muluneh, spokesperson for the Amhara regional government, did not return calls seeking comment.
    Spokespeople for the Ethiopian military and a government task force on Tigray also did not return calls seeking comment.
(Reporting by Giulia Paravicini in Olbia, Italy and Maggie Fick in NairobiAdditional reporting by Dawit Endeshaw in Addis Ababa and Nazanine Moshiri in NairobiWriting by Maggie FickEditing by George Obulutsa and Nick Macfie)

7/29/2021 Eritrean Refugees In Ethiopian Capital Protest Insecurity At Tigray Camps by Dawit Endeshaw and Ayenat Mersie
Eritrean Refugees protest in-front of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) offices to condemn
the attacks on the refugees in Hitsats and Shimelba camps during the fight between Ethiopia’s National Defence Force
and Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia July 29, 2021. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
    ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Hundreds of Eritrean refugees protested in the Ethiopian capital on Thursday, calling on the United Nations refugee agency to relocate friends and family who they say are trapped in two refugee camps by fighting in the Tigray region.
    Clashes between armed groups have escalated in and aroundthe camps – Mai Aini and Adi Harush – and two refugees have been killed this month, the UNHCR said this week. The agency said it lost access to the camps on July 14.
    The United States said on Tuesday it was deeply concerned about the fate of Eritrean refugees in Tigray.
    “We need UNHCR to move (the refugees) from the camp because the area is a war zone,” said Hermon Hailu, 22, an Eritrean refugee participating in the protest in the capital Addis Ababa.
    He told Reuters he was worried about his mother in Mai Aini camp whom he had not been able to reach by phone for weeks.
    The UNHCR said on Tuesday it had relocated about 100 refugees from the two sites and was in discussions with Tigrayan authorities to secure safe passage out of the camps for others.
    Geneva-based UNHCR spokesman Boris Cheshirkov said the agency’s the top official in Ethiopia met with the demonstrators for more than two hours on Thursday to listen to their concerns.
TRAPPED
    Some demonstrators on Thursday held a banner reading “Protect the rights of Eritrean refugees
    Medihn Mehari wept as she recalled the death of her infant son shortly after he was born, just after war broke out last year in Tigray.
    She said she fled to safety in Addis Ababa in January from Hitsats, another refugee camp in Tigray, but did not know where her husband was.
    “We want those who are there to leave the camp,” she said.    “I don’t want the same thing to happen to them,” she said.
    Conflict broke out between the Ethiopian central government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in November with the government seizing control of the regional capital Mekelle three weeks later.
    But the TPLF kept fighting and retook Mekelle along with most of Tigray in June after government soldiers withdrew.
    The camps, which have existed for years and house Eritreans who have fled repression in their home country, were caught up in violence that now threatens to escalate.
    In the wake of the TPLF’s successful counter-offensive, Ethiopia’s other nine regions have pledged to send forces to support the military against the Tigrayan fighters.
    TPLF forces have meanwhile pressed south into neighbouring Amhara region, with which Tigray has a long-running border dispute, and have vowed to continue on until the government accepts a negotiated ceasefire.
    An Amhara militia member and a fleeing local resident told Reuters on Thursday that Tigrayan forces had pushed deep into Raya Kobo district after seizing territory in another part of Amhara earlier this week.
    Amhara regional officials, the prime minister’s office, the government’s taskforce for Tigray, and the military did not immediately respond to comment requests.
(Ayenat Mersie reported from Nairobi; Additional reporting by Giulia Paravicini in Olbia, Italy; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Joe Bavier)

7/29/2021 Analysis-Tunisia’s Political Crisis Poses Existential Test For Islamist Party by Tarek Amara and Angus McDowall
Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, head of the moderate Islamist Ennahda, arrives
at the party's headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia, July 29, 2021. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
    TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisia’s crisis has thrown the fate of its much-lauded young democracy into the balance – and with it that of the Ennahda party, a mainstream Islamist movement that has played a uniquely central role in an Arab state through the ballot box.
    President Kais Saied’s decision to seize control of government, dismiss the premier and suspend parliament has cast doubt over Tunisia’s democracy and Ennahda’s place in it, kindling fierce debate in the party over how to respond.
    Since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution triggered the “Arab Spring” uprisings, most Islamist parties in Arab countries have either faced violent suppression or been co-opted into political systems where ultimate power is held by authoritarian leaders.
    In Tunisia by contrast, Ennahda – outlawed before 2011 – has been integral to successive coalition governments and is now the largest party in the fragmented parliament, with its leader Rached Ghannouchi serving as speaker.
    It has for years worked with secularists in government and supported crackdowns on violent Islamist groups such as Islamic State in the North African country.
    But, already under investigation over financing violations in the last election, which it denies, Ennahda has been rendered more vulnerable by the political crisis than at any time since the 2011 revolution.
    Party officials see a risk of the crisis morphing into an existential threat to Ennahda, either by leading to a new era of polarisation pitting Islamists against other forces, or via a crackdown if Saied shifts towards an authoritarian course.
    Ghannouchi quickly responded by calling the moves a coup.    In so doing he placed himself at the forefront of opposition to Saied, a political independent who won the 2019 election with promises to fight corruption and stagnation.    But Ghannouchi has also urged supporters to stay calm and off the streets.
    An internal debate on how best to handle the crisis has wrought angry disagreements within Ennahda, exacerbating existing divisions among party officials over its strategy and leadership, several insiders said.
    “No one can deny that there are clear differences within Ennahda…The differences are more direct and clear after the recent political earthquake,” said a senior party official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
    Although it has retained a staunchly loyal base of supporters, who turned out in February for a massive rally in Tunis in a show of strength, the party has been closely associated with years of economic failure.
    That has dented the popularity of Ennahda, along with its role in fractious national politics that many Tunisians blame for paralysing misgovernance, as unemployment has risen and public services declined.
    On Sunday, in nationwide anti-government demonstrations that spurred Saied to act, protesters attacked Ennahda branches.
    Saied said his takeover is permitted under the constitution to avert disorder caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and political dysfunction and said parliament will be frozen only for 30 days.
DIALOGUE OR CONFRONTATION?
    Ghannouchi initially called for people to come out against Saied as protesters did against a veteran autocratic leader in 2011, and led a sit-in outside parliament, before backing down and urging calm and dialogue.
    “There is awareness within Ennahda that we need to avoid escalation and must keep calm in our democracy,” said Maher Madhioub, a Ghannouchi adviser.    “No one wants violence and civil war here, though we insist that it is a coup.”
    Ennahda was shaped by decades of repression before the revolution and then the example after the Arab Spring of Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood won a free election in 2012 but was ousted by the military a year later and violently suppressed.
    “We do not want to see the Rabaa scenario repeated in Tunisia and people killed and it ending with Islamists being erased,” said Madhioub, referring to the Cairo square where hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters were killed when security forces broke up their sit-in in 2013.
    However, the decision was opposed by other figures inside Ennahda, who thought backing down would allow Saied to easily crack down on the movement.    Avoiding confrontation will “carry a high price” said one official.
    It comes after two years of internal wrangling over strategy that has put the leadership of Ghannouchi – a former political prisoner and exile who returned to a tumultuous welcome after the revolution – into doubt.
    Ennahda had steadily lost support over the past decade as it touted a moderate ideological stance and backed successive governments that imposed spending cuts which hit hardest in the impoverished regions where the party had been strongest.
    Its vote share fell in successive elections until 2019 when, despite doing better than its rivals, it took only a quarter of seats in parliament.
    In a simultaneous presidential election, Ennahda’s candidate lost in the first round and it endorsed Saied in a run-off against media mogul Nabil Karoui, who faced corruption charges.
    Despite initially supporting Saied’s presidency, Ghannouchi later joined Karoui’s Heart of Tunisia party in backing Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi in a dispute with the br>     The strategy, meant to bolster Ennahda’s sway in government, dismayed some younger members and split the leadership.    Last year 100 members called on Ghannouchi to drop his conciliatory approach and commit to sweeping reforms, and to eventually step down.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Tom Perry and Mark Heinrich)

7/29/2021 Blinken Says Iran Negotiating Process Cannot Go On Indefinitely by Simon Lewis
FILE PHOTO: European External Action Service (EEAS) Deputy Secretary General Enrique Mora and
Iranian Deputy at Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi wait for the start of a meeting of the
JCPOA Joint Commission in Vienna, Austria April 6, 2021. EU Delegation in Vienna/Handout via REUTERS
    KUWAIT (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday the negotiating process with Iran to revive a 2015 nuclear deal could not go on indefinitely, and that the ball is in Tehran’s court.
    Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington to revive the nuclear pact, from which then-President Donald Trump withdrew the United States in 2018, adjourned on June 20, two days after the hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi was elected president of the Islamic Republic.    Raisi takes office on Aug. 5.
    Parties involved in the negotiations, which also include China, Russia, France, Britain, Germany and the European Union, have yet to say when they might resume.
    “We are committed to diplomacy, but this process cannot go on indefinitely,” said Blinken, addressing a news conference in Kuwait.
    “At some point the gains achieved by the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) cannot be fully recovered by a return to the JCPOA if Iran continues the activities that it’s undertaken with regard to its nuclear program,” he said.
    “We have clearly demonstrated our good faith and desire to return to mutual compliance with the nuclear agreement…The ball remains in Iran’s court and we will see if they’re prepared to make the decisions necessary to come back into compliance.”
    Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last say on Iran’s state matters, declared on Wednesday that Tehran would not accept Washington’s “stubborn” demands in nuclear talks and again flatly rejected adding any other issues to the deal.
    Gulf Arab states have asked to be included in the negotiations, and for any deal to address what they call Iran’s ballistic missile programme and destabilising behaviour in the region.
    Blinken also said he had discussed during his visit to Kuwait, where he met with the ruling emir, the subject of relocating Afghan interpreters.
    Many Afghans who worked with NATO forces fear reprisals from Islamist Taliban insurgents as U.S. troops depart.
    The United States uses several military bases in Kuwait, with which it has strong relations after leading a coalition that ended Iraq’s 1990-91 occupation of the Gulf state.
(Reporting Simon LewisWriting by Maher Chmaytelli and Lisa BarringtonEditing by Mark Heinrich)

7/29/2021 Malta Government Carries Responsibility For Journalist’s Murder, Inquiry Finds
A sign reading "Daphne was right" is photographed at the Great Siege Square as people gather calling for the resignation
of Joseph Muscat, following the arrest of one of the country's most prominent businessmen, as part of the investigation
into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, in Valletta, Malta November 20, 2019. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
    VALLETTA (Reuters) – An independent inquiry into the car bomb murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia found on Thursday that the state had to bear responsibility after creating a “culture of impunity.”
    Caruana Galizia was killed in a massive explosion as she drove out of her home on October 16, 2017.
    Prosecutors believe top businessman Yorgen Fenech, who had close ties with senior government officials, masterminded the murder.    Fenech, who is awaiting trial for association to murder, denies all responsibility.
    Three men suspected of setting off the bomb were arrested in December 2017.    One has since pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargain and is serving a 15-year jail term.    The other two are awaiting trial. The self-confessed middle-man has turned state witness and was granted a pardon.
    The inquiry, conducted by one serving judge and two retired judges, found that a culture of impunity was created by the highest echelons of power within the government of the time.
    “The tentacles of impunity then spread to other regulatory bodies and the police, leading to a collapse in the rule of law,” said the panel’s report, which was published by Prime Minister Robert Abela.
    It said the state failed to recognise the real and immediate risks to Caruana Galizia’s life and failed to take reasonable steps to avoid them.
    It was clear, the inquiry board said, that the assassination was either intrinsically or directly linked to Caruana Galizia’s investigative work.
    Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat resigned in January 2020 following Fenech’s arrest.    He was never accused of any wrongdoing.    Media later also revealed close links between Fenech, ministers, and senior police officers.
    The judges called for immediate action to rein in and regulate the links between politicians and big business.
    Abela said in a tweet that the report required “mature” and objective analysis.    “Lessons must be drawn and the reforms must continue with greater resolve,” he said, without elaborating.
    The inquiry heard evidence from the police, government officials, the Caruana Galizia family and journalists, among others.
(Reporting by Christopher Scicluna; Editing by Gavin Jones and Frances Kerry)

7/29/2021 Detained Biafra Separatist’s Family Complain To UK Over Lack Of Assistance
FILE PHOTO: Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu is seen at the
Federal high court Abuja, Nigeria, on January 20, 2016. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo
    LONDON (Reuters) – The family of Nnamdi Kanu, a secessionist leader and British citizen who is detained in Nigeria, has accused Britain of failing to provide him with consular assistance, the family’s London lawyers said on Thursday.
    Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group that campaigns for part of southeastern Nigeria to secede, was brought back to Nigeria in June after years on the run abroad and is being held pending a treason trial.
    Bindmans, a London law firm, said it had sent a pre-action letter to British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on behalf of Kanu’s family, challenging Britain’s failure to assist him.
    A junior Foreign Office minister had said last week that Britain stood ready to provide consular assistance to Kanu and had requested consular access from the Nigerian government.
    However, Bindmans said no consular visit had taken place.
    “Despite the family’s concern that he has been subject to torture and is being denied essential medical treatment, the British High Commission have so far failed to visit him in detention,” it said in a statement.
    Kanu was supposed to appear in court in Abuja on Monday but the authorities failed to produce him, citing logistical issues.    His trial was adjourned until October.
    Nigeria has not revealed the circumstances of Kanu’s detention.    His Nigerian lawyer has accused authorities in Kenya of detaining and mistreating him before handing him over to Nigeria; Kenya has denied involvement.
    Bindmans said Kanu might have been the subject of extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria, an unlawful practice.     The Foreign Office in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    Kanu faces 11 charges including treason, terrorism and illegal possession of firearms.
    IPOB wants a swathe of the southeast to split from Nigeria.    The region tried to secede in 1967 under the name Republic of Biafra, triggering a three-year civil war in which more than a million people died, mostly of starvation.
(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

7/29/2021 Qatar Names Ambassadors To Egypt And Libya, Says Emir’s Office
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani attends the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) 41st Summit in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia January 5,
2021. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Thursday named ambassadors to Egypt and Libya, his office said, as the Gulf Arab state moves to improve ties with some regional states.
    Salem bin Mubarak Al-Shafi was named envoy to Egypt, while Khalid Mohammed Al-Dosari was appointed for Libya.
    Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed in January to end a dispute that saw them boycott Qatar since 2017 over charges it supports terrorism, a reference to Islamist groups, which Doha denies.
    Cairo had in June appointed an ambassador to Qatar, following a similar move by Riyadh.    The UAE and Bahrain have yet to restore diplomatic ties.
    Qatar had closed its embassy in Libya in 2014, when many foreign missions in Tripoli shut down as the country split between warring administrations.
    Since fighting in Libya ended last summer, the factions have accepted a new unity government mandated to unify institutions and prepare for elections in December.
(Reporting by Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Alex Richardson)

7/29/2021 Lebanon Parliament Ready To Lift Immunity For Beirut Blast Probe
FILE PHOTO: A woman walks on rubble at the site of last year's Beirut port blast,
in Beirut, Lebanon July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s influential parliament speaker Nabih Berri said on Thursday the legislature was ready to lift the immunity of its members in order allow for questioning over last year’s port blast in the capital Beirut.
    The massive explosion last August killed over 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed large parts of the city.    Nearly a year later, however, no top officials have been questioned over the disaster, angering many Lebanese.
    “The priority of parliament was and will continue to be complete cooperation with the judiciary,” Berri said in a statement after a meeting with the Future Movement, parliament’s main Sunni bloc.
    Veteran Sunni politician Saad al-Hariri, who heads the party, had called for lawmakers’ immunity to be lifted earlier this week by suspending all constitutional and legal regulations that allow for it.
    Berri did not say when immunity would be lifted or how.
    A probe into the port blast led by judge Tarek Bitar has been hindered over the past month as requests sent parliament and the government to lift immunity and enable questioning of several top officials were either declined or stalled.
(Writing by Maha El Dahan; Editing by Joe Bavier)

7/29/2021 Ugandan Opposition, Activists Denounce Digital Car Tracker Plan by Elias Biryabarema
FILE PHOTO: Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni arrives at the UK-Africa Investment Summit
in London, Britain January 20, 2020. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo/File Photo
    KAMPALA (Reuters) – A move by Uganda’s government to install digital tracking devices on vehicles to help fight rampant crime has been denounced by rights advocates and the opposition who say it will be used to monitor activists, government opponents and critics.
    Authorities in the east African country last week signed an agreement with Russian firm Joint-Stock Global Systems to install digital trackers in all vehicles in Uganda.
    President Yoweri Museveni has said his government wants to rely on high-tech tools like a Chinese-supplied and installed CCTV camera system and the digital trackers being procured to help fight and solve crimes.
    The digital tracker plan has prompted widespread criticism.    Opponents say such mass surveillance would erode individual privacy rights and is not supported by Ugandan law.
    “In all repressive regimes they use national security as a scapegoat to surveil people and to trample on people rights,” said Dorothy Mukasa, who heads Unwanted Witness, a Kampala-based digital communications rights watchdog.
    “This is an expansion of the state’s plan of surveilling on everybody, they want to use this GPS data collection to track opposition politicians, activists and journalists.”
    Linda Nabusayi, the president’s spokesperson, did not answer a Reuters call for comment.    Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka also declined to comment when called by Reuters.
    Museveni, who commenced his latest term in May, has been in power since 1986 and is Africa’s fourth-longest-ruling leader.
    Critics including international rights groups and some Western officials have accused him of using security forces to clamp down on opponents.
    His main opponent, pop star and former lawmaker Robert Kyagulanyi, known as Bobi Wine, has accused security forces of abducting hundreds of his supporters and torturing some of them before they are released.
    “Ugandans should be worried about this, this is a mechanism to control their lives,” said Patrick Oboi Amuriat, president of Forum for Democratic Change, Uganda’s second largest party.
    “Because of fear of the growing opposition in the country, he (Museveni) wants to escalate his clampdown and repression. An effective way to do that is to know where we are.”
(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by George Obulutsa and Catherine Evans)

7/29/2021 South Africa Property, Retail Firms Bet On Townships Despite Unrest by Nqobile Dludla
FILE PHOTO: A view shows damage inside a shopping mall following protests that have widened into looting, in
Durban, South Africa July 13, 2021, in this screen grab taken from a video. Courtesy Kierran Allen/via REUTERS
    JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Recent unrest in South Africa damaged hundreds of businesses but property developers and retailers say they remain committed to the fast-growing consumer markets of its predominantly Black townships.
    Riots broke out this month after former President Jacob Zuma handed himself in to start a 15-month jail term for contempt of court.
    More than 300 people died and about 3,000 stores were looted, over half of them belonging to major retailers and fast food brands.
    At least 161 shopping malls, 11 warehouses and eight factories suffered heavy damage, sites that include tenants such as grocery chain Shoprite and Walmart majority-owned Massmart.
    The hardest hit areas included Durban’s uMlazi and Johannesburg’s Soweto and Alexandra townships in KwaZulu-Natal and the economic heartland of Gauteng.
    Graphic: South African stores looted and damaged during unrest – https://graphics.reuters.com/SAFRICA-ZUMA/RETAIL/zdpxoynrkvx/chart.png
    Exemplar REITail had five of its 27 malls damaged, including three which are expected to take up to four months to return to normal operations, CEO Jason McCormick told Reuters.
    Yet McCormick said the company remained committed to not only repairs, but the development of another 30 malls in the pipeline.
    “What happened was tantamount to a black swan event. I don’t think anyone ever foresaw the extent of this ever happening,” McCormick said at one of the group’s malls in Johannesburg.
    McCormick’s views reflected those expressed by six other CEOs and executives of listed property companies and two retailers interviewed by Reuters.
    Vukile Property Fund, for example, will repair its damaged Daveyton Mall in Johannesburg, one of the first township malls, and will forge ahead with a 90 million rand ($6.1 million) upgrade of the site, CEO Laurence Rapp said.
    “It’s one of our most successful malls in the portfolio in terms of all its trading densities and trading statistics,” Rapp said, adding that the current book value of the six damaged properties is around 2.8-3 billion rand.
    Real estate developers and retailers have spent the last two decades targeting rising consumer spending by the Black middle class in areas that were disadvantaged for decades under white minority rule.
    For such communities, the benefits include jobs and the convenience of having shops nearby, eliminating the cost of travelling to other towns, and these developments in turn attract other retailers and services such as banks.
    Fraym, a U.S.-based company which analyses data on communities across the world, in 2019 identified South Africa’s townships as the biggest and fastest-growing retail market over the previous 10 years.
    Leon Kok, chief operating officer at Redefine Properties, the second-biggest listed property firm in South Africa, said the company was committed to maintaining its presence but opening new shopping centres at this point was unlikely, not due to the unrest but rather to the pandemic’s impact on the economy.
    The companies said where security and risk mitigation measures are not strong enough to fight lawlessness, they ensure that they have adequate insurance cover to manage the risk.
COST OF DOING BUSINESS
    Dipula Income Fund’s damaged malls will take about four to eight months to rebuild at an estimated cost of 250-300 million rand, CEO Izak Petersen told Reuters.
    Arrowhead Properties’ Montclair Mall in the port city of Durban will take three to six months to be up and running, with the damage estimated at 30-50 million rand, Chief Investment Officer Alon Kirkel told Reuters.
    Although the scale of the looting and damage was unexpected, Ninety One Portfolio Manager Ann-Maree Tippoo said this type of unrest was already priced in and the risk return profile of these investments were reasonably well understood by property firms.
    “So the commitment to these types of assets and areas will remain because the return profile is quite astounding compared to other retail assets,” Tippoo told Reuters.
    She noted the total return on township retail (including capital valuation changes) was 5.7% in 2020 versus minus 6.7% for suburban retail, citing data from the South African Property Owners Association.
    Vukile’s Rapp said: “For us it’s a cost of doing business in these areas but the returns are really, really good.    So therefore you accept the cost, the risk, for the return.”
    Still, some players may delay further investment beyond repairing damage pending economic growth, cautioned Sasfin senior equity analyst Alec Abraham.
    Many are still assessing the extent of the damage from the violence which began on July 9 and lasted until July 15.
($1 = 14.7808 rand)
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; editing by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Jason Neely)

7/30/2021 FBI Probe Shows Amount Of Chemicals In Beirut Blast Was A Fraction Of Original Shipment
FILE PHOTO: A view shows the site of the August 4 explosion at Beirut port,
Lebanon February 18, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
    (Reuters) – The amount of ammonium nitrate that blew up at Beirut port last year was one fifth of the shipment unloaded there in 2013, the FBI concluded after the blast, adding to suspicions that much of the cargo had gone missing.
    As the first anniversary approaches on Aug. 4, major questions remain unanswered, including how a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate – which can be used to make fertiliser or bombs – was left unsafely stored in a capital city for years.
    The blast was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, killing more than 200 people, wounding thousands, and devastating swathes of Beirut.
    The FBI’s Oct. 7, 2020 report, which was seen by Reuters this week, estimates around 552 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded that day, much less than the 2,754 tonnes that arrived on a Russian-leased cargo ship in 2013.
    The FBI report does not give any explanation as to how the discrepancy arose, or where the rest of the shipment may have gone.
    In response to a detailed request for comment, an FBI spokesperson referred Reuters to the Lebanese authorities.
    FBI investigators came to Beirut after the blast at Lebanon’s request.
    A senior Lebanese official who was aware of the FBI report and its findings said the Lebanese authorities agreed with the Bureau on the quantity that exploded.
    Many officials in Lebanon have previously said in private they believe a lot of the shipment was stolen.
    The ammonium nitrate was going from Georgia to Mozambique on a Russian-leased cargo ship when the captain says he was instructed to make an unscheduled stop in Beirut and take on extra cargo.
    The ship arrived in Beirut in November 2013 but never left, becoming tangled in a legal dispute over unpaid port fees and ship defects.    No one ever came forward to claim the shipment.
    The senior Lebanese official said there were no firm conclusions as to why the quantity that exploded was less than the original shipment.    One theory was that part of it was stolen.    A second theory was that only part of the shipment detonated, with the rest blown out to sea, the official said.
    The FBI report said “an approximate amount reaching around 552 metric tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded in warehouse 12.”
    It noted the warehouse was large enough to house the 2,754 tonne shipment, which was stored in one-tonne bags, but added “it is not logical that all of them were present at the time of the explosion
(Editing by William Maclean)

7/30/2021 EU Adopts Legal Framework For Lebanon Sanctions – Statement
    PARIS (Reuters) – The European Union said on Friday it had adopted a legal framework for a sanctions regime targeting Lebanese individuals and entities after a year of crisis that has left Lebanon facing financial collapse, hyperinflation and food and fuel shortages.
    In a statement it said the framework provided for the possibility of imposing sanctions on those responsible for undermining democracy or the rule of law in Lebanon.
    Led by France, the EU is seeking to ramp up pressure on Lebanon’s squabbling politicians, part of broader international efforts to force a stable government capable of carrying out crucial reforms to emerge from political chaos and economic collapse following a blast that ravaged Beirut port.
    “It is, however, of the utmost importance that the Lebanese leadership put aside their differences and work together to form a government and enact the measures required to steer the country towards a sustainable recovery,” the EU statement said.
    The EU cautioned earlier in July that the sanctions measures would not be immediately implemented.
    The sanctions regime could see individuals hit by travel bans and asset freezes, although it may also decide to not list anybody immediately.    Diplomats have said targets are not likely to be decided before the end of the summer.
    EU persons and entities are also forbidden from making funds available to those listed, the statement said.
    Criteria for EU sanctions would include corruption, obstructing efforts to form a government, financial misdeeds and human rights abuses.
(Reporting by John Irish, editing by Louise Heavens and Nick Macfie)

7/30/2021 Tunisian Security Forces Arrest MP Critical Of President
A police officer stands guard outside the parliament building in Tunis,Tunisia July 29, 2021. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
    TUNIS (Reuters) -Tunisian security forces on Friday raided the home of a member of parliament – a long-standing critic of President Kais Saied and the army – arresting him in front of family members, his wife said.
    The arrest is likely to raise concerns over rights and freedoms in Tunisia after Saied on Sunday dismissed the prime minister, froze parliament for a month and said he was taking over executive authority.
    The main parties in Tunisia’s parliament accuse Saied of a coup, and the United States has urged respect for the constitution, calling on him to return the country “to the democratic path.”
    Yassin Ayari, who represents a small party in parliament, has frequently expressed criticism of Saied and the army, notably on his Facebook page.
    Ayari’s wife, Cyrine Fitouri, said by phone that around 20 men in plain clothes, who presented themselves as members of a presidential security unit, raided their home in the early afternoon on Friday and used violence as they detained him.
    Neither the security forces nor representatives of the judiciary were immediately available for comment on his arrest.
    “They took him forcefully while his mother was shouting,” Fitouri said, adding that the security agents told his family not to film Ayari’s arrest.
    Ayari was sentenced in 2018 to three months in prison by a military court for defaming the army and was previously imprisoned for four months in 2015 on the same charge.
    Saied on Thursday said he would uphold freedoms and rights of Tunisians, and leading civil society groups said he must uphold the constitution.
    He has, however, lifted the immunity of parliament members, leaving them exposed to arrest for any existing cases against them and said he would take over public prosecutions.
    His actions appear to have widespread popular support in Tunisia, where years of misgovernance, corruption, political paralysis and economic stagnation have been aggravated this year by a deadly surge in COVID-19 cases.
    The judiciary, which has declared its political independence, said this week it had previously opened investigations into three political parties that have opposed Saied, and has now started investigations into several lawmakers.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Alison Williams, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Joe Bavier)

7/30/2021 Lebanon Restricts Cafes, Beaches To The Vaccinated Or COVID Tested
A person walks along the empty seaside promenade Beirut Corniche amid the coronavirus
pandemic in Lebanon February 16, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon is to limit entry to restaurants, cafes, pubs and beaches to people holding COVID-19 vaccine certificates or those who have taken antibodies tests, the tourism ministry said on Friday.
    Non-vaccinated employees of these establishments would be required to conduct a PCR test every 72 hours, it added.
    The move comes amidst a surge in infections with around 1,104 positive cases registered on Thursday compared to a few hundred a day in previous months.
    Lebanon’s cases peaked when a total lockdown was enforced in January after hospitals became overwhelmed amid a crippling financial crisis, with medicines running low and frequent power cuts.
    The country gradually re-opened over the spring.
    Lebanon’s vaccination drive has been slow with only around 18% of the population fully vaccinated.
(Reporting by Maha El Dahan; Editing by Nick Macfie)

7/30/2021 More Than 100,000 Children In Ethiopia’s Tigray Could Die Of Hunger - UNICEF by Giulia Paravicini and Stephanie Nebehay
A woman carries an infant as she queues in line for food, at the Tsehaye primary school, which was turned into a temporary shelter for people
displaced by conflict, in the town of Shire, Tigray region, Ethiopia, March 15, 2021. Picture taken March 15, 2021. REUTERS/Baz Ratner
    WUKRO, Ethiopia/GENEVA (Reuters) -The United Nations children’s agency said on Friday that more than 100,000 children in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray could suffer life-threatening malnutrition in the next 12 months, a 10-fold increase to normal numbers.
    UNICEF spokesperson Marixie Mercado said that one-in-two pregnant and breastfeeding women screened in Tigray were acutely malnourished.
    “Our worst fears about the health and well-being of children… are being confirmed,” she told a briefing in Geneva.
    Spokespeople for the prime minister and a government task force on Tigray – where fighting between rebellious regional and federal forces have continued since November – did not immediately respond to requests for comment on UNICEF’s statement.
    Babies like 20-month-old Aammanuel Merhawi are suffering the most.    He is a third below normal weight for his age.    His feverish eyes glisten and his ribs are visible as he heaves, vomiting supplementary food fed through a nasal tube.    All are signs of severe malnutrition.
    “My milk dried up,” his mother, Brkti Gebrehiwot, told Reuters at Wukro General Hospital in northern Tigray on July 11.
FAMINE CONDITIONS
    Aid agencies say they are about to run out of the formula used to treat 4,000 severely malnourished children every month.
    At least three children have died in Wukro hospital since February, nurse Tsehaynesh Gebrehiwot said.
    She provided their medical records: four-month-old Awet Gebreslassie weighed 2.6 kilogramnes (5.7 lb), a third of normal weight; one-year-old Robel Gebrezgiher weighed 2 kgs, less than a quarter of normal weight; and Kisanet Hogus, also a year old, weighed 5 kgs – just over half of normal weight.
    All died within days of admission.
    In Adigrat General Hospital further north, Reuters saw medical records confirming the death of three more malnourished children.
    Doctors in both hospitals said they saw between four to 10 severely malnourished children monthly before the conflict erupted in November. Now numbers have more than doubled.
    The U.N. says that around 400,000 people are living in famine conditions in Tigray, and more than 90% of the population needs emergency food aid.
    In a statement on Thursday evening, the Ethiopian government blamed Tigray regional forces for blocking aid and said it had stockpiled reserve wheat in the region.    It gave no details on the stockpile’s location or plans for distribution.
    The TPLF was unavailable for comment but has previously said it welcomes aid.
    The U.N. says Tigray needs 100 trucks of food daily to prevent mass starvation; only one 50-truck convoy has gotten through in the past month.
(Reporting by Giulia Paravicini in Wukro and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva. Editing by Katharine Houreld and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

7/30/2021 Libya’s Combatants Declare Key Coast Road Open
FILE PHOTO: Libyan security officers stand on a truck during the re-opening of the cross road across
the frozen frontline between east and west in Libya, June 20, 2021. REUTERS/Ayman al-Sahili/File Photo
    TRIPOLI (Reuters) -Libya’s warring sides reopened the main coast road across the frontline on Friday, a key element of a ceasefire they agreed last year that has involved months of negotiations.
    The U.N.-backed 5+5 committee drawn from commander Khalifa Haftar’s eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) and western-based forces that have supported Tripoli-based governments said in a statement the road was open from 0900 GMT.
    The road, which stretches along the length of Libya’s coastline, the most populated part of the country, was cut between the cities of Misrata and Sirte, where the frontline stabilised last summer.
    It was not open to military traffic, the committee said, and the agreement also included some preparatory steps for the withdrawal of foreign fighters, another part of last year’s ceasefire that has still to be implemented.
    The slow progress in opening the road has reflected other stumbles in the U.N.-backed effort to resolve Libya’s long conflict with a ceasefire, a unity government, proposed elections, and moves to unify economic institutions.
    However, despite the setbacks and scepticism among many Libyans over the outcome of efforts to resolve the conflict, the road opening should make an immediate difference to people who previously had to fly or make long, hard overland journeys.
    “Opening the road will end suffering of the residents of Sirte in terms of economics, and the goods will arrive quickly,” said Adel Mahfoud, a 48 years old businessman by phone.
    The Government of National Unity (GNU), picked through a U.N.-aided process early this year and then ratified by the divided, eastern-based parliament, took office in March.
    However, since that point there has been little agreement on key steps forwards including on a constitutional basis for the elections scheduled in December and for the GNU’s budget.
    Critics of parliament speaker Aguila Saleh, allied with Haftar during his 2019-20 assault on Tripoli, regard the delays as evidence that eastern-based forces are attempting to sabotage the process.
    Saleh and his allies in eastern Libya meanwhile accused the GNU of becoming “a Tripoli government” and blamed it for the failure to unify institutions.
    Last week Saleh warned that a failure to hold elections meant another rival administration could be set up in the east.
(Reporting by Ayman al-Warfali in BenghaziWriting by Angus McDowallEditing by William Maclean and David Holmes)

7/30/2021 Israel’s President Gets Third COVID-19 Shot, Urges Boosters For Over-60s by Stephen Farrell
Israeli President Isaac Herzog receives a third dose of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine while his wife,
Michal, reacts, at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, July 30, 2021. Maya Alleruzzo/Pool via REUTERS
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli President Isaac Herzog received a third shot of coronavirus vaccine on Friday, kicking off a campaign to give booster doses to people aged over 60 as part of efforts to slow the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
    Herzog, 60, received a booster dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv.
    He said he was proud to launch the booster vaccination initiative “which is so vital to enable normal circumstances of life as much as possible in this very challenging pandemic.”    Herzog’s wife Michal also received a shot.
    The couple were accompanied by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who urged the importance of booster shots in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and pledged that Israel would share all the information it gleans from the public inoculation rollout.
    “Israel is a pioneer in going ahead with the third dose for older people of the age of 60 and above.    The fight against the COVID pandemic is a global fight.    The only way we can defeat COVID is together,” Bennett said.
    The booster campaign, with shots administered by health maintenance organisations, will effectively turn Israel into a testing ground for a third dose before approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
    On the eve of the booster rollout Bennett said Israel had already given 2,000 immunosuppressed people a third dose with no severe adverse events.
    His government hopes that stepped up inoculation efforts will help avoid further costly lockdowns.
    Israel was a world leader in the vaccination rollout, and around 57% of the 9.3 million population has been double-vaccinated, rising to 87% of people in their sixties and more than 90% of those over 70.
    Many seniors got their first shots in December, January and February as they were regarded as the most vulnerable sector of the population.
    But since the emergence of the Delta variant, the health ministry has twice reported a drop in the vaccine’s efficacy against infection and a slight decrease in its protection against severe disease.
    Daily new infections have spiked to more than 2,000, up from a handful of cases per day a few months ago and about 160 people are currently hospitalised with severe symptoms. More than 6,400 people have died from the virus.
(Reporting by Stephen Farrell; Editing by Catherine Evans)

7/30/2021 FBI: Beirut Blast Only Small Part Of Total Chemicals Unloaded In Port by OAN Newsroom
Destroyed buildings are visible a day after a massive explosion occurred at the
port on Aug. 5, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. (Daniel Carde/Getty Images)
    The Federal Bureau of Investigation released a new report into the devastating blast in Beirut last year, which confirmed the massive explosion was only part of the total cargo initially unloaded at the port.    Reports on Wednesday detailed the FBI’s statement that said more than 550 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded in the city on Aug. 4.
    However, in 2013 more than 2,700 tons of the chemicals were unloaded from a Russian cargo ship.    Many officials in Lebanon have privately said they believe a lot of the shipment was stolen.
    Meanwhile, those in the capital city said their effort to hold officials accountable have been hampered.
    “The blast happened after the collapse and both clearly made it evident that they wouldn’t have happened if there was minimum accountability in Lebanon,” said Nizar Saghieh, head of research and advocacy.    “But for 30 years, we were building a very strong and enabling system that leads to a total escape from punishment.”
    The FBI report doesn’t provide an indication into where the remaining chemicals may have gone.    More than 200 people died and thousands more were injured in what was described as one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded.

7/31/2021 Tunisia’s Ennahda Puts Off Party Meeting Amid Crisis
FILE PHOTO: Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, head of the moderate Islamist Ennahda, poses during
an interview with Reuters in his office, in Tunis, Tunisia, March 9, 2021. REUTERS/Jihed Abidellaoui
    TUNIS (Reuters) – The head of Tunisia’s biggest party, the moderate Islamist Ennahda, on Saturday postponed a meeting of its highest council after senior members called for his resignation over his handling of the political crisis, party sources said.
    Rached Ghannouchi, who is also parliament speaker, has played a critical role in Tunisia’s democratic crisis this week after quickly accusing President Kais Saied of a coup when he declared he was seizing executive authority.
    The moves have caused the biggest crisis in Tunisian politics since the 2011 revolution that introduced democracy, with no announcement by Saied of a new prime minister or roadmap to end the emergency period.
    Saied’s moves, which also included freezing parliament and dismissing the prime minister, have also thrown Ennahda into turmoil, leading to recriminations within the party over its strategy and leadership.
    The party has been the most consistently powerful in Tunisia since the revolution, playing a role in backing successive coalition governments and has lost support as the economy stagnated and public services declined.
    On Saturday Ghannouchi postponed a meeting of its Choura Council, the party’s highest internal authority, shortly before it was due to take place, three party sources said.
    Dozens of younger party members and some of its leaders including Samir Dilou, a parliament member, had called on Ghannouchi to resign, the sources said.
    Ghannouchi has led Ennahda for decades, including from exile in Britain before the revolution, after which he returned to a tumultuous welcome at Tunis airport.    He stood for election for the first time in 2019, winning a parliament seat and becoming speaker.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara, writing by Angus McDowall)

7/31/2021 Jordan Closes Jaber Border Crossing With Syria, State News Agency Says
FILE PHOTO: People wait to travel to Syria at Jordan's Jaber border crossing, near Syria's
Nassib checkpoint, near Mafraq, Jordan, October 25, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
    CAIRO (Reuters) – Jordan will temporarily close the Jaber border crossing with Syria for the movement of goods and passengers “as a result of developments in the security situation on the Syrian side” state news agency Petra said on Saturday, citing an Interior Ministry official.
    The official added that the crossing will be reopened “if the appropriate conditions are in place.”
(Reporting by Nayera Abdallah and Omar Fahmy; Editing by Giles Elgood)

7/31/2021 U.S. Navy Assisting Israeli Oil Tanker Attacked Off Coast Of Oman by OAN Newsroom
This picture shows tanker ships in the waters of the Gulf of Oman off the coast of the eastern
UAE emirate of Fujairah. (Photo credit should read GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)
    U.S. Naval explosive experts have been onboard an Israeli managed oil tanker after an attack on the ship killed two people.    According to the Navy on Saturday, the ship named Mercer Street was being guided by a Navy aircraft carrier and guided missile destroyer to a safe port.
    The tanker was targeted late on Thursday off the coast of Oman.    Experts said initial indications pointed to a drone-style attack.
    On Friday, Israel’s foreign minister blamed Iran for the attack.    Iranian state television cited unnamed sources, who claimed the attack came in response to an Israeli attack in Syria earlier this month.

8/1/2021 Syria’s Assad Asks PM Hussein Arnous To Form New Cabinet
FILE PHOTO: Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks as he meets with the Syrian cabinet in Damascus, Syria
in this handout picture released by Sana on March 30, 2021. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
    AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al Assad has again tasked Prime Minister Hussein Arnous with forming a new government after he became a caretaker premier following polls last year that extended Assad’s presidency.
    Assad designated Arnous as prime minister last August to replace Imad Khamis as Syria grappled with a major economic crisis and a plunging currency.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Toby Chopra)

8/1/2021 State Dept.: Iran Attacked Israeli-Managed Tanker Off Omani Coast by OAN Newsroom
State Department spokesman Ned Price speaks at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool)
    Joe Biden’s State Department has accused Iran of the attack of an oil tanker after months of talks to restore the 2015 Nuclear Deal.    On Sunday, Biden’s diplomats reported Iran attacked the Israeli managed ship Mercer Street, which was traveling in international waters in the Arabian Sea.
    The department added it condemned the attacked and joined U.S. allies in opposition to Iran’s move.    Two crewmembers, a British and a Romanian crew member, died in the attack.
    The attack was undertaken by a so-called suicide drone.    Iranian officials have denied their involvement by claiming it was both a distraction and provocation.
    “We see these distractions every once in a while, especially when good things are happening in the region,” expressed Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh of the Foreign Ministry of Iran.    “…The regime occupying Jerusalem has brought with it insecurity, violence, terror and war wherever it has gone, and for this reason those responsible are those who have brought this regime to the region.”
    The State Department said the attack was unjustified and threatened commercial navigation in the crucial waterway.

8/1/2021 Syrian Army Steps Up Offensive In Restive Southern City by Suleiman Al-Khalidi
FILE PHOTO: This still image taken from amateur video shows protesters defacing a giant poster of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad
in Deraa March 25, 2011. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE. REUTERS/Amateur Video via Reuters TV/File Photo
    AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian troops stepped up shelling of an opposition enclave in the southern city of Deraa in a bid to assert control over an area that has defied state authority since it was retaken three years ago, witnesses, the army and residents said.
    An army assault on the old quarter of Deraa suffered a blow on Thursday when rebels mounted a counter-offensive across the province, capturing dozens of troops.
    The army has since sent hundreds of elite troops, dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles to storm the enclave where peaceful protests against Assad family rule began in 2011 and were met by deadly force before spreading across the country.
    The rebels disrupted traffic along the Damascus-Deraa highway leading to the border with Jordan, which closed the crossing point on Sunday. [nL8N2P70U4]
    The Syrian army, aided by Russian air power and Iranian militias, retook control of the province that borders Jordan and Israel’s Golan Heights in 2018.
    Russian-brokered deals at the time forced rebels to hand over heavy weapons but kept the army from entering many towns including the old quarter of the provincial capital known as Deraa al Balaad.
    The Syrian army on Sunday blamed what it called terrorists for foiling several rounds of negotiations with opposition figures since last week to allow the army to set up checkpoints in the enclave.
    The opposition insist the agreement allowed only civilian control, local officials say.
    “The regime wants to end what they see as a living symbol of the revolt against it.    If they silence it by returning the army they will subjugate the whole Hauran region,” Abu Jehad al Horani, an opposition official, told Reuters from inside the enclave.
    Damascus-based relief bodies said at least 2,000 families fled their homes since the fighting began on Thursday.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Giles Elgood)

8/1/2021 U.S., Britain Believe Iran Attacked Israeli-Managed Tanker Off Oman
Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5 board an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter, attached to the
"Golden Falcons" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 12, are seen on the flight deck of aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76),
in response to a call for assistance from the Mercer Street, a Japanese-owned Liberian-flagged tanker managed by Israeli-owned
Zodiac Maritime, in the Arabian Sea July 30, 2021. Picture taken July 30, 2021. U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS
    LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States and Britain said on Sunday they believed Iran carried out an attack on an Israeli-managed petroleum product tanker off the coast of Oman on Thursday that killed a Briton and a Romanian, both pledging to work with partners to respond.
    Iran earlier on Sunday denied it was involved in the incident, after it was blamed by Israel.
    “Upon review of the available information, we are confident that Iran conducted this attack, which killed two innocent people, using one-way explosive UAVs,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, adding there was “no justification” for the attack.
    “We are working with our partners to consider our next steps and consulting with governments inside the region and beyond on an appropriate response, which will be forthcoming,” Blinken said.
    British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said earlier in the day that UK assessments had concluded that it was highly likely that Iran had used one or more drones to carry out the “unlawful and callous” attack.
    “We believe this attack was deliberate, targeted, and a clear violation of international law by Iran,” he said. The UK was working with international partners on a “concerted response,” he added.
    The incident involved the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned ship managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime.
    The U.S. Navy, which was escorting the tanker with the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, said on Saturday that early indications “clearly pointed” to a drone attack.
    Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had accused Tehran of “trying to shirk responsibility” for the attack, and called its denial “cowardly.”
    Speaking during a weekly meeting of his cabinet on Sunday, Bennett said: “I declare unequivocally: Iran is the one that carried out the attack on the ship,” adding that intelligence supported his claim.
    “We, in any case, have our own way to relay the message to Iran,” Bennett said.    Israel’s foreign minister said earlier the incident deserved a harsh response.
    Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a weekly news conference on Sunday that the “Zionist regime (Israel) has created insecurity, terror and violence…    These accusations about Iran’s involvement are condemned by Tehran.”
    “Such accusations are meant by Israel to divert attention from facts and are baseless,” Khatibzadeh said.
    There had been varying explanations for what happened to the tanker.    Zodiac Maritime described the incident as “suspected piracy,” and a source at the Oman Maritime Security Center said it was an accident that occurred outside Omani territorial waters.
    Iran and Israel have traded accusations of carrying out attacks on each other’s vessels in recent months.
    Tensions have risen in the Gulf region since the United States reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018 after then-President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with major powers.
(Reporting by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem, Paul Sandle in London, and Michael Martina in WashingtonWriting by Parisa HafeziEditing by Mark Heinrich, Frances Kerry and Andrea Ricci)

8/1/2021 Three Dead In Ambush On Shi’ite Mourners South Of Beirut, Security Sources Say by Laila Bassam
People stand in a street after an ambush on Shi'ite mourners in Khaldeh, Lebanon August 1, 2021. REUTERS/Issam Abdallah
    BEIRUT (Reuters) -At least three people were killed on Sunday in an ambush on Shi’ite mourners in a town south of Beirut, a day after a revenge killing of a member of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, security sources and a senior source in the group said.
    The three were shot in the town of Khaldeh, where sectarian tensions have long flared between the town’s mixed Shi’ite and Sunni residents.    Several others were taken to hospital in civilian cars, witnesses said.
    Footage of a video broadcast on Hezbollah’s Manar TV channel showed a volley of gunfire being fired on the convoy of mourners arriving at the home of the slain member of Shi’ite group Hezbollah.
    Politicians voiced concern as the incident unfolded that any escalation could compound an array of crises in Lebanon given its political vacuum.
    President Michel Aoun said the situation “does not allow any security incidents” that could inflame sectarian tensions.
    Iranian-backed Hezbollah, Lebanon’s most powerful armed group, in a statement urged the authorities to pursue the culprits saying the incident reflected lawlessness and bigotry.
    In a later statement, Hezbollah said two of the mourners were confirmed dead in what it said was a planned ambush and called on the army and security forces to restore security.
    Sunni Arab tribes who reside in the town said in a statement after the slaying of Hezbollah member Ali Shibli on Saturday, during a wedding, that they had taken revenge for the death of one of their relatives during earlier sectarian clashes in the same area.
    A grouping of Arab Sunni tribes in Lebanon also issued a statement saying they did not want to be drawn into an armed confrontation but blamed Hezbollah for the troubles and accused it of stirring sectarian tensions.
    Prime Minister designate Najib Mekati called on the head of the army to increase its security presence in the town, which lies on a coastal highway leading to the south of the country.
    Local television networks showed footage of armed youths rampaging in the area.    The army, which sent reinforcements to Khaldeh, said it would shoot at any source of gunfire.
(Reporting by Laila Bassam, Writing by Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Editing by Susan Fenton, William Maclean and Barbara Lewis)

8/1/2021 Israeli Cabinet Starts First State Budget Debate In Three Years by Steven Scheer
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett waves before the weekly cabinet meeting at the
prime minister's office in Jerusalem August 1, 2021. Abir Sultan/Pool via REUTERS
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli cabinet ministers on Sunday began debate on the 2021-2022 state budget, more than three years after the government last approved a fiscal spending package.
    Due to two years of political stalemate and four elections, Israel is using a pro-rated version of the 2019 state budget that was passed in March 2018.    A new government led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a former software entrepreneur, took office in mid-June and unseated Benjamin Netanyahu after 12 years in office.
    Debate is expected to be long and a vote could come in the early hours of Monday.    Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman told reporters ahead of Sunday’s cabinet meeting that he was confident the budget was a good one and ultimately would be approved.
    Parliament — in which Bennett has a razor-thin majority — is expected to take its initial vote in early September with final approval for the 14-month budget slated for early November.
    Israeli media have reported that ministers are seeking 14 billion shekels ($4.3 billion) of further spending.
    “Everyone is justified but there is not enough money for everyone.    It’s impossible to please everyone,” Lieberman said.
    Total fiscal spending, including extra funds to cope with the coronavirus pandemic and debt servicing, is expected at 605.9 billion shekels in 2021 and 560 billion shekels in 2022.
    The budget deficit is projected at 6.8% of gross domestic product in 2021 and 3.9% in 2022, after hitting 11.6% in 2020.
    Bennett told ministers the budget serves all Israelis and not interests of any specific sector — a reference to ultra-Orthodox parties not being a part of the current coalition — and aims to reduce bureaucracy and boost competition in a bid to lower living costs.
    He said without the current coalition, Israel would be in the midst of a fifth election campaign.    “Today we bring the budget and prove that this is a government that deals with the public and not itself,” he said.
    Lieberman has come under fire by farmers for a planned reform of the agriculture sector — long protected by the government.    Citing a doubling of fresh produce costs the past decade, Lieberman seeks more imports while the state will invest to make farmers more innovative and efficient.
    “It’s impossible to protect them and do nothing,” he said.
($1 = 3.2248 shekels) (This story refiles to edit headline)
(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Toby Chopra)

8/1/2021 Haniyeh Re-Elected As Chief Of Palestinian Islamist Group Hamas by Nidal al-Mughrabi
Palestinian group Hamas' top leader, Ismail Haniyeh talks after meeting with Lebanese
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, Lebanon June 28, 2021. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/Files
    GAZA (Reuters) - Ismail Haniyeh has been re-elected as leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, officials said on Sunday, cementing his control of the organization which rules the Gaza Strip and has fought multiple violent conflicts with Israel.
    Haniyeh, Hamas chief since 2017, has controlled the group’s political activities in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the diaspora largely from outside Gaza, splitting his time between Turkey and Qatar for the past two years.
    He directed Hamas in an 11-day conflict with Israel in May that left over 250 in Gaza and 13 in Israel dead.    An Egyptian-mediated ceasefire has mostly held since.
    “Brother Ismail Haniyeh was re-elected as the head of the movement’s political office for a second time,” one Palestinian official told Reuters following an internal election by party members. His term will last four years.
    Aged 58, Haniyeh was the right-hand man to Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in Gaza, before the wheelchair-bound cleric was assassinated in 2004.
    Haniyeh led Hamas’ entry into politics in 2006, when they were surprise victors in Palestinian parliamentary elections, defeating a divided Fatah party led by President Mahmoud Abbas.
    He became prime minister shortly after the January 2006 victory, but Hamas – which is deemed a terrorist organisation by the United States, Israel and the European Union – was shunned by the international community.
    Following a brief civil war, Hamas seized Gaza from the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, which has limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, in 2007.    Israel has led a blockade of Gaza since then, citing threats from Hamas.
    Haniyeh’s victory caps internal elections that also saw the group’s Gaza chief, Yehya Al-Sinwar, win a second term in March.
    Further votes were delayed by May’s upsurge in violence.
(Reporting by Nidal al-MughrabiEditing by Rami Ayyub and Toby Chopra)

8/1/2021 Israeli Prime Minister Vows Retaliation For Iran’s Attack On Oil Tanker by OAN Newsroom
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett speaks to the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem. (Yonatan Sindel/Pool via AP)
    Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett condemned Iran’s Ayatollah regime over its latest attack on an oil tanker in international waters.    During a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Bennett said Iran would be held to account for carrying out a suicide drone attack on the tanker Mercer Street.
    The prime minister added Israeli intelligence obtained proof of Iran’s involvement with the attack.    However, Tehran insisted it had nothing to do with the incident, which killed both a British and Romanian sailor.    Tehran also called the attack a “provocation.”
    Bennett added Iran’s behavior posed danger to global maritime trade.
    “I just heard that Iran, in a cowardly manner, is trying to shirk its responsibility for the incident, they are denying it.    So I determine unequivocally: Iran is the one that carried out the attack on the ship,” he asserted.    “Iran’s bully manners are dangerous not only to Israel but also harm global interests, the Freedom of Navigation and international trade.”
    Bennett went on to stress Israel would deliver a response to Iran for its actions in its own way.

8/1/2021 Israeli Health Chief Defends Booster Shots Amid COVID Rise by OAN Newsroom
An Israeli health worker prepares to administer a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine on a man at the Maccabi Health Service
in Jerusalem as Israel launches its campaign to give booster shots to people aged over 60. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)
    A top Israeli health official defended so-called booster shots of COVID vaccines as medical companies have been seeking to maximize their profit.    During an interview on Sunday, Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis refuted claims that new COVID cases were driven by unvaccinated people.     “We are seeing about 50% of the people who are infected right now are vaccinated, fully vaccinated individuals,” she stated.    “i>Previously, we thought that vaccinated, fully vaccinated individuals are protected.”
    The Israeli government has introduced booster shots for its population by landing new multi-billion dollar contracts for vaccine manufacturers.    Alroy-Preis has called for a repeat vaccination of the vaccinated.
    “So we’ve just started the booster shot.    I have to explain that the decision to make a booster shot is a combination of two,” she stated.    “Together, with the fact that we are seeing lack of response to the vaccine over time, has led us to suggest to people or actually allow them to be vaccinated a third time.”
    Meanwhile, critics warn this may result in prolonged vaccination efforts as well as the reimposition of coronavirus lockdowns.

8/2/2021 Israel’s 2021/22 Budget Set For Parliament Battle After Cabinet Approval by Steven Scheer
FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett attends the weekly cabinet meeting
at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem August 1, 2021. Abir Sultan/Pool via REUTERS
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel’s cabinet unanimously approved a state budget for 2021-2022 on Monday, more than three years after the government last ratified a fiscal spending package, but it faces a tough battle in a fractured parliament.
    Lawmakers are expected to take an initial vote in early September, with final approval for the 14-month budget set by early November.
    However, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a former software entrepreneur who took over a new government in mid-June after unseating Benjamin Netanyahu after 12 years in office, commands a razor-thin majority in parliament.
    He and his finance minister Avigdor Lieberman have already come under pressure from ministers and lawmakers upset at some planned reforms, while others seek higher funding.
    For the moment, though, investors are satisfied, with the shekel stronger against the dollar, share indices 1% higher and bond prices narrowly mixed.
    Similarly, Israel’s central bank said the budget approval was positive for economic growth.
    “The lack of an approved budget in recent years has hit the economy,” said Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron.
    “Approval of the budget under the proposed framework will buy the economy stability, reduce uncertainty regarding the government’s economic policy, and thus accelerate the economy’s recovery from the corona crisis and increase employment.”
    Two years of political stalemate and four elections have left Israel still using a pro-rated version of the 2019 state budget passed in     March 2018. Ironically, it was a refusal by Netanyahu last year to agree to a two-year budget for 2020 and 2021 that helped bring down his coalition.
    After a marathon session running from Sunday morning through the night, cabinet ministers voted on an expected spending package of 605.9 billion shekels ($188 billion) in 2021 and 560 billion shekels in 2022 — including extra funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic and debt servicing.
    The budget vote came after the health minister’s demands for more funds were met.
    The budget deficit is projected at 6.8% of gross domestic product in 2021 and 3.9% in 2022, after hitting 11.6% in 2020.
    “i>After long discussions, we passed a responsible budget,” said Lieberman.
    He said the state was investing huge amounts in infrastructure, transport and real estate and passed key reforms making it easier to do business, by lowering barriers and cutting bureaucracy.
    “After three years of stagnation Israel is back to work,” Bennett said after the vote.    “Israel in 2021 is sowing the future for our children and grandchildren in 2051.”
    In an economic plan accompanying the budget, ministers approved measures from freeing up imports to cutting the cost of living and boosting the age of women’s retirement to 65 from 62.
    It also will encourage employment, invest in infrastructure – transport, housing, technology and energy – and reform the long-protected domestic farm sector.
    Citing a doubling of fresh produce costs the past decade, Lieberman seeks more imports while the state will invest to make farmers, who oppose the plan, more innovative and efficient.
($1 = 3.2301 shekels)
(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Tom Hogue, Clarence Fernandez and Mike Harrison)

8/2/2021 U.S., U.K., Israel Condemn Iranian Strike On Oil Tanker by OAN Newsroom
This Jan. 2, 2016 file photo shows the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Mercer Street
off Cape Town, South Africa. (Johan Victor via AP Photo)
    The international community is condemning Iran for launching an attack against an oil tanker, in turn, killing two members of its crew.    The United States, United Kingdom and Israel all said they have proof to show Iran was behind yet another attack on an oil tanker in the Middle East.
    In a statement Sunday night, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “we join our partners and allies in our strong condemnation of the attack against the Mercer Street, a commercial ship that was peacefully transiting through the North Arabian Sea in international waters.”
    On Thursday, the Mercer Street was attacked with what has been determined to be one-way explosive unmanned aerial vehicles.    However, Iran has denied any involvement.
    “We see these distractions every once in a while, especially when good things are happening in the region,” stated Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh.    “I have stated this once and I will repeat it, the regime occupying Jerusalem has brought with it insecurity, violence, terror and war wherever it has gone.    And for this reason, those responsible are those who have brought this regime to the region.”
    Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called the attack “unlawful and callous” as well as “deliberate, targeted and a clear violation of international law.”    Both have said their respective countries are reviewing possible response scenarios, but the strongest condemnation came from Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett attends a cabinet meeting at his office in
Jerusalem, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)
    During a cabinet meeting Sunday, Bennett said Iran will be held to account for allegedly carrying out a drone attack on the tanker.    The prime minister added, Israeli Intelligence has the proof of Iran’s involvement in that attack.    Bennett also said Iran’s behavior poses a danger to global maritime trade.
    “I just heard that Iran, in a cowardly manner, is trying to shirk its responsibility for the incident,” stated the Israeli prime minister.    “They are denying it, so I determine unequivocally: Iran is the one that carried out the attack on the ship.    Iran’s bully manners are dangerous, not only to Israel, but also harm global interests, the Freedom of Navigation and international trader.”
    Bennett stressed Israel would deliver a response to Iran for its actions in its “own way.”

8/2/2021 Ruling On East Jerusalem Flashpoint Evictions Postponed by Stephen Farrell
Protesters take part in a demonstration to show their support for Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood facing
eviction during a court hearing, outside the Israeli Supreme Court, in Jerusalem August 2, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Palestinians facing eviction from Jerusalem’s flashpoint Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood will have to wait for a ruling that will determine their fate after a discussion in Israel’s Supreme Court on Monday ended without a final decision.
    Four Palestinian families petitioned the high court to hear their appeal and eventually allow them to remain in their homes in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood where Israeli settlers claim ownership of the land.
    The judges have been trying to find a compromise that would defuse tensions over the case that helped trigger an 11-day war between militants in Gaza and Israel.
    One proposal was for the Palestinian families to recognize the Israeli ownership while they stay put as protected tenants.
    The families’ lawyer, Sami Irshaid, said that proposal was unacceptable and that they were waiting for the Supreme Court to set a date to continue the hearings in the hope it leads to the reversal of a lower court ruling to evict.
    “We still hope that the court will approve our permission to appeal and accept the appeal and cancel the eviction orders against the four families that we argued on their behalf today in court,” Ersheid told reporters outside the court in Jerusalem.
    Israel captured East Jerusalem in a 1967 war and later annexed it in a move not recognised by the United Nations.
    Sheikh Jarrah’s residents are overwhelmingly Palestinian, but Israeli settlers have moved into the area, gravitating toward a site revered by religious Jews as the tomb of an ancient high priest, Simon the Just.
    Israeli settlers say they have 19th century land documents to back their case and were backed by a lower court in October last year.
    Palestinians question the legitimacy of the documents and appealed.    As a final Supreme Court decision loomed earlier this summer their campaign gained momentum, and international attention.
    That peaked amid heightened tensions over the Israel-Hamas war in May and Palestinian protests against Israeli police raids on Damascus Gate and Al-Aqsa mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.
    The families last week said they received a new opinion from an Israeli legal expert supporting their position that they had full property rights to their homes because the Jordanian government granted them ownership when it was in control of East Jerusalem from 1949 to 1967.
    The case has assumed wider significance because Palestinians see Sheikh Jarrah as a symbol of dispossession and Israeli settlement expansion.
    Most countries regard Israeli settlements as illegal but Israel rejects this, citing historical and religious ties to the land on which they are built.
    The Israeli government framed Sheikh Jarrah as a property dispute, deploying riot police and water cannon to clear the area during protests.
(Reporting by Stephen Farrell and Ari Rabinvitch, Editing by William Maclean)

8/2/2021 Morocco Announces National Curfew Effective Tuesday – Tweet
    CAIRO – (Reuters) – Morocco on Monday announced a national curfew from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. starting on Tuesday to curb the coronavirus outbreak, the prime minister’s office tweeted.
    The statement added that movement between several cities including Marrakesh will be limited to vaccination certificate holders and medical emergency cases.
(Reporting by Alaa Swilam; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

8/2/2021 Rescuers Pull 394 Migrants From Dangerously Overcrowded Boat Off Tunisia
A RHIB (rigid hulled inflatable boat) crew member from the German NGO migrant rescue ship Sea-Watch 3
distributes life jackets to migrants on an overcrowded wooden boat during a rescue operation in international
waters off the coast of Tunisia, in the western Mediterranean Sea, August 1, 2021. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi
(Corrects Aug. 1 story in paragraph 2 to show Ocean Viking not French but run by a European NGO, and rescue took place in international not Tunisian waters)
    ABOARD SEA-WATCH 3, Mediterranean -Two humanitarian rescue ships pulled 394 migrants from a dangerously overcrowded wooden boat in the Mediterranean overnight on Sunday in an operation lasting about six hours, a Reuters witness said.
    Sea-Watch 3, a vessel run by German NGO Sea Watch, and Ocean Viking, run by European charity SOS Mediterranee, rescued the migrants in international waters off Tunisia 68 km (40 miles) from the North African coast, near oil facilities and other ships.
    Sea-Watch 3, which assumed command of the operation, took 141 of the survivors while Ocean Viking took the rest. The yacht Nadir, from the German NGO ResQ Ship, later gave support.
    It was not clear if there were any deaths or injuries among the migrants who were in the wooden boat, which was crammed with migrants on deck and inside the hull.
    The craft was taking in water and its engine was not working, the Reuters witness said.
    Migrant boat departures from Libya and Tunisia to Italy and other parts of Europe have increased in recent months as weather conditions have improved.
    According to the U.N.-affiliated International Organization for Migration, more than 1,100 people fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East have perished this year in the Mediterranean.
    Many of the migrants in this latest rescue were seen jumping off the boat and trying to swim to Sea-Watch 3, the Reuters witness said.
    The migrants were mainly men from Morocco, Bangladesh, Egypt and Syria.
(Reporting by Darrin Zammit Lupi, writing by Stephen Jewkes, editing by Mark Heinrich)

8/2/2021 In Turkey Wildfire, Birth Of ‘Miracle’ Goat Defies Deadly Flames by Mert Ozkan
FILE PHOTO: A forest fire burns near the town of Manavgat, east of the resort city
of Antalya, Turkey, July 29, 2021. REUTERS/Kaan Soyturk
    MANAVGAT, Turkey (Reuters) – When a wildfire spread to his village, Turkish farmer Sercan Bayat shouted at his cows to run from the flames and prayed for his own death rather than witness his animals perish.
    Seeing his animals threatened by the inferno — a moment he captured on video – was the most difficult moment in 30-year-old Bayat’s life.
    But although he lost eight of his livestock in the blaze, he later found new life in the shape of a newborn goat kid lying helpless, but still breathing, after its mother had died in the fire.
    “Two or three hours after the flames were put out, I saw this one on the ground.    He is our baby goat now.    We called him Miracle,” Bayat said.
    “We found another goat amidst the wildfire.    She has a baby.    There you go.    Miracle number two,” Bayat added, as he kissed the baby goats.
    He said that although his farm in Manavgat in southern Turkey is severely damaged and he lost some of his animals, he is now “over the moon” at the kids’ survival.
    The massive forest fire was one of the approximately 100 fires that officials say broke out this week across southern and western Turkey.    Sweltering heat and strong winds fanned the flames. The death toll from the fires rose to six on     Saturday, as two firefighting personnel died during efforts to control the blaze in Manavgat.    Thousands were evacuated from their homes.
    Satellite imagery showed smoke from the fires in Antalya and Mersin was extending to the island of Cyprus, around 150 km (100 miles) away.
    Wildfires are common in southern Turkey in the hot summer months, but local authorities say the latest fires have covered a much bigger area.
(Writing by Yesim Dikmen, Editing by William Maclean)

8/2/2021 For Beirut Blast Survivor Leaving Lebanon, Every Day Is Aug. 4 by Yara Abi Nader and Imad Creidi
Shady Rizk, a survivor wounded during last year's Beirut port blast, poses for a picture
in Beirut, Lebanon July 30, 2021. Picture taken July 30, 2021. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – For Beirut blast survivor Shady Rizk, time has stopped since Aug. 4 last year when a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate exploded in the Lebanese capital’s port opposite his office.
    “Every day is Aug. 4, every day,” the 36-year-old said.
    “Every day, I remember the blast or remember what happened that dreadful day.”
    The gigantic explosion killed more than 200 people, injured thousands, and destroyed large parts of the city.
    Rizk was in the office where he works for an internet provider and was filming the smoke rising from an initial explosion at the port when the second blast hit.
    It left him with 350 stitches all over his body and face, and partially impaired his vision.
    Having survived the near-death experience, Rizk considers Aug. 4 his re-birth and he now wants to continue this new chapter of his life away from Lebanon.
    “I don’t feel safe in my country, this is why I want to leave…This is the hardest decision I took in my life,” Rizk said.
    He has now applied for immigration to Canada and plans to be there by October this year.    Meanwhile, he still lives at his family house in a Beirut suburb with a view on the port, a daily reminder of his traumatic experience.
    As Wednesday’s anniversary of the blast nears, Rizk says his “internal angriness” grows, fuelled by the stalling of an investigation into the blast.    He is one of many Lebanese angry at the lack of accountability one year later.
    “No one has yet been arrested, no one resigned, no one is in jail…The truth is not yet known,” Rizk said.
    Rizk’s doctor is still extracting glass from his body.    And even though many of his scars have now been treated, he is “still healing” both "physically and mentally,” he said, speaking as he stood in the street of his damaged office facing the port’s wrecked silos.
    Rizk is still unsure of his exact plans on the day of the blast anniversary.    He fears it will bring back memories of “indescribable pain” but is certain he wants to be on the streets near the port, expressing his anger.
(Reporting by Imad Creidi and Yara Abi Nader; Writing by Yara Abi Nader; Editing by Maha El Dahan and Angus MacSwan)

8/2/2021 Lebanon’s Mikati Says He Hoped For Faster Pace Towards Government
FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's new Prime Minister-Designate Najib Mikati, talks at the
presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon July 26, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati said on Monday he had hoped for a quicker pace towards the formation of a new government and that his efforts would not be open-ended.
    His comments after a meeting with President Michel Aoun underlined the challenge of forming a new government for Lebanon, where fractious politicians have been unable to agree even as the country falls deeper into economic crisis.
    “I had hoped for a pace that was faster than this in the government formation.    It is a bit slow,” said Mikati, who was designated prime minister last month after Saad al-Hariri abandoned his effort to form the new cabinet.
    The Lebanese pound, which has lost more than 90% of its value in less than two years, weakened.    Dollars were changing hands at a rate of around 20,000 pounds after Mikati spoke, compared to 19,200/19,300 before his comments, a dealer said.
    Mikati, a wealthy businessman, said he would meet Aoun again on Thursday.
    Asked if he had a deadline for his efforts, he said: “As far as I am concerned, the timeframe is not open.    Let he who wishes to understand, understand.”
    The prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim in Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system.    Abandoning his effort last month, Hariri said he could not agree with Aoun, the Maronite Christian head of state.
    The last government led by Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned after the Beirut port explosion on Aug. 4 last year.    It stays on in a caretaker capacity until a new one is formed.
(Reporting by Laila Bassam/Tom Perry; writing by Tom Perry, editing by Mark Heinrich, William Maclean)

8/2/2021 Memorial Sculpture At Beirut Port Blast Site Draws Mixed Reviews by Maria Semerdjian
The Gesture, a 25-meter sculpture by Lebanese architect Nadim Karam to commemorate victims of last year's
Beirut blast, is seen at the capital's port in Lebanon, July 30, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – A sculpture of a giant angular figure made from the wreckage of last summer’s Beirut port blast was unveiled at the site on Monday, drawing support from some but also stoking anger among other Lebanese who believe justice should come before memorials.
    The artwork dubbed “The Gesture” is the creation of Lebanese architect Nadim Karam, a Beirut resident and artist who says he wanted to pay tribute to the families of the victims of the explosion.    It was funded by a number of private companies.
    “You have a giant made of ashes, the scars of the city, and the scars of the people that did not yet heal,” Karam said, adding he hoped the families of those who lost their lives would look at the work positively.
    The Beirut port blast left more than 200 dead, thousands injured, and large swathes of the city destroyed.    One year afterwards, no top officials have been held accountable as a local investigation stalls.
    Some relatives of victims attended the event on Monday, saying Karam was trying to claim part of the city for the public.
    “When you have independent companies supporting the project and building such a project for seven or eight months … definitely I will support,” said 46-year-old Joseph Chartouni, an architect who lost his mother to the blast.
    “For me the fact that it is made of steel from the site it is already a statement.”
    But others were angry at the project, saying there should be no commemoration without justice being served.
    A social media campaign denouncing Karam and accusing him of collaborating with the government spread a week prior to the unveiling.
    Rawan Nassif, a 37-year-old filmmaker, is one of many Lebanese offended by the structure, saying the blast shouldn’t be treated as a memory yet.
    “The killers have complete impunity and we are already pretending something is in the past and we are trying to transcend it through art,” Nassif said.    “I feel this is a crime scene that can’t be touched yet, and it has to be investigated, you can’t come and do an event from a crime scene.”
    But Karam defended his work.
    “All our intentions are positive and we have no affiliation to any political party nor to any politicians,” Karam said, adding that claims about him being associated with top officials were false.    “The statue reflects Beirut in its sadness and its scars.”
(Reporting By Maria Semerdjian; Additional reporting by Imad Creidi and Alaa Kanaan Writing by Maha El Dahan; Editing by David Holmes)

8/3/2021 Saudi Arabia Sees Emboldened Iran Around Middle East
FILE PHOTO: Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud speaks during
a news conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 22, 2021. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Tuesday he sees an emboldened Iran acting in a negative manner around the Middle East, endangering shipping, arming the Houthis and contributing to Lebanon’s political deadlock.
    “All around the region, Iran continues to be emboldened,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told a U.S. think tank in an online appearance, alluding to reports that Iranian-backed forces are believed to have seized an oil tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.
    “Iran is extremely active in the region with its negative activity.”
(Reporting By Arshad Mohammed and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Chris Reese)

8/3/2021 Fighting Displaces 200,000 In Ethiopia’s Amhara Region - U.N. Aid Chief
FILE PHOTO: An Amhara Special Force member stands guard on Ethiopia-Eritrean border near in
Humera town, Ethiopia July 1, 2021. Picture taken July 1, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
    ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) -United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Tuesday that accusations by Ethiopian authorities that aid workers were favouring and even arming Tigrayan forces were “dangerous.”
    “Blanket accusations (against) humanitarian aid workers need to stop…They need to be backed up by evidence if there is any and, frankly, it’s dangerous,” he said.
    Tigrayan forces pushing south and west into the neighbouring Amhara region have displaced 200,000 people there, Griffiths said, and 54,000 in Afar region to the east.
    The war erupted eight months ago between Ethiopia’s central government and the region’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
    Amhara’s spokesperson Gizachew Muluneh confirmed the number of displaced people in Amhara.
    Afar regional spokesperson Ahmed Koloyta and spokespeople for the prime minister and a government task force on Tigray did not respond to a request for comment.
    U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price called on Tigrayan forces to withdraw from the Amhara and Afar regions.    He reiterated calls on Amhara and Eritrean forces to pull out troops from western Tigray and called for unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid.
    The government of Ethiopia suspended operations for the Dutch branch of medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, MSF said on Tuesday night, explaining it received a letter on July 30 suspending their activities for three months.
    “We are in the process of urgently seeking clarification from the authorities around the reasons and details for this suspension,” MSF said in a statement.
    The Norwegian Refugee Council was given similar orders, a spokesman said in a statement, adding that it was in “dialogue with authorities.”
    The United Nations says that around 400,000 people are living in famine conditions in Tigray, and more than 90% of the population needs emergency food aid.
    “We need 100 trucks a day going into Tigray to meet humanitarian needs,” Griffiths told reporters in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, adding that the number was a “calculated need” and not “over-estimated.”
    He also said 122 trucks made it into Tigray in recent days.
    The United Nations children’s agency warned last week that more than 100,000 children in Tigray could suffer life-threatening malnutrition in the next 12 months, a 10-fold increase over normal numbers.
(Reporting by Addis Ababa newsroom with additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis in Washington; writing by Giulia Paravicini; editing by Mark Heinrich)

8/3/2021 Turkey Criticises U.S. Statement On Resettlement Of Afghans
FILE PHOTO: Afghan soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint outside the U.S Bagram air base, July 2, 2021.REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail
    ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey on Tuesday criticised a U.S. program to offer potential resettlement to Afghans who may be targets of Taliban violence due to their U.S. affiliations, saying the move would cause a “great migration crisis” in the region.
    The U.S. State Department on Monday announced a new program under which thousands more Afghans will have a chance to resettle as refugees in the United States.    Afghans in the progam would have to make their own way to a third country, where they will wait 12 to 14 months for their application to be processed.
    A senior State Department official said Washington had been in discussion with neighbouring countries on potential outflows, adding it was important that Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan remain open, while others might travel to Turkey via Iran.
    Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement it rejected a reference to Turkey as a migration route for Afghans, and added that Turkey – the world’s leading host for refugees with more than 4 million migrants – would not “undertake a new migration crisis on behalf of a third country.”
    “As Turkey, we do not accept the irresponsible decision taken by the United States without consulting our country.    If the United States wants to take these people to its country, it is possible to transfer them directly to their country by planes,” the ministry said.
    “No one should expect the Turkish nation to bear the burden of the migration crises experienced as a result of the decisions of third countries in our region,” it added.
    Hundreds of Afghans have crossed into Turkey in recent weeks amid rising violence in Afghanistan, raising concerns of a fresh influx of migrants.
    Ties between Ankara and Washington have been strained over a host of issues, from Ankara’s move to purchase Russian defence equipment to legal issues and policy differences in Syria, Libya, and the eastern Mediterranean.
    Ankara has offered to guard and operate Kabul’s Hamid Karzai international airport after the U.S. and NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan, in a move that could create an area for cooperation between the NATO allies.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; editing by Richard Pullin)

8/3/2021 Lebanese President Wants Probe In Beirut Blast by OAN Newsroom
In this Aug. 4, 2020 file photo, Hoda Kinno, 11, is evacuated by her uncle Mustafa, in the aftermath
of a massive explosion at the port in Beirut, Lebanon. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
    Lebanon’s president said he would welcome a probe into the Beirut port blast that occurred last year.    Lebanese President Michael Aoun made the comment in a speech on Tuesday.
    The blast was reportedly caused by ammonium nitrate and so far, local investigations have failed to turn out an arrests or fines on port officials.    However, a report by Human Rights Watch reportedly suggested evidence some Lebanese officials knew about the risks of storing large quantities of the chemical.
    “Our martyrs cry out for conscience and the eyes of the world are staring at us.    The challenge facing the judicial investigator and the judiciary is to reveal the truth,” Auon expressed.    “Conduct the trial and issue a fair judgement in an acceptable period of time because justice delivered late is not justice.”
    The comments came after many Lebanese citizens expressed anger that no senior officials have been held accountable for the blast, which was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded.

8/4/2021 Iran-Backed Forces Seize Tanker, Maritime Sources Say; Iran Denies It by Lisa Barrington and Jonathan Saul
FILE PHOTO: Mercer Street, an Israeli-managed oil tanker that was attacked last week
is seen off Fujairah Port in United Arab Emirates, August 3, 2021. REUTERS/Rula Rouhana
    DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) -Iranian-backed forces are believed to have seized an oil tanker in the Gulf off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, three maritime security sources said, after Britain’s maritime trade agency reported a “potential hijack” in the area on Tuesday.
    Abolfazl Shekarchi, Iran’s senior armed forces spokesman, denounced reports of maritime incidents and hijacking in the Gulf area as “a kind of psychological warfare and setting the stage for new bouts of adventurism,” the Fars News Agency said.
    Two of the maritime sources identified the seized vessel as the Panama-flagged asphalt/bitumen tanker Asphalt Princess in an area in the Arabian Sea leading to the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil exports.
    The U.S. State Department said it was concerned and looking into reports of a maritime incident in the Gulf of Oman, but that it was too early to offer a judgment. Britain’s foreign ministry was “urgently investigating” an incident on a vessel off the UAE coast, a spokesperson said.
    U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the United States military was considering repositioning at least one vessel in the general vicinity of the Asphalt Princess to keep a closer eye.
    The officials said this would not be uncommon and would be to monitor the situation rather than to make any imminent military moves.
    Tensions have simmered in the region after an attack last week on an Israeli-managed tanker off the Omani coast killed two crew members and was blamed on Iran by the United States, Israel and Britain.    Iran has denied responsibility.
    The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), in a warning notice based on a third-party source, had earlier reported a “potential hijack” and advised ships to exercise extreme caution due to the incident around 60 nautical miles east of the UAE’s Fujairah emirate.
REPORTS OF HIJACKING
    The Times of London newspaper also reported that the Asphalt Princess had been hijacked, citing British sources as saying they were “working on the assumption Iranian military or proxies boarded the vessel.”
    The U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet and UAE authorities did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.
    Alluding to the reports, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister told a U.S. think tank in an online appearance that he sees an emboldened Iran acting in a negative manner in the region, including endangering shipping. [L1N2PA1RV]
    On Tuesday at least five ships in the sea between the UAE and Iran updated their AIS tracking status to “Not Under Command,” according to Refinitiv ship tracking data. Such a status generally indicates a ship is unable to manoeuvre due to exceptional circumstances.
    Nour News, affiliated with Iran’s top national security body, quoted a senior navy official as saying “the movement of commercial vessels is quite normal and no official naval sources or countries in the Persian Gulf have reported any incidents.”
    Iran’s foreign ministry said the reports of maritime incidents were “suspicious” and warned against any effort to create a “false atmosphere” against Tehran.
    The United States and Britain said on Sunday they would work with their allies to respond to last week’s attack on the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned petroleum product tanker managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime.
    Iran denied any involvement in that suspected drone strike and said it would respond to any threat against its security.
    Britain, Romania and Liberia told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that it was “highly likely” that Iran used one or more drones to carry out a deadly tanker attack last week off the coast of Oman.
    U.S. officials have said privately they are watching the situation closely but do not expect a military response for now.
    Tensions have risen in Gulf waters and between Iran and Israel since 2018, when then-President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled its economy.
    Iran and Israel, longtime adversaries, have exchanged accusations of carrying out attacks on each other’s vessels in recent months.
(Additional reporting by Dubai newsroom, Elizabeth Piper in London, Arshad Mohammed, Daphne Psaledakis and Idrees Ali in Washington;Editing by Ghaida Ghantous, Mark Heinrich, Howard Goller and Sandra Maler)

8/4/2021 Boarders Exit Tanker Off UAE Coast, Ship Safe – British Agency
Mercer Street, an Israeli-managed oil tanker that was attacked off the coast of Oman,
is seen near Fujairah Port in United Arab Emirates, August 3, 2021. REUTERS/Rula Rouhana
    DUBAI (Reuters) -Boarders have left a tanker that maritime sources had said was seized off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and the vessel is safe, Britain’s maritime trade agency reported on Wednesday.
    Three maritime security forces had told Reuters on Tuesday that the asphalt/bitumen tanker Asphalt Princess had been seized by suspected Iranian-backed forces, which Iran denied.
    The AIS tracking status of the Panama-flagged Asphalt Princess was “Underway Using Engine” early on Wednesday, according to Refinitiv ship tracking data.
    The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said what it described as a potential hijack incident is “complete” but gave no details in a warning notice based on a third-party source.    It did not name the vessel involved.
    The incident took place in an area in the Arabian Sea leading to the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for about a fifth of the world’s sea-borne oil exports.
    Iran’s senior armed forces spokesman, Abolfazl Shekarchi, on Tuesday denounced reports of maritime incidents and hijacking in the Gulf area as “a kind of psychological warfare and setting the stage for new bouts of adventurism.”
    The United States said it was too early to offer a judgment on reports of a maritime incident in the Gulf of Oman.
    Tensions have simmered in the region after a suspected drone attack last week on an Israeli-managed tanker off the Omani coast killed two crew members and was blamed on Iran by the United States, Israel and Britain.    Iran denied responsibility.
    The United States and Britain have said they would work with allies to respond to the attack on the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned petroleum product tanker.
    Tehran has said it would respond to any threat against its security.
    Regional tensions have worsened since 2018, when Washington re-imposed sanctions on Iran after abandoning a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and global powers.
(Reporting by Lisa Barrington, Ghaida Ghantous and Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

8/4/2021 Macron Hosts New Lebanon Fundraiser A Year After Port Blast
A view shows the grain silo that was damaged during last year's Beirut port blast,
during sunset in Beirut, Lebanon, July 29, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
    PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron will on Wednesday seek to raise more than $350 million in aid for Lebanon at a donors’ conference marking the anniversary of the Beirut port blast, and send yet another warning to its squabbling political class.
    One year since an explosion ripped through the capital’s port and plunged Lebanon further into economic crisis, its politicians have yet to form a government capable of rebuilding the country, despite French and international pressure.
    “Since the situation continues to deteriorate, the need for a government is becoming more and more urgent,” an adviser to Macron told reporters.
    France has led international efforts to lift its former colony out of crisis.    Macron has visited Beirut twice since the port blast, raised emergency aid and imposed travel bans on some senior Lebanese officials in his quest for a reform package.
    He has also persuaded the European Union to agree on a sanctions framework that is ready to be used.
    But his initiatives, including obtaining commitments from Lebanese politicians to agree on a non-sectarian government of technocrats, have been in vain so far.
    U.S. President Joe Biden will participate in the conference that is co-hosted by the United Nations, Macron’s office said, along with about 40 other world leaders, including those of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Canada. Britain will be represented by its foreign minister.
    Last year’s conference in the wake of the blast raised about $280 million, with the emergency aid being kept away from what Macron called at the time the “corrupt hands” of politicians and channelled through NGOs and aid groups.
    The new humanitarian aid will be unconditional, Macron’s office said, but about $11 billion in long-term funding raised in 2018 remains locked away and conditional on a series of reforms to be implemented by political authorities.
(Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Giles Elgood)

8/4/2021 Dubai Airport Expects Passenger Surge As UAE Eases Travel Curbs
Passengers wait before boarding at Dubai International Airport, as Emirates airline resumed limited outbound passenger
flights amid outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Dubai, UAE April 27, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Dubai’s state airport operator expects a “surge” in passenger traffic over the coming weeks and months, its chief executive said on Wednesday, after the United Arab Emirates announced an easing of travel restrictions from African and Asian countries.
    The Gulf state, a major international travel hub, on Tuesday said it would scrap on Aug. 5 a transit flight ban which Emirates airline later said applied to passengers travelling from 12 countries, including major market India.
    The UAE will also lift this week an entry ban on those who had visited India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Nigeria or Uganda over the past 14 days for those with valid residencies and who are certified by Emirati authorities as fully vaccinated.
    Dubai Airports Chief Executive Paul Griffiths said Dubai International was “ready to accommodate the anticipated surge in the coming weeks and months” once restrictions ease.
    The Indian subcontinent is traditionally the largest source market for Dubai International, which is one of the world’s busiest airports and the hub for state airline Emirates.
    Griffiths said the easing of entry restrictions on inbound travellers from South Asia as well as Nigeria and Uganda would allow for thousands of UAE residents to return.
    “It’s a great development from both a social and economic standpoint,” he said.
    Those travelling to the UAE or transiting through its airports need to meet various conditions including presenting a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coronavirus test prior to departure.
    Dubai International Airport is targeting 8% growth in passenger traffic this year to 28 million.    It handled 86.4 million in 2019, the year before the pandemic struck.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

8/4/2021 Lebanese Demand Justice On Port Blast Anniversary
People carry national flags near the site of last year's Beirut port blast, as Lebanon marks the
one-year anniversary of the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon August 4, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
    BEIRUT (Reuters) -Lebanon’s leading Christian cleric said there could be no immunity from prosecution over the catastrophic Beirut port blast and that officials were evading investigation, as many Lebanese marked the first anniversary by demanding justice.
    As Lebanon suffers a crippling economic collapse, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai also criticised the ruling class for failing to deal with the crisis – criticism echoed by Western powers at a Paris donors’ conference.
    One year since the blast, caused by a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate kept at the port for years, no senior official has been held to account, infuriating many Lebanese.
    One of the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, the blast killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands and was felt in Cyprus, more than 240 km (150 miles) away.
    Thousands of people, many holding pictures of the dead and waving Lebanese flags, gathered near the port.
    As a memorial service got under way at the port, water cannon and tear gas were fired at protesters who threw stones towards security forces near parliament.    Eight people were wounded, the Red Cross said.
    An investigation is stalling, with requests denied for immunity to be lifted from senior politicians and former officials.    All those sought for questioning by the Lebanese investigators have denied any wrongdoing.
    The chemicals arrived on a Russian-leased cargo ship that made an unscheduled stop in Beirut in 2013.    An FBI report seen by Reuters last week estimated around 552 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded, far less than the 2,754 tonnes that arrived.
    “It is shameful that officials evade the investigation under the cover of immunity,” al-Rai, Lebanon’s most senior Christian cleric, said during a mass at the port.
    “All immunities fall in the face of the victims’ blood, there is no immunity against justice.”
    “We want to know who brought in the explosives …, who allowed for their unloading and storage, who removed quantities of it and where it was sent.”
    French President Emmanuel Macron said Lebanese leaders owed the people the truth.
    The damage is still visible in much of the capital, particularly the predominantly Christian districts of east Beirut that were most badly affected.    The port resembles a bomb site, its huge grain silo still unrepaired.
    A huge banner on a building overlooking the port said: “Hostages of a Murderous State.”
    Relatives of the dead clutched photos of their loved ones.
    Army helicopters flew overhead giving off red and green smoke – the national colours – as koranic verses were recited at the start of the service and the victims’ names were read.
    “We will not forget and we will not forgive them ever.    And if they can’t bring them to account, we will by our own hands,” said Hiyam al-Bikai, dressed in black and clutching a picture of her son, Ahmad, who was killed when masonry fell on his car.
HISTORIC AND MORAL FAILURE
    A Human Rights Watch report released this week concluded that evidence suggested some Lebanese officials knew about and tacitly accepted the lethal risks posed by ammonium nitrate.
    Reuters reported last August that Prime Minister Hassan Diab and President Michel Aoun were both warned in July last year that the chemicals posed a security risk and could destroy the capital if they exploded.
    Aoun has said he is ready to testify if needed, and that he supports an impartial investigation.
    Diab, who quit after the blast, has said his conscience is clear.
    Leading prayers at a hospital that was badly damaged in the blast, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elias Audi said nobody was above the law, and “whoever obstructs justice is a criminal, even if they are highly placed.”
    At the time of the explosion, Lebanese were already facing deepening hardship due to the financial crisis caused by decades of state corruption and waste.
    The meltdown worsened throughout the last year with the governing elite failing to establish a new cabinet to start tackling the crisis even as poverty has soared and medicines and fuel have run out.
    A donors’ conference hosted by France raised $370 million.    France has led Western pressure on Lebanese leaders to enact reforms, but to no avail.    “Lebanese leaders seem to bet on a stalling strategy, which I regret and I think is a historic and moral failure,” Macron said.
    Pope Francis wished Macron success and said donors should help Lebanon “on a path of resurrection.”    He said he had a great desire to visit Lebanon, where many had lost “even the illusion of living.”
    The state has taken no steps towards reforms that might ease the economic crisis, with the sectarian elite locked in a power struggle over cabinet posts.
    As the crowds built in Beirut, two people were injured in scuffles between supporters of rival parties in the nearby Gemmayzeh area, a security source said.    Gun shots were fired into the air.
(Reporting by Beirut Bureau; Additional reporting by Philip Pullella at Vatican City and Michel Rose in Paris; Writing By Maha El Dahan/Tom Perry; Editing by Giles Elgood, Angus MacSwan, William Maclean)

8/4/2021 Two Rockets From Lebanon Hit Israel, Drawing Israeli Retaliation by Jeffrey Heller
Smoke rises as seen from Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, Lebanon August 4, 2021. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Two rockets launched from Lebanon on Wednesday struck Israel, which responded with artillery fire amid heightened regional tensions over an alleged Iranian attack on an oil tanker in the Gulf last week.
    Israel’s Magen David Adom national ambulance service said there were no casualties on the Israeli side of the hilly frontier, where the rockets ignited a brush fire.
    There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket strike, launched from an area of south Lebanon under the sway of Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas.
    In a statement, Israel’s military said three rockets were fired from Lebanon, with one falling short of the Israeli border and the others striking inside Israel. Witnesses in Lebanon also reported that several rockets were fired at Israel.
    “In response, (Israeli) artillery forces attacked Lebanese territory,” the military said.    Some two hours after the initial shelling, the military said its artillery had fired again at targets, which it did not identify, along the frontier.
    The Lebanese army said Israeli retaliatory attacks, which extended to several villages in south Lebanon, had led to a fire in the town of Rashaya al-Fokh.    It was investigating to find out who had fired the rockets from Lebanon.
    The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said its Head of Mission and Force Commander, Major General Stefano Del Col, was in contact with both parties.
    “He urged them to cease fire and to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation, especially on this solemn anniversary,” the statement said, referring to the Beirut port explosion on Aug. 4 last year.
    The border has been mostly quiet since Israel fought a 2006 war against Hezbollah, which has advanced rockets.
    But small Palestinian factions in Lebanon have fired sporadically on Israel in the past, and two rockets were launched at Israel on July 20, causing no damage or injuries.    Israel responded to that incident with artillery fire.
    The latest border incidents occurred after an attack last Thursday, which Israel blamed on Iran, on a tanker off the coast of Oman.    Two crew members, a Briton and a Romanian, were killed. Iran has denied any involvement.
    Briefing a meeting of ambassadors from U.N. Security Council countries to Israel on Wednesday, Defence Minister Benny Gantz said: “It is time for diplomatic, economic and even military deeds (against Iran) – otherwise the attacks will continue.”
    On Tuesday, Britain, Romania and Liberia told the United Nations Security Council it was “highly likely” that Iran used one or more drones to strike the vessel.
    The United States and Britain said on Sunday they would work with their allies to respond to the attack.    Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Tuesday that Israel was keeping open the option of acting alone against Iran if necessary.
(Additional reporting by Beirut bureau; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Mark Heinrich, William Maclean)

8/4/2021 Turkish Wildfires Are Worst Ever, Erdogan Says, As Power Plant Breached by Mert Ozkan and Ezgi Erkoyun
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a ceremony to mark the fifth anniversary of
failed coup attempt, in Ankara, Turkey July 15, 2021. Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS
    MILAS, Turkey (Reuters) -Turkey is battling the worst wildfires in its history, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, as fires spread to a power station in the country’s southwest after reducing swathes of coastal forest to ashes.
    Fanned by high temperatures and a strong, dry wind, the fires have forced thousands of Turks and foreign tourists to flee homes and hotels near the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts.    Eight people have died in the blazes since last week.
    Planes and dozens of helicopters have joined scores of emergency crews on the ground to battle the fires, but Erdogan’s government has faced criticism over the scale and speed of the response.
    More than a week after the first fires broke out, 16 were still burning on Wednesday, the forestry minister said.
    “The fires that happened this year never happened in our history,” Erdogan told reporters in a televised interview.    “This is the largest (outbreak).”
    In the last two weeks, fires in Turkey have burnt more than three times the area affected in an average year, a European fire agency said.    Neighbouring countries have also battled blazes fanned by heatwaves and strong winds.
    A fire spread into a coal-fired power plant east of Bodrum in southwest Turkey after burning nearby since Tuesday, the local mayor said.
    “Flames have entered the thermal power plant,” said Muhammet Tokat, mayor of the town of Milas, adding that the plant was being evacuated.
    Earlier, environmentalists said they were concerned about the impact if the fire spread to the plant’s coal storage unit.     “Harmful gases could spread to the atmosphere if coal burns in an uncontrolled way,” activist Deniz Gumusel said.
    Tanks with flammable materials at the plant were emptied as a precaution, a reporter with Demiroren news agency said, and ditches had been dug as firebreaks.
    Local officials, many from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), have complained that the government response has been slow or inadequate.
    Firefighting planes from Spain and Croatia joined teams from Russia, Iran, Ukraine and Azerbaijan this week to battle blazes, after Turkey requested European support.
    Opposition parties criticised Erdogan and his government for depleting firefighting resources over the years.    Thousands also took to social media calling for Erdogan to step down, while others criticised the lack of resources and what they called inadequate preparations.
    The government has defended its response to the wildfires, saying its efforts have been planned and coordinated.
(Addional reporting by Yesim Dikmen; Editing by Dominic Evans, Janet Lawrence and David Gregorio)

8/5/2021 Israeli Aircraft Strike Rocket Launch Sites In Lebanon, Military Says by Rami Ayyub
A view shows the damage in the aftermath of Israeli air strikes as seen from Marjayoun,
near the border with Israel, Lebanon August 5, 2021. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli jets struck what its military said were rocket launch sites in Lebanon early on Thursday in response to two rockets fired towards Israel from Lebanese territory, in an escalation of cross-border hostilities amid heightened friction with Iran.
    The rockets launched from Lebanon on Wednesday struck open areas in northern Israel, causing brush fires along the hilly frontier.    There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, which came from an area of south Lebanon under the sway of Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas.
    Israel responded with several rounds of artillery fire on Wednesday before launching air strikes early on Thursday, the military said.
    “(Military) fighter jets struck the launch sites and infrastructure used for terror in Lebanon from which the rockets were launched,” the military said in a statement, adding that it also struck an area that had seen rocket launches in the past.
    While Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV has reported on the Israeli action, the group itself was yet to issue any statement.
    Shortly after the strikes, al-Manar TV said that Israeli warplanes had carried out two raids on the outskirts of the Lebanese town of Mahmudiya, about 12 km (7.5 miles) from the Israeli border.    There were no reports of casualties.
    Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Israel’s air strikes were the first targeting Lebanese villages since 2006 and showed an escalation in its “aggressive intent.”
    Aoun also said in a tweet the strikes were a direct threat to the security and stability of southern Lebanon and violated U.N. Security Council resolutions.
    Speaking to Israel’s YNet TV, Defence Minister Benny Gantz said: “This was an attack meant to send a message … Clearly we could do much more, and we hope we won’t arrive at that.”
    Gantz said he believed a Palestinian faction had launched the rockets.    Small Palestinian factions in Lebanon have fired sporadically on Israel in the past.
    The border has been mostly quiet since Israel fought a 2006 war against Hezbollah, which has advanced rockets.    Israeli aircraft struck Hezbollah posts in the border area last summer.    Israel says its aircraft last struck inside Lebanon in 2014, though al-Manar TV reported https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-lebanon-blast-idAFKBN0P109L20150621 one such strike in 2015.
    This week’s cross-border fire came after a suspected drone attack last Thursday on a tanker off the coast of Oman that Israel, the United States and Britain blamed on Iran.    Two crew members, a Briton and a Romanian, were killed. Iran has denied any involvement.
    The United States and Britain said on Sunday they would work with their allies to respond to the attack.    Israel says it is keeping the option open of acting alone if necessary.
(Additional reporting by Dan Williams and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem, Alaa Swilam and Ahmed Tolba in Cairo and Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman; Editing by Nick Macfie, Alexandra Hudson, Andrew Cawthorne)

8/5/2021 Tigrayan Forces Take Control Of Ethiopia’s Lalibela, A UN World Heritage Site – Eyewitnesses
FILE PHOTO: Bet Medhane Alem rock church is seen in Lalibela April 23, 2011. REUTERS/Flora Bagenal/File Photo
    ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) -Forces from Ethiopia’s Tigray region have taken control of the town of Lalibela, whose famed rock-hewn churches are a United Nations World Heritage Site, and residents were fleeing, two eyewitnesses told Reuters on Thursday.
    Lalibela, also a holy site for millions of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, is in the North Wollo Zone of the Amhara region in Ethiopia’s north. In recent weeks fighting has spread from Tigray into two neighbouring regions, Amhara and Afar, forcing around 250,000 people to flee.
    Senior officials from the United Nations and the United States government who visited Ethiopia this week raised alarm at the widening of the war in Tigray to other parts of northern Ethiopia.
    Seyfu, a resident of Lalibela who spoke to Reuters by phone, said he saw hundreds of armed men speaking Tigrinya, the language of ethnic Tigrayans, walking through the town on Thursday.    He said they were not speaking Amharic, the language of the people of Lalibela, and were wearing “different uniforms” from those of the federal military.
    Seyfu said forces from the Amhara region, which are allied to Ethiopia’s central government, fled on Wednesday night together with local officials.
    “We asked them to stay, or at least give us their Kalashnikovs, but they refused and fled taking five ambulances, several trucks and cars.    They shot dead a friend of mine while they fled, he was begging them to stay to protect civilians,” he said.
    A second man, Dawit, told Reuters by phone he left Lalibela on Thursday morning as Tigrayan forces were arriving.    “We had to walk with on foot, around 200 of us left.”
    Reuters could not independently verify the eyewitnesses’ information.    Spokespeople for the prime minister, the Ethiopian military and a government task force on Tigray did not immediately respond to requests for comment.    A spokesperson for the Tigrayan forces could also not be reached for comment.
    Daniel, a third resident of Lalibela, told Reuters by phone that he saw hundreds of soldiers entering the town around noon.    He said he fled to the mountains outside the holy city and that only women and children had been left in the town.
    He said that there was no fighting in Lalibela when the Tigrayan forces entered.
    Lalibela is a major tourist destination in Africa’s second-most populous nation.    Visitor numbers plunged after war broke out in November in Tigray between the federal army and forces belonging to the Tigray People’s Liberation Forces (TPLF).
    The government declared victory at the end of that month, after seizing the regional capital Mekelle.    But the TPLF kept fighting and at the end of June retook Mekelle and most of Tigray after government soldiers withdrew.
    Dr Fanta Mandefro, deputy president of the Amhara region, told Reuters on Thursday that he had no information on the situation in Lalibela, which is 310 km (190 miles) east of the Amhara region’s capital, Bahir Dar.
    Tens of thousands of visitors from around Ethiopia and abroad usually come to Lalibela on the Orthodox Easter weekend, home to a UNESCO World Heritage site of 12th and 13th century monolithic churches, to celebrate and witness the most important holiday in the Orthodox calendar.
(Reporting by Addis Ababa newsroom and Giulia Paravicini in Olbia, Italy; Additional reporting and writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Mark Heinrich, Jon Boyle, William Maclean)

8/5/2021 Lebanon’s Mikati Reports Progress, Albeit Slow, Towards Forming Government
FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister-Designate Najib Mikati, speaks at the presidential palace
in Baabda, Lebanon July 28, 2021. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati said on Thursday progress, albeit slow, has been achieved toward forming a Cabinet in Lebanon, noting that donor states would not help the country unless it helped itself.
    Lebanon has been without a government since Prime Minister Hassan Diab quit in the aftermath of the catastrophic Aug. 4, 2020, port explosion, with politicians failing to agree even as the country has been paralysed by a major financial crisis.
    Mikati, a businessman-politician, has been trying to form the government since he was designated last month in place of Saad al-Hariri, who gave up after nine months of trying, saying he could not agree with President Michel Aoun.
    “Today’s meeting was a positive step forward,” Mikati said after meeting Aoun.    “Today we made progress … even if the progress was slow.    But we are persevering, and insistent on forming the government,” he said.
    While Western donors have provided humanitarian aid to Lebanese – a conference hosted by France on Wednesday raised $370 million – they have demanded Lebanese leaders set about reforms before assistance is directed to the state.
    Mikati said there was one message: “If you Lebanese aren’t helping each other, you want us to help you?
    “This is where I started my meeting with his Excellency the President and I told him the government must be formed.”
    Mikati said on Monday he had hoped for a quicker pace in the formation of the government and that his efforts would not be open-ended.
(Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli/Tom Perry; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Jonathan Oatis)

8/5/2021 U.N. Security Council To Discuss Deadly Tanker Attack On Friday by Michelle Nichols
A satellite image shows the damaged Mercer Street Tanker moored off the coast of Fujairah,
United Arab Emirates, August 4, 2021. Satellite image copyright 2021 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS
    NEW YORK (Reuters) – Britain will discuss a deadly tanker attack off the coast of Oman during a closed-door United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday, diplomats said, but the 15-member body is not expected to take any action.     Britain told the Security Council on Tuesday it was “highly likely” that Iran used one or more drones to carry out the tanker attack last week, which killed two crew members – a Briton and a Romanian.
    There’s a lot of conflicting information.    A ‘highly likely’ analysis, which we totally reject.    We need to establish facts … we don’t need to rush to any conclusions or actions without having proof of what has happened,” deputy Russian U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told reporters on Wednesday.
    Tehran has denied any involvement in Thursday’s attack on the Mercer Street – a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned petroleum product tanker managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime.    Two crew members, a Briton and a Romanian, were killed.
    The United States and Britain said on Sunday they would work with their allies to respond to the attack.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by David Gregorio)

8/5/2021 Workers Fled Turkish Power Plant As Wildfire Spread by Umit Bektas and Mehmet Emin Caliskan
Residents board a coast guard boat to evacuate the area after a fire spread into a
coal-fired power plant in Oren, east of Bodrum, Turkey, August 5, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer
    MILAS, Turkey (Reuters) -Workers at a coal-fired power station in Turkey’s southwest fled the approaching flames of a wildfire in panic before firefighters brought the blaze under control on Thursday.
    Wildfires have devastated tens of thousands of hectares across Turkey’s Mediterranean and Aegean provinces this summer.    Eight people have died and thousands of Turks and tourists have fled, sometimes by boat.
    The province of Mugla where the Kemerkoy power plant is located is one of the worst hit regions.    The municipality said 55,000 hectares have been burnt – more than twice the area burnt across the whole of Turkey last year – and 36,000 people have had been evacuated.
    Twelve fires were still burning in the region on Thursday, but the fires which breached the plant’s perimeter on Wednesday evening had been extinguished without damaging the facility’s main units, authorities said.
    Sadik Akin, a 28-year-old excavator driver spent the night in the open after he saw flames approaching the coal-fired facility, where he works and lives, and fled with others.
    “When we were going back to camp, we saw the fire was nearing the power plant.    So we grabbed our bags in a panic and returned,” Akin said.
    Cooling efforts continued in the vicinity of Kemerkoy power plant, as a helicopter and plane doused the area with water, and Turkey’s energy minister the plant would resume operation as soon as possible.    In the morning, plumes of smoke still rose above the burnt trees around the facility.
    President Tayyip Erdogan, facing criticism for his government’s response to the wildfires, says they are the worst that Turkey has suffered.
    Hundreds of people have sought medical treatment from the 180 fires that have broken out since July 28, most of whom have been discharged from hospital.
    Temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104°F), strong winds and low humidity have helped spread similar fires in neighbouring Greece.
    The blazes are the most intense in Turkey on record, a European Union atmosphere monitor said this week, with the heatwave meaning more fires and smoke pollution were likely around the Mediterranean region.
    In Greece, authorities ordered evacuations on an island near Athens and battled a blaze near the site of the ancient Olympic Games in the western Peloponnese as wildfires raged for a third day.
(Writing by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Dominic Evans, Giles Elgood and Raissa Kasolowsky)

8/6/2021 Turkey Spent Only Fraction Of Forest Protection Budget Before Wildfires Erupted by Daren Butler
FILE PHOTO: A firefighter tries to extinguish a wildfire near Marmaris, Turkey,
August 1, 2021. REUTERS/Umit Bektas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
    ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish authorities battling the country’s worst ever wildfires have been accused of failing to prepare for the threat after official data showed they spent only a fraction of the modest funds budgeted to prevent forest fires this year.
    Eight people have been killed in the fires which have swept through Turkey’s southwestern coastal regions, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people including tourists and briefly threatening to engulf a power plant.
    President Tayyip Erdogan’s government has faced criticism that its response has been slow and inadequate – with opponents zeroing in on a lack of firefighting planes which forced Ankara to scramble to procure them from abroad.
    In the last two weeks, fires in Turkey have burnt more than three times the area https://graphics.reuters.com/TURKEY-WILDFIRE/myvmnmqaqpr/turkey-fires.jpg affected in an average year, a European fire agency said.    Neighbouring countries have also battled blazes fanned by heatwaves and strong winds.
    Turkey’s state forestry agency said that in the first half, it spent less than 2% of the 200 million lira ($24 million) it had set aside this year for construction, projects and equipment used to fight forest fires.
    In contrast, Portugal budgeted 224 million euros ($265 million) to prevent and combat forest fires this year, and Spain’s central government budgeted 65 million euros.
    While countries may measure allocations differently, opposition politicians said the data published by Turkey’s General Directorate of Forestry (OGM) showed Erdogan’s government disregarded a predictable danger.
    “The OGM budget was planned as if there wasn’t going to be any fires,” said Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Murat Emir, who filed parliamentary questions to the Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli on Tuesday.
    “These figures show why there has not been effective intervention against the fires,” Emir said, adding the ministry had been “caught unprepared.”
    The ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters questions about the spending, and it was not clear if other resources were allocated for forest fire protection apart from the forestry directorate budget.
NO PLANES TO FIGHT FIRES
    The government has blamed the lack of resources on the Turkish Aeronautical Association (THK), saying it failed to maintain a fleet of firefighting planes despite generous funding.
    “They say ‘We can’t renew the planes due to material difficulties’, whereas they could have used this money to renew the planes rather than spending it elsewhere,” Pakdemirli was quoted as telling the Haberturk news website.
    Among the 16 planes and 51 helicopters in the current operation are aircraft from Russia, Spain, Ukraine, Croatia, Iran and Azerbaijan.
    Emir, the opposition politician, noted that the OGM report showed forest-fire related spending plans included purchase of 26 helicopters, for which spending plans set aside a nominal sum of only 1,000 lira ($119).
    He asked the minister why resources for helicopter purchases had not been allocated if the ministry did not have enough planes or helicopters.
    The report budgeted 40 million lira to build an airplane and helicopter hangar and 15 million lira to buy walkie-talkies, but showed no funds were spent on these in the first half.
    It also showed planned construction of 192 km of fire safety roads, with just 34 km completed so far.
    In a television interview on Wednesday, Erdogan said the opposition was spreading a “terrorism of lies” concerning the fire-fighting operation, adding his government had handled natural disasters professionally during its 19 years in power.
    The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) has requested an investigation, alleging fire preparations and responses were late and inadequate.
    It also voiced concern about Turkey not ratifying the Paris accord on climate change – the only G20 country not to do so yet – and linked the issue to the fires.
    “The non-ratification of this accord is a reflection of the government policies which have led to massacres of nature,” the HDP, parliament’s third-largest political force, said.
($1 = 0.8447 euros)
(Additional reporting by Patricia Rua and Catarina Demony in Lisbon, Andrei Khalip in Madrid; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Dominic Evans and David Gregorio)

8/6/2021 Lebanon’s Hezbollah And Israel Trade Fire Amid Iran Tensions by Rami Ayyub and Tom Perry
A pickup truck with a rocket launcher is seen in Chouaya, Lebanon, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
    TEL AVIV/BEIRUT (Reuters) -The Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah fired rockets towards Israeli forces on Friday, drawing retaliatory fire from Israel into south Lebanon, in a third day of cross-border salvoes amid wider regional tensions with Iran.
    Suggesting its attack was calibrated to avoid further escalation, Hezbollah said it had targeted open ground near Israeli forces in retaliation for Israeli air strikes that had also struck open areas.
    Israel said it did not wish to escalate to a full war, though it was ready for one.
    “Our understanding is that Hezbollah deliberately aimed at open areas in order not to escalate the situation,” Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Amnon Shefler said.
    The incident, which has caused no casualties, followed an alleged Iranian attack on an Israeli-managed oil tanker in the Gulf last week in which two crew members, a Briton and a Romanian, were killed. Tehran denied involvement.
    With the Islamic Republic facing the possibility of Israeli or international action in response to the Gulf incident, the violence has flared across a border that has long been a theatre of conflict between the Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel.
    The salvoes began on Wednesday with a rocket strike on Israel from Lebanon for which no group claimed responsibility.
    That attack, on which Hezbollah has not commented, drew retaliatory Israeli artillery and air strikes.
    Hezbollah, one of Iran’s major allies in the Middle East, said it had fired dozens of rockets on Friday at open ground near Israeli positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms border area in response the Israeli air strikes on Thursday.
    The attack drew a wave of criticism from Hezbollah’s opponents in Lebanon, a country suffering a crippling financial crisis which the ruling elite are failing to tackle.
    In a rare challenge to Hezbollah, the fighters who fired the rockets were stopped by locals as they passed through a Druze area afterwards.
    “What is happening in the south is dangerous, very dangerous, especially in light of the great tension emerging in the region,” Samir Geagea, a Christian politician with strong Saudi ties and a staunch Hezbollah opponent, said on Twitter.
NO CASUALTIES REPORTED
    The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said the situation was very serious and urged all parties to cease fire.
    The Israeli military said its Iron Dome system intercepted 10 of 19 rockets on Friday, with six falling in open areas and three landing inside south Lebanon.
    There have been no reports of casualties or serious damage over the three days of aerial fire, which have jarred an extended period of relative calm since Israel and Hezbollah fought a one-month war in 2006.
    Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office said he was consulting his defence and military chiefs over the violence.
    Defence Minister Benny Gantz told his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, on Friday that Israel is “prepared for any scenario, and will continue to operate against Hezbollah or any of its proxies,” according to a transcript from his office.
    Gantz told the U.S. Defense Secretary that “additional action must be taken in order to thwart Iranian malign activities, including its nuclear program and attacks in the region and in particular its use of UAVs and missiles.”
    Security analysts have long cited the risk of Israeli entanglement in a multi-front war with Iran, which also backs Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip with whom Israel waged an 11-day conflict in May.
    Israel says it is rallying global action against Iran over last week’s suspected drone attack on the vessel off the coast of Oman, but is willing to act alone if necessary.    The United States and Britain say they will work with their allies to respond to the attack.
    Tehran has denied any role in the July 29 incident.
    Britain will raise the tanker attack in a closed-door U.N. Security Council meeting later on Friday, diplomats said, but the 15-member body is not expected to take any action.
    Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven wealthy economies said Iran was threatening international peace and security and that all available evidence showed it was behind the Mercer Street attack.
(Reporting by Rami Ayyub in Tel Aviv and Tom Perry in Beirut; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Mike Harrison)

8/6/2021 Tunisian Activists Say They Will Keep Up Pressure On President by Jihed Abidellaoui
Fatma Jgham, 48-year old art teacher and political activist, looks at her mobile phone during an interview
with Reuters in Tunis, Tunisia August 3, 2021. Picture taken August 3, 2021. REUTERS/Jihed Abidellaoui
    TUNIS (Reuters) – Sitting on her rooftop in Tunis, political activist Fatma Jgham said she and her comrades backed the Tunisian president’s seizure of governing powers but would maintain pressure on him if their demands were not met.
    “We must hold a referendum on the constitution, and the demands of the people must not be turned around…not by you (the president) or anyone else,” said Jgham, a 48-year old art teacher.
    She was one of the people who organised the wave of protests across Tunisian cities on July 25 that were cited by President Kais Saied later that day as he dismissed the prime minister and froze parliament. His opponents have called the moves a coup.
    Saied’s actions have proved mostly popular, with thousands of people crowding the streets immediately afterwards to celebrate, but he has not given any details of how he plans to handle the crisis or Tunisia’s future.
    The demonstrations represented a wave of anger that had built over years of economic stagnation and politicaly dysfunction, sharpened by a COVID-19 surge.
    Though the protests were not very big, with hundreds rather than thousands of people braving the sweltering weather in each of the handful of cities where they took place, they also involved several attacks on offices of a major political party.
    The moderate Islamist Ennahda, the most consistently successful party since the 2011 revolution that introduced democracy, has played a role in successive coalition governments and is blamed by many Tunisians for their economic problems.
    “The demands were the overthrow of the entire failed system of government, especially the parliament, led by the gangs of the Ennahda Party and its coalitions,” Jgham said.
    Some Ennahda officials have questioned whether the attacks on their offices were planned by Saied supporters as a pretext for his sudden intervention.
    Jgham denies this.    “People were angry and marginalised.    It wasn’t planned but it was spontaneous,” she said.
    The protests that day had not been backed by political parties but were organised by activists like Jgham on social media, she said.
    Female activists, like Jgham, have played a prominent role throughout, reflecting Tunisia’s reputation as a leading centre of women’s rights in Arab states.
    Another activist, Emna Sahli, says that the role of women in protests has fundamentally changed.    They are no longer led by men, she said.
    “Today those who bear ideas are females and this is really great,” said the 35-year-old, who also took part in the July 25 protests.
(Writing by Nadeen Ebrahim and Angus McDowall; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

8/6/2021 Jailed Former South African President Zuma Taken To Hospital by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo
FILE PHOTO: South African former President Jacob Zuma speaks to supporters after appearing
at the High Court in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, May 17, 2021. REUTERS/Rogan Ward/File Photo
    JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s jailed former president, Jacob Zuma, was taken to hospital for medical observation on Friday, prison authorities said, days before he was due to appear in court for a corruption trial.
    Officials did not go into details on the condition of the 79-year-old, who is serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court at Estcourt prison in KwaZulu-Natal province.
    Zuma’s foundation said he was in hospital for a routine annual check-up.    “No need to be alarmed, … yet,” it said in a tweet on Friday morning.
    Mzwanele Manyi, the spokesperson for the Jacob Zuma Foundation, told Reuters later in the afternoon the doctors were still seeing the former president and would advise him on whether he was fit to attend court on Tuesday.
    The Department of Correctional Services said a routine observation at the prison had prompted authorities to take Zuma to an outside hospital for further examination.    It did not name the hospital.
    “Everyone who is detained, including every sentenced prisoner, has the right to conditions of detention that are consistent with human dignity, including … medical treatment,” the department’s statement said.
CORRUPTION TRIAL
    Zuma last month asked the Constitutional Court to annul his jail sentence, partly on the grounds that he was suffering from an unspecified medical condition.
    He was jailed for defying a Constitutional Court order to give evidence at an inquiry investigating high-level corruption during his nine years in office until 2018.
    When Zuma handed himself in on July 7, protests by his supporters escalated into riots involving looting and arson that President Cyril Ramaphosa described as an “insurrection.”
    Zuma, who was briefly permitted to leave jail on July 22 to attend the funeral of his younger brother, is due to appear in public again on Tuesday for an arms deal corruption trial.
    In that case, he is accused of receiving kickbacks over a $2 billion arms deal from the 1990s.    He pleaded not guilty in May to charges including corruption, fraud and money laundering.
    Zuma has said he is the victim of a politically motivated witch-hunt.    Efforts to prosecute him are seen as a test of South Africa’s ability to hold powerful politicians to account.
(Reporting by by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Writing by Toby Chopra; Editing by Jon Boyle, Giles Elgood and Andrew Heavens)

8/6/2021 U.N. Chief Names Swedish Diplomat As New Yemen Envoy
FILE PHOTO: United Nations logo is seen on a window in an empty hallway at United Nations headquarters during the 75th annual
U.N. General Assembly high-level debate in New York, U.S., September 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo/File Photo
    UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday named Swedish diplomat Hans Grundberg as his new Yemen envoy after a delay of several weeks as China considered whether to approve the appointment, which needed consensus Security Council agreement.
    The 15-member council approved Grundberg this week as a replacement for Martin Griffiths, who became the U.N. aid chief last month after trying to mediate an end to the conflict in Yemen for the past three years.
    The war has killed tens of thousands of people and caused a dire humanitarian crisis, pushing Yemen to the brink of famine.
    Grundberg has been the European Union ambassador to Yemen since September 2019. U.N. officials informally floated his name to council members to solicit views by mid-July and 14 members said they would agree to the appointment, diplomats said.
    But China said it needed more time.    An official with China’s U.N. mission in New York declined to comment on why Beijing’s approval had been delayed.
    A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition intervened in neighboring Yemen in 2015 after the Iran-aligned Houthi group ousted the country’s government from the capital, Sanaa.    The Houthis say they are fighting a corrupt system.    Yemen President Abd-Rabbu Mansour     Hadi’s government is now in Aden, though Hadi is based in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Dan Grebler)

8/6/2021 Israel Names President’s Brother As U.S. Envoy, Points To Iran Experience
FILE PHOTO: Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, amid the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
    TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Israel said on Friday it had appointed its president’s brother, former general Michael Herzog, as its next ambassador to the United States, highlighting his experience on Iran and its nuclear programme.
    Tehran is currently negotiating with Washington and other world powers on reviving a 2015 deal that curbed the Islamic Republic’s nuclear work in exchange for the lifting of interational sanctions.
    The government of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett – a nationalist atop a cross-partisan coalition – has warned against a return to the pact, whose caps on projects with bomb-making potential Israel deems too lax.
    Israel sees Iran’s nuclear programme as a direct threat, though Tehran has said it is only interested in energy generation and other peaceful projects.
    Michael Herzog, 69, served in the Israeli military for 40 years, was chief of staff to four defence ministers and took part in many rounds of peace talks with the Palestinians, a statement from Bennett’s office said.
    It pointed to Herzog’s “in-depth knowledge of the strategic issues facing Israel, especially the Iranian nuclear programme.”    His appointment will be approved by the government soon, it added.
    The former general’s brother, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, was sworn in to the largely-ceremonial position in July.
    Former U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the nuclear deal and reimposed harsh U.S. sanctions – a move that was hailed by Bennett’s predecessor, Banjamin Netanyahu, and prompted Iran to respond by violating many of its curbs.
    Iranian and Western officials have said significant gaps remain in the revival talks and have yet to announce when negotiations, whose last round ended on June 20, will resume.
    Israeli and Western tensions with Iran have simmered after a suspected drone attack last week on an Israeli-managed tanker off the Omani coast that killed two crew members.
    The United States, Israel and Britain blamed the incident on Iran. Tehran has denied responsibility, and warned it would respond promptly to any threat to its security.
    Tensions have also flared between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, which fired rockets towards Israeli forces on Friday, drawing retaliatory Israeli fire.
(Reporting by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

8/7/2021 Hezbollah Chief Nasrallah Said Group Could Escalate Response To Israel
FILE PHOTO: A woman sits near a poster of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, during an event marking
Resistance and Liberation Day, in Khiam, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, May 25, 2021. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – The leader of Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah said that while his group had chosen to respond to Israeli air strikes on open land, it could escalate with a different strategy in future.
    Hezbollah fired rockets towards Israeli forces on Friday, drawing retaliatory fire from Israel into south Lebanon in a third day of cross-border back and forth amid wider tensions with Iran.
    Hezbollah wanted to show that Israeli air strikes would be responded to and in an appropriate manner, Nasrallah said, adding that the response could be in any open land in “Northern occupied Palestine,” Galilee, or the Golan Heights.
(Reporting by Laila Bassam; writing by Nafisa Eltahir; editing by Barbara Lewis)

8/7/2021 Rival South Sudanese Factions Clash, Two Sides Report Dozens Of Soldiers Killed by Denis Dumo
FILE PHOTO: South Sudan's Vice President Riek Machar addresses a news conference
in Juba, South Sudan April 5, 2020. REUTERS/Samir Bol//File Photo
    JUBA (Reuters) -Forces loyal to Vice President Riek Machar and a splinter group have clashed in South Sudan, but the two sides gave conflicting reports on Saturday – with each claiming to have killed dozens of soldiers from the other side.
    The latest clashes, threatening the country’s fragile peace process, occurred in Magenis in the Upper Nile region, between forces loyal to Machar and those backing First Lieutenant General Simon Gatwech Dual.
    A spokesman for Machar’s SPLM/A-IO party, Lam Paul Gabriel, said the party’s forces responded “in self defence” and killed two major generals and over 27 soldiers. He said those fighting on SPLM/A-IO side lost three soldiers during the attack.
    The other side denied having suffered heavy losses and having launched an offensive.
    A spokesperson for Dual said that during the clashes 28 soldiers were killed on the enemy side and four on their side.
    Reuters could not independently verify the reported killings as communication networks are patchy in the Upper Nile region.
    The clashes erupted after rival military leaders of the SPLM/A-IO announced on Wednesday that Machar had been ousted as head of his party and its armed forces.    The military leaders said the party’s chief of staff, Dual, had been nominated interim party leader from the military wing.
    On Thursday Machar accused the rival military leaders of trying to block the country’s peace process.
    South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but descended into fighting two years later when forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and to Machar clashed in the capital.
    That sparked the massacre of hundreds of civilians in Juba from Machar’s Nuer ethnic group and a spiral of ethnic violence and revenge killings.
    The civil war, which ended with a peace deal in 2018, killed 400,000 people and triggered Africa’s biggest refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
(Reporting by Denis Dumo in JubaEditing by Giulia Paravicini, Barbara Lewis and Frances Kerry)

8/7/2021 Egypt’s Ancient King Khufu’s Boat Is Moved From Giza Pyramids To A New Home
FILE PHOTO: King Khufu's solar boat is displayed at a museum on the northern side of Khufu's
Great Pyramid, in Giza, Egypt, August 31, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
    CAIRO (Reuters) – King Khufu’s Boat, an ancient vessel that is the oldest and largest wooden boat discovered in Egypt, has been painstakingly moved from its longstanding home next to the Giza pyramids to a nearby giant museum, officials said on Saturday.
    The 4,600-year-old vessel, also known as the Solar Boat, was moved to the nearby Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), due to be inaugurated later this year.
    “The aim of the transportation project is to protect and preserve the biggest and oldest organic artifact made of wood in the history of humanity for the future generations,” the tourism and antiquities ministry said in a statement.
    It took 48 hours to transport the cedarwood boat, which is 42 metres (138 feet) long and weighs 20 tons, to its new home.    It arrived at the GEM in the early hours of Saturday, the ministry said.
    The boat was transported as a single piece inside a metal cage carried on a remote-controlled vehicle imported especially for the operation, said Atef Moftah, supervisor general of the GEM project.
    The vessel, discovered in 1954 at the southern corner of the Great Pyramid, has been exhibited for decades at a museum bearing its name at Giza Plateau.
    Egypt says the Grand Egyptian Museum, which has been under construction intermittently for 17 years, will contain more than 100,000 artifacts when it opens.
(Reporting by Sameh El-Khatib; Writing by Mahmoud Mourad; Editing by Frances Kerry)

8/7/2021 Chibok Schoolgirl Freed In Nigeria Seven Years After Abduction, Governor Says
FILE PHOTO: Names of missing Chibok school girls kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgency five years ago are displayed during
the 5th year anniversary of their abduction, in Abuja, Nigeria April 14, 2019. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo
    MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) – One abducted girl from the Nigerian town of Chibok has been freed and reunited with her parents seven years after Boko Haram militants kidnapped her and more than 200 of her classmates, Borno state’s governor said on Saturday.
    The raid on the school in the northeastern town one night in April 2014 sparked an international outcry and a viral campaign on social media with the hashtag #bringbackourgirls.
    Governor Babagana Zulum said the girl and someone she said she married during her captivity surrendered themselves to the military 10 days ago.    Zulum said government officials had used the time since to identify her and contact her parents.
    Some 270 girls were originally abducted by the Islamist group but 82 were freed in 2017 after mediation, adding to 24 who were released or found.    A few others have escaped or been rescued, but about 113 of the girls are believed to be held still by the militant group.
    Zulum said reuniting the girl with her relatives raised hopes that others still in captivity will be found.    He said the girl will receive psychological and medical care as part of a government rehabilitation program.
    Boko Haram first carried out mass school kidnappings in Nigeria, as did its later offshoot Islamic State West Africa Province, but now the tactic has been adopted by criminal gangs snatching schoolchildren for ransom.
    In the latest attack last month bandits kidnapped schoolchildren from a boarding school in the state of Kaduna, the 10th mass school kidnapping since December in northern Nigeria, which has seen more than 1,000 students abducted.
(Reporting by Maiduguri newsroom; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

8/7/2021 Saudi Arabia Opens Umrah Pilgrimage To Vaccinated Worshipers From Abroad – SPA
FILE PHOTO: Muslims, keeping a safe social distance, pray as they perform Umrah at the
Grand Mosque after Saudi authorities ease the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions, in the holy city of Mecca,
Saudi Arabia, November 1, 2020. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS
    CAIRO (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia will gradually begin receiving Umrah pilgrimage requests from abroad for vaccinated pilgrims starting Aug. 9 after about a year and a half of not receiving overseas worshippers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state news agency (SPA) reported early on Sunday.
    With a capacity that would rise to 2 million pilgrims from 60,000 pilgrims per month, Mecca and Medina will start welcoming visitors from abroad to their mosques while maintaining COVID-19 precautionary measures.
    An official in the Hajj and Umrah Ministry said domestic and overseas pilgrims will have to include authorized COVID-19 vaccination certificates along with their Umrah request.
    Vaccinated pilgrims from countries that Saudi Arabia includes on its entry-ban list will have to be institutionally quarantined upon arrival, the report added.
    Umrah, a pilgrimage to Islam’s two holiest sites that is undertaken at any time of the year, was reopened in October for domestic worshippers after it was totally upon the outbreak of the pandemic.
    Islam’s holiest sites’ home for the second year in a row had hosted a limited-numbered, domestic Haj pilgrimage in July.
(Reporting by Alaa Swilam; Editing by David Gregorio and Daniel Wallis)

8/7/2021 Hezbollah Chief Nasrallah Says Beirut Port Explosion Investigator Biased
FILE PHOTO: People carry national flags as they hold a moment of silence marking the one-year anniversary of
Beirut's port blast, near the site of the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon August 4, 2021. REUTERS/Emilie Madi
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese group Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech on Saturday that the investigator of the Beirut port blast was politically biased.
    On Thursday, Beirut marked the one year anniversary of the blast that flattened large swathes of the city and killed more than 200 people.    A judge, Tarek Bittar, is leading the probe into what happened.
    “I am formally telling the family of the martyrs that this judicial investigator is playing politics, this is a politicized investigation,” Nasrallah said.
    He added he was not calling for Bitar’s immediate removal but demanded that he operate under a single standard and release the results of a technical investigation.
    Nasrallah also criticized people he did not name for blaming Hezbollah for the presence of the ammonium nitrate that caused the explosion.
    “Where is your evidence for this ugly, heinous accusation?    There is none,” he said.
(Reporting by Laila Bassam; Writing by Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Barbara Lewis and Daniel Wallis)

8/7/2021 Reports: Tigray Conflict Spreading To Other Parts Of Ethiopia by OAN Newsroom
A fighter loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) mans a guard post on the outskirts of the town of Hawzen, then-controlled
by the group but later re-taken by government forces, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)
    Officials in Ethiopia warned the Tigray conflict is spilling into other parts of the country.    According to an official from the Amhara region, local forces are preparing to launch an offensive against federal troops from Tigray on Saturday.
    This comes after Tigray forces took over the Amhara town of Lalibela, which houses a UNESCO World Heritage site.
    International leaders have expressed concern over the escalating conflict since violence between federal and local troops erupted in November.
    Administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, weighed in on the matter saying, “the U.S. is watching with great alarm as a conflict that began in Tigray is now beginning to spread.    We now estimate that there are roughly 76,000 internally displaced persons in Afar, and 150,000 internally displaced persons in Amhara after TPLF military expansion into neighboring provinces.”
    In the meantime, Power is leading the charge for global powers to send aid to Tigray.    However, top Ethiopian officials have suggested they’ll send the full force of their military to the problem region if there is no sign of a peaceful resolution.

8/8/2021 Hezbollah: We Responded To Airstrikes From Israel by OAN Newsroom
This picture taken on August 6, 2021 shows a view of Israeli bombardment near the southern Lebanese village
of Kfar Shouba following an exchange of rockets from the Lebanese side. (MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)
    Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah vowed to respond to Israeli airstrikes on open land.    In comments made on Saturday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the group would continue to retaliate to future attacks.
    This comes after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on Friday, claiming it was in response to airstrikes fired upon them on Thursday.    “Our response yesterday is related to the direct Israeli airstrikes that targeted Lebanon for the first time since 15 years, and our response had specific execution and target,” said Nasrallah.
Israeli self-propelled howitzers fire towards Lebanon from a position near the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona
following rocket fire from the Lebanese side of the border, on August 6, 2021. (JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)
    The group and Israeli forces exchanged rocket attacks over three days beginning on Wednesday, in which no one claimed responsibility.    Nasrallah warned Hezbollah will escalate tensions should Israel continue launching airstrikes against it.    He added they always used to say they weren’t looking for war, but said they are ready for one.

8/8/2021 Sudan Recalls Ambassador To Ethiopia After Mediation Offer Rejected by Khalid Abdelaziz
FILE PHOTO: Ethiopians fleeing from the Tigray region arrive by boat to Sudan after crossing a river between the two countries,
near the Hamdayet refugee transit camp, Sudan, December 1, 2020. Picture taken December 1, 2020. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo
    KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan recalled its ambassador to neighbouring Ethiopia on Sunday, frustrated by the stance of Ethiopian officials whom it said were refusing Sudan’s offer to mediate in the ongoing conflict in Tigray.
    “Ethiopia will improve its position if it considered what Sudan could do. ..instead of completely rejecting all of its efforts,” a statement from the foreign ministry read.
    Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday about the conflict in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray, which has led to an influx of 53,400 refugees since late 2020.
    Hamdok’s offer came within the framework of his presidency of IGAD, a grouping that includes Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Djibouti, Sudan, Uganda and Somalia, the statement said.
    Spokespeople for the Ethiopian ministry of foreign affairs and the prime minister did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sudan recalling its ambassador.
    On Thursday the prime minister’s spokeswoman, Billene Seyoum, dismissed the possibility of Sudan mediating on the conflict in the northern region of Tigray.
    She described the relationship with Khartoum as “a little bit tricky” and said trust should be the basis of any mediation but had “eroded” especially following the “Sudanese army incursion into Ethiopian territory.”
    Relations have been soured by disputes over Al-Fashqa, an area of fertile land settled by Ethiopian farmers that Sudan says lies on its side of a border demarcated at the start of the 20th century, which Ethiopia rejects.
    The border tensions come at a time when Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt are also trying to resolve a three-way row over Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz, Additional reporting by Giulia Paravicini in Olbia, Italy, Writing by Nadine Awadalla, Editing by Christina Fincher)

8/8/2021 Mozambican, Rwandan Forces Retake Port Town From Insurgents
FILE PHOTO: Rwandan military troops depart for Mozambique to help the country combat an escalating Islamic State-linked insurgency
that threatens its stability, at the Kigali International Airport in Kigali, Rwanda July 10, 2021. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo
    JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -Mozambican and Rwandan security forces have recaptured the port town of Mocimboa da Praia, an insurgents’ stronghold, the two countries said on Sunday, adding to a growing list of retaken towns and villages.
    Mozambique’s northern-most province of Cabo Delgado, which has gas developments worth some $60 billion, has since 2017 harboured an Islamist insurgency.
    Since last year, the unrest has escalated as insurgents, linked to Islamic State, seized entire towns, including the strategically important Mocimboa da Praia.
    Last month, the Rwandan government deployed a 1,000-strong force to Mozambique to fight alongside Mozambique’s forces and troops of the 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC).
    Mocimboa da Praia, 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of the gas projects, previously served as the main airport for international workers flying into the gas developments and its port is used for cargo deliveries.
    Rwandan defence forces spokesman Ronald Rwivanga told Reuters the insurgents, who have fled to nearby forests, were greatly weakened by losing Mocimboa da Praia.    They have held it for nearly a year, and it was a stronghold for their supplies.
    “It was a critical port for their survival.    Losing it is going to be a significant blow to their ability to maintain the insurgency,” Rwivanga said, adding the army would remain in the recaptured areas until stability returns.
    He said there had been heavy fighting.
    “We are just waiting for the final count but generally speaking the enemy had many casualties,” he said.
    Colonel Omar Saranga, Mozambican Ministry of Defence spokesman, told a news conference the forces took control of public and private infrastructure, including government buildings, the port, airport, hospital, markets and catering establishments.
    He said operations continued to consolidate control over critical areas, including an area where a water treatment facility is situated.
    The army has also regained control of Awasse – a small but also strategic settlement near Mocimboa da Praia.
    Almost 800,000 people have been displaced in Cabo Delgado and the fighting has brought a $20 billion natural gas project led by oil giant Total to a halt.
(Reporting by Clement Uwiringiyimana in Kigali and Manuel Mucari in Maputo; writing by Nqobile Dludla in Johannesburg; editing by Barbara Lewis)

8/8/2021 Tunisian President’s Feud With Party Elites Drove Him To Seize Reins Of Power by Tarek Amara and Angus McDowall
FILE PHOTO: Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, head of the moderate Islamist Ennahda, speaks to supporters during a
rally in opposition to President Kais Saied, in Tunis, Tunisia February 27, 2021. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi/File Photo
    TUNIS (Reuters) – As he was driven to an urgently scheduled national security meeting with the president, Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi was unable to reach the phones of senior officers to discuss the coming conversation.
    Only when he arrived at the presidential palace in Carthage did Mechichi learn the truth: President Kais Saied was invoking emergency powers to dismiss him, freeze parliament and claim executive authority. The officers he had tried to reach were already there.
    His moves, labelled a coup by opponents, have left Tunisians and foreign states wondering about the future of the country whose 2011 revolution inspired the Arab Spring and then followed a democratic path unmatched by its peers.
    “This is the first time in a long time that I don’t see things moving in a positive direction,” said Safwan al-Misri of Columbia University and the author of a book on Tunisia.
    Interviews with Tunisian officials and others close to major players in the crisis show how feuding over the political system culminated in Saied’s intervention.
    The crisis was set in train by a 2019 election in which voters rejected the establishment by choosing Saied, an anti-corruption independent, and returning a deeply fragmented parliament.
    Saied feuded with Mechichi and Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi. As their quarrel encompassed control of the security forces – the moment, one political source said, that the president realised he had to act.
    “Saied was sure the army would stand with him,” said a source close to the president.
    Saied has provided no clear roadmap but he is widely expected to enshrine a presidential system in a new constitution, ending years of tussling between rival branches of state.
    However, except for taking over security institutions and other key ministries, Saied did not appear well prepared, said political scientist Mohammed Dhia-Hammami.
    “He is a strongman in a weak position,” he said.
FEUD
    As the 2019 election approached after years of economic stagnation, established players such as Ghannouchi’s moderate Islamist Ennahda party were unpopular.
    The unstable government that finally emerged from it collapsed within months and Saied nominated Mechichi as premier.
    They quickly fell out over Mechichi’s choice of coalition partners.
    “The president told us he hated treachery.    And treachery had come from those closest to him,” a senior politician close to Saied said.
    Mechichi did not respond to efforts by Reuters to contact him by phone and text message.
    In January, after a dispute over a reshuffle, Mechichi said he would serve as interior minister – putting himself at the centre of the security apparatus.    It meant reconciliation with the president was impossible, two sources close to Saied said, and the pair did not meet for two months.
    In April, Saied said Interior Ministry forces belonged under his authority.    Mechichi responded by appointing an Ennahda ally to head intelligence.
    At a meeting with two political parties, Saied said it showed “Mechichi was there only to serve the interests of his allies,” one of those present said.
    “It seems that Saied then decided to remove Mechichi and bring down his government,” the source said.
PROTESTS
    Meanwhile the coronavirus pandemic was worsening and the government response faltered.    Both Mechichi and Ghannouchi, who is 80, fell sick.
    On Sunday July 25, Ghannouchi’s first day at work after two weeks of illness, protests in several cities involved attacks on Ennahda offices – violence Saied later cited in declaring emergency powers.
    The president called Ghannouchi at about 5 p.m., a source close to the Ennahda leader said.    The constitution required consultation with the parliament speaker and prime minister.
    Saied said he did this.    But Ennahda sources said he merely told Ghannouchi he would roll over a state of emergency in place since 2015.
    Mechichi was at his office.    He had met Saied the previous day to discuss the pandemic and was surprised to receive a call at 7 p.m. summoning him to the palace.    “He went off in a hurry without knowing any details,” said an aide.
    Told he had been dismissed, Mechichi could only accept, the source close to him said, and after the announcement he was driven home by a security detail.
    Saied’s announcement surprised Ghannouchi too. Reached by Reuters shortly afterwards, he denounced it as a coup.     Ghannouchi had already spoken with Mechichi about the protests.    After Saied’s declaration, he tried to call him again but could not reach him until 11 p.m.
    He asked Mechichi if he still regarded himself as prime minister and asked him to publicly reject Saied’s moves, but the ousted premier gave no clear response, an Ennahda source said.
    Already, the streets were filling with the president’s supporters, jubilant that he seemed to be cracking down on systemic disarray and stagnation.
    Over the next hours, Saied assigned an ally to supervise the interior ministry while the army surrounded the Tunis parliament, television station and the Government Office.
    Saied had outmanoeuvred his opponents.
(Reporting by Angus McDowall; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Jon Boyle)

8/9/2021 Home-Brewers Thrive In Northern Nigeria Despite Trouble With Religious Police by Angela Ukomadu and Seun Sanni
A man holds a calabash bowl containing "Burukutu", a locally brewed home made beer,
at a local joint in Kano, Nigeria, July 22, 2021. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde
    KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) – In Nigeria’s northern Kano state, Janet Peter stirs a thick and frothy brown liquid inside a large cast iron pot, worrying all the while that religious police will come and chase her from the restaurant where she operates.
    Peter is among many local people carrying on the tradition of brewing “burukutu,” a popular homemade beer with a vinegar-like flavour made with sorghum.
    Brewers like her are a target for the Hisbah, the religious police who enforce Islamic sharia law that is in place in 12 northern states.
    But Peter, and those who consume burukutu, say it is healthy, natural and part of local tradition.    Thick and heavy, burukutu is widely consumed as food in rural parts of the north.
    “I grew up watching my mother and members of my family do the formulation back in my village,” Peter told Reuters in the Hausa language.    “I moved to town and could not find a job and I decided to start making this.”
    A four-litre bucket costs 500 naira ($1.22) – far cheaper than commercially brewed beer – and the 48-year-old mother of two sells between 40 to 80 litres a day.
    Brewing – from sorting the sorghum to washing, fermenting, blending and cooking – takes five days.    Burukutu typically has an alcohol content of 3% to 6%.
    “We are pleading to the government to leave us to continue with this business,” Peter said.    “People love it and enjoy it.”
    Religious police chased her from her last brewing site and she now works from a restaurant that provides cover from the Hisbah, for now.
    Sulaiman Ali, a security guard, said burukutu is filling and free of the chemicals he said are found in bottled beer and ogogoro, a local gin.
    “This one is a natural thing, cooked and it is okay,” he said as he sipped from a wooden bowl.
$1 = 411 Naira
(Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe, Editing by Libby George and Angus MacSwan)

8/9/2021 Blinken Speaks To Saudi Minister, Repeats U.S. Call For Rights Progress
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks about infrastructure investment at the University of Maryland's
A. James Clark School of Engineering in College Park, MD, U.S., August 9, 2021. Patrick Semansky/Pool via REUTERS
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Monday and repeated a call for progress on human rights.
    A State Department statement said Blinken and the Saudi minister discussed regional security and the attack last month on the tanker Mercer Street in the Arabian Sea, which Washington blames on Iran, and other regional issues.
    They also discussed bolstering security cooperation, Saudi support for a comprehensive ceasefire in Yemen and the need for immediate steps to mitigate Yemen’s humanitarian crisis, it said.
    “Secretary Blinken emphasized the need for progress on human rights,” the statement added, echoing a U.S. statement from July after Saudi Arabia’s deputy defense minister held talks in Washington with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
    The State Department statement made no mention of the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, which took place when President Joe Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, was in office.
    Biden shook the relationship with Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. ally, by allowing the release in February of an unclassified U.S. intelligence report that found that Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is known as MbS, approved the operation in which Khashoggi was killed.
    Riyadh denies that MbS was involved.
    Biden also ended U.S. support for offensive operations by the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.    But he has deflected calls by lawmakers and human rights groups for sanctions on MbS.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Peter Cooney)

8/9/2021 Israeli Prime Minister Calls On Lebanon To Take Responsibility For Rocket Fire Coming From Inside The Country by OAN Newsroom
Fields burn following a hit by a rocket fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory,
near the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
    Tensions in the Middle East have been on the rise as Hezbollah launched a fresh round of rockets at Israel from Lebanon.    Over the weekend, rocket fire between the terrorist group and Israel reached its worst point since 2006.
    Israel has not retaliated against Lebanon since then, but resumed on Thursday after an attack the day before. Hezbollah has taken responsibility for the original attack and escalation.
    However, the Israeli government is not only blaming the terrorist group for the attacks.    Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he believed Lebanon should take responsibility as well.
    “The country of Lebanon and the army of Lebanon have to take responsibility on what happens in its backyard,” he stated. “Also here, it is less important to us if it’s a Palestinian organization that fired or independent rebels.    The State of Israel won’t accept shooting on its land.”
    Meanwhile, the United Nations says neither side should be firing as it hurts Lebanon.    Hezbollah blames Israel solely for retaliating against their air strikes instead of letting it go like they have on previous occasions.

8/10/2021 Ethiopia Urges Citizens To Join Armed Forces As Conflict Spreads by Ayenat Mersie
FILE PHOTO: A burned tank stands near the town of Adwa, Tigray region,
Ethiopia, March 18, 2021. REUTERS/Baz
Ratner/File Photo
(Corrects to specify that the prime minister’s statement did mention the ceasefire)
    NAIROBI (Reuters) -Ethiopia’s government on Tuesday urged citizens to join the fight against resurgent Tigrayan forces now pushing beyond their own region in a nine-month-old war that has sparked a major refugee crisis.
    The call to arms came in a statement from the office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed: “Now is the right time for all capable Ethiopians who are of age to join the Defence Forces, Special Forces and militias to show your patriotism.”
    The statement came six weeks after the government declared a unilateral ceasefire in the northern region of Tigray on the day Tigrayan forces retook the regional capital Mekelle, in a sharp reversal after eight months of conflict.
    War broke out in November between federal troops and forces from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which ruled Ethiopia for three decades and now controls Tigray.    Fighting has forced more than two million people from their homes, and more than 50,000 people have fled into neighbouring Sudan.
    The Ethiopian government declared a unilateral ceasefire in June in an effort to enable farmers to plant, Tuesday’s statement reiterated.    That declaration came after Tigrayan forces recaptured the regional capital of Mekele.
    Tigrayan forces have dismissed the ceasefire, saying the government should agree to its conditions for a truce.
Spokespeople for the Tigrayan forces and for Abiy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
    After retaking control of most of Tigray in late June and early July, Tigrayan forces have pushed into the adjoining Afar and Amhara regions, capturing the United Nations World Heritage site of Lalibela last week.
    This new fighting has displaced more than 250,000 people in Afar and Amhara, the U.N. aid chief said last week.
    In an attack in the Afar region on Thursday, 12 people who had been forced from their homes by violence were killed, said Mohammed Yesuf, head of the Dubti Hospital.
    An additional 46 people were treated for injuries at the hospital, he told Reuters by phone.    It appeared they had been injured in an explosion, he said, citing burns on some of the injured.
    Those who were killed and injured had been sheltering at a school and health clinic, he said.
    It was not possible to verify the claims.    The Afar region’s government said on Friday that Tigrayan forces were responsible for the attack in the Galikoma area.
(Reporting by Ayenat Mersie; Additional reporting by Addis Ababa newsroom;Editing by Kevin Liffey, Maggie Fick and Giles Elgood)

8/10/2021 Algerian Wildfires Kill 18 Military Men - Defense Ministry
Smoke rises from a forest fire in the mountainous Tizi Ouzou province, east of the
Algerian capital, Algiers, August 10, 2021. REUTERS/Abdelaziz Boumzar
    ALGIERS (Reuters) – Eighteen Algerian military men have died fighting wildfires that broke out on Monday night east of the capital, Algiers, the defense ministry said.
    The government earlier said six civilians had been killed in the fires that erupted in Tizi Ouzou province, some 100 km (62 miles) east of Algiers.
(Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; Editing by Chris Reese)

8/10/2021 Algeria Blames Forest Fires On Arson, Death Toll Rises To 24 by Hamid Ould Ahmed
A civil protection rescue worker walks near smoke rising from a forest fire in the mountainous
Tizi Ouzou province, east of Algiers, Algeria August 10, 2021. REUTERS/Abdelaziz Boumzar
    ALGIERS (Reuters) -Algeria’s government on Tuesday said arsonists were responsible for dozens of forest fires that have killed 24 people, including 18 military men, and destroyed homes east of the capital.
    Plumes of smoke rose from pockets of fire in the forest in Tizi Ouzou region on Tuesday, while residents used tree branches and hurled water from plastic containers in an attempt to put out the flames however they could.
    Several houses were burnt and families were escaping to hotels, youth hostels and university residences, witnesses said, as the dense smoke hampered the visibility of fire crews.
    “We had a horror night.    My house is completely burnt,” said Mohamed Kaci, who had fled from Azazga village to a hotel with his family.
    Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud said an investigation would be launched to identify those behind the blazes as he put the death toll at six.
    The defense ministry later said in a statement 18 military men died and seven had been injured as they tried to extinguish fires.
    “Only criminal hands can be behind the simultaneous outbreak of about 50 fires across several localities of the province,” the minister said on state television.
    Firefighters and the army were still trying to contain the blazes, and Beldjoud said the priority was to avoid more victims.    He vowed to compensate those affected.
    Smaller fires were also ravaging forests in at least 13 provinces since Monday night.
(Additional reporting by Abdelaziz Boumzar; Editing by Alison Williams and Chizu Nomiyama)

8/10/2021 Lebanon’s Aoun Shields Patriarch After He Urged Halt To Rockets
FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's President Michel Aoun sits inside the presidential palace on the eve of the first
anniversary of Beirut port explosion, in Baabda, Lebanon August 3, 2021. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – President Michel Aoun on Tuesday condemned criticism of Lebanon’s Christian Maronite patriarch after he expressed opposition to the Iran-backed Shi’ite group Hezbollah, warning that insults must be avoided to safeguard national unity.
    Following a cross-border salvo between Israel and Hezbollah, Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai was sharply critical of Hezbollah on Sunday, saying no group should decide on war and peace and urging the army to halt rocket fire from the south.
    The border flare-up on Friday drew criticism from Hezbollah’s opponents in Lebanon, where hardship is mounting due to a crippling financial meltdown.
    Aoun – a Maronite ally of Hezbollah – condemned the campaigns to which he said Rai was being subjected and emphasised that freedom of expression was protected by the constitution during a phone call between the two, the presidency said.
    Other views should “remain in the political frame and should not tend to insult or offend, to safeguard national unity and guarantee general stability in the country,” Aoun said.
    Rai said that while Lebanon had not decided to make peace with Israel, neither had it decided to go to war and Lebanon did not want to be embroiled in military actions that would “draw destructive Israeli responses.”
    Without naming Hezbollah, Rai urged the army to halt rocket attacks from Lebanon “not out of concern for Israel’s safety, but out of concern for Lebanon’s safety.”
    While Hezbollah has not commented on Rai’s comments, its supporters accused him of surrender and supporting Zionism on social media.
    Hezbollah said it had fired rockets into open ground near Israeli forces in the disputed Shebaa Farms area on Friday in retaliation for Israeli air strikes in Lebanon a day earlier that had also hit open ground.
    Tension at the border began on Wednesday with a rocket strike from Lebanon for which no group claimed responsibility and on which Hezbollah has not commented.
(Reporting by Tom Perry/Laila Bassam; Editing by Alistair Bell)

8/10/2021 Syrian President Assad Issues Decree Forming New Government – Presidency Twitter
FILE PHOTO: Syria's President Bashar al-Assad addresses the new members of parliament in
Damascus, Syria in this handout released by SANA on August 12, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
    CAIRO (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a decree on Tuesday forming a new government under Prime Minister Hussein Arnous, the Syrian Presidency said on Twitter.
(Reporting by Ahmad Elhamy Writing by Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Jon Boyle)

8/11/2021 Israel’s Top Diplomat Makes First Visit To Morocco Since Upgrade In Ties by Rami Ayyub
FILE PHOTO: Israeli alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid speaks during a news
conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 30, 2021. REUTERS/Christopher Pike/File Photo
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid departed for Morocco on Wednesday in what will be the first visit by Israel’s top diplomat since the two countries upgraded ties last year.
    Israel and Morocco agreed in December to resume diplomatic relations and re-launch direct flights under a deal brokered by former U.S. President Donald Trump in which Washington also recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
    Leading a ministerial delegation, Lapid will inaugurate Israel’s diplomatic mission in Rabat, visit Casablanca’s historic Temple Beth-El and hold talks with his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, Lapid’s office said.
    “This historic visit is a continuation of the long-standing friendship and deep roots and traditions that the Jewish community in Morocco, and the large community of Israelis with origins in Morocco, have,” Lapid said ahead of the two-day visit.
    Morocco was one of four Arab countries – along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan – to move towards normalising ties with Israel last year under U.S.-brokered deals.
    Those accords angered Palestinians who have long relied on Arab support in their quest for statehood in Israeli-occupied territory.
    U.S. President Joe Biden has said he wants to build on Israel’s new relations, which Lapid has prioritised since taking office in June as part of a cross-partisan coalition that replaced longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
    Just five weeks ago, Lapid made a landmark first visit by an Israeli foreign minister to the UAE, where he touted Israel’s ties with the Gulf Arab state and highlighted concerns over their mutual foe Iran.
    Two Israeli carriers launched nonstop commercial flights to Marrakesh from Tel Aviv last month, but hopes for a broader tourism bonanza have been delayed by a spike of COVID-19 cases in both countries.
    Morocco was home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the region until Israel’s founding in 1948.    As Jews fled or were expelled from many Arab countries, an estimated quarter of a million left Morocco for Israel from 1948 to 1964.
    Today only about 3,000 Jews remain in Morocco, while hundreds of thousands of Israelis claim some Moroccan ancestry.
(Reporting by Rami Ayyub; Additional reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi in Rabat; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

8/11/2021 Wildfire Rips Through Algeria, Killing 42 People Including Soldiers by Hamid Ould Ahmed
A civil protection rescue worker walks near smoke rising from a forest fire in the mountainous
Tizi Ouzou province, east of Algiers, Algeria August 10, 2021. REUTERS/Abdelaziz Boumzar
    ALGIERS (Reuters) -Forest fires in Algeria killed 42 people on Tuesday, including 25 soldiers deployed to help put out the blaze, the government said, as thick clouds of smoke covered much of the mountainous Kabylie region east of the capital.
    Dozens of separate fires have raged through forest areas across northern Algeria since Monday night and Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud accused arsonists of igniting the flames, without providing more details on the allegations.
    “Only criminal hands can be behind the simultaneous outbreak of about 50 fires across several localities,” he said.
    Last week, a European Union atmosphere monitor said the Mediterranean had become a wildfire hotspot as massive blazes engulfed forests in Turkey and Greece, aided by a heatwave.
    Residents of the Tizi Ouzou region in Kabylie used tree branches to try to smother burning patches of forest or hurled water from plastic containers in a desperate effort to douse the fire.
    The soldiers were killed in different areas, some while trying to extinguish the flames and others after they were cut off by the spreading fire, Kabylie residents said.    The Defence Ministry said more soldiers had been badly injured with burns.
    Several houses were burnt as families were escaping to hotels, youth hostels and university residences, witnesses said, adding that a dense smoke hampered the visibility of fire crews.
    “We had a horror night.    My house is completely burnt,” said Mohamed Kaci, who had fled with his family from the village of Azazga to a hotel.
    Speaking on state television on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Ayman Benabderrahmane said the death toll had risen to 42, including 25 members of the military. The government was in “advanced talks with (foreign) partners to hire planes and help speed up the process of extinguishing fires,” he added.
    Firefighters and the army were still trying to contain the blazes, and Beldjoud said the priority was to avoid more victims.    He vowed to compensate those affected.
    Smaller fires have ravaged forests in at least 16 provinces of the North African country since Monday night.
(Additional reporting by Abdelaziz Boumzar; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Aurora Ellis and Mark Heinrich)

8/11/2021 At Least 65 Killed In Algerian Wildfires, Greece And Italy Burn by Karolina Tagaris and Hamid Ould Ahmed
FILE PHOTO: Two Egyptian Chinook helicopters fly over Elefsina Military Air Base,
providing firefighting assistance in Greece, August 11, 2021. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi
    ATHENS/ALGIERS (Reuters) – Exhausted Greek firefighters battled blazes for a ninth day on Wednesday amid sweltering temperatures that also helped stoke wildfires in Algeria, where at least 65 people died, and in southern Italy.
    From Turkey to Tunisia, countries around the Mediterranean have been seeing some of their highest temperatures in decades, as the United Nations climate panel this week warned that the world was dangerously close to runaway warming.
    Greece, in the grip of its worst heatwave in three decades, evacuated around 20 villages on the Peloponnese, though ancient Olympia, site of the first Olympic Games, escaped the inferno.
    About 580 Greek firefighters, helped by colleagues from France, Britain, Germany and the Czech Republic, were battling blazes in Gortynia, near Olympia.
    Flare-ups continued to ravage Evia, Greece’s second-largest island, just off the mainland east of Athens and scene of some of the worst devastation in the past week.
    “If helicopters and water bombing planes had come right away and operated for six, seven hours, the wildfire would have been put out in the first day,” said cafe owner Thrasyvoulos Kotzias, 34, gazing at an empty beach in the resort of Pefki on Evia.     Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called it a “nightmarish summer” and has apologised for failures in tackling some of the more than 500 wildfires that have raged across Greece.
‘OUR IDENTITY IS TURNING TO ASHES’
    At the other end of the Mediterranean, Algeria’s government deployed the army to help fight fires that tore through forested areas in the north of the country, killing at least 65 people, including 28 soldiers.
    The worst hit area has been Tizi Ouzou, the largest district of the mountainous Kabylie region, where houses have burned and residents fled to shelter in hotels, hostels and university accommodation in nearby towns.
    President Abdelmadjid Tebboune declared three days of national mourning for the dead.
    In southern Italy fires ravaged thousands of acres of land as temperatures hit records well above 40 degrees Celsius (104°F) and hot winds fanned the flames.
    Firefighters said on Twitter they had carried out more than 3,000 operations in Sicily and Calabria in the last 12 hours, deploying seven planes to try to douse the flames.
    “We are losing our history, our identity is turning to ashes, our soul is burning,” a local mayor in Calabria, Giuseppe Falcomata, wrote on Facebook, after a 76-year-old man died when flames engulfed his house.
    A 30-year-old man died close to the city of Catania when his tractor overturned as he was carrying water to put out flames, local media reported.
    Tunisia’s capital Tunis recorded its highest ever temperature of 49C (120F) on Tuesday, the Meteorological Institute said.
    Turkey has also suffered nearly 300 wildfires over the past two weeks which have devastated tens of thousands of hectares of woodland, though only three were reported still burning as of late Wednesday.
    Turkey’s northern coast, however, faced a different challenge – floods after unusually heavy rainfall that tore down a bridge and left villages without power.
    The wildfires are not limited to the Mediterranean region.    California has suffered the second-largest wildfire in its history that by late on Sunday had covered nearly 500,000 acres (2,000 sq km).
    The U.N. climate panel published a report on Monday that said greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were high enough to guarantee climate disruption for decades if not centuries.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Gareth Jones; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

8/11/2021 Ethiopia’s Tigray Forces Seek New Military Alliance
FILE PHOTO: A tank damaged during the fighting between Ethiopia's National Defense Force (ENDF) and Tigray Special
Forces stands on the outskirts of Humera town in Ethiopia July 1, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
    NAIROBI (Reuters) - Forces from Ethiopia’s rebellious Tigray region said on Wednesday they were in talks to forge a military alliance with insurgents from Ethiopia’s most populous region, Oromiya, heaping pressure on the central government in Addis Ababa.
    The move could signal an escalation in the country’s nine-month-old war and comes a day after the government urged citizens to join the fight against resurgent Tigrayan forces.
    “We are in talks with the Oromo Liberation Army,” Debretsion Gebremichael, leader of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), told Reuters by satellite phone.
    The TPLF controls the Tigray region in Ethiopia’s north and its forces have been fighting federal troops since November in a conflict that has caused a major refugee crisis.
    In recent weeks, the conflict has spread into two neighbouring regions, Afar and Amhara, displacing about another 250,000 people and raising international concerns about a wider destabilisation of Africa’s second most populous nation.
    Debretsion declined to give further details.    Also on Wednesday, Getachew Reda, a spokesperson for the TPLF, told Reuters by satellite phone that “some sort of agreement” was in the works.    “It’s only natural that we work together with people who have a stake in the future of the Ethiopian state.”
    “At this point, we share intel and coordinate strategy,” Odaa Tarbii, a spokesperson for The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), said in a message.
    Tarbii said the agreement, which he described as being “at a very early stage,” was “based on the mutual understanding that Abiy’s dictatorship must be removed.”
    The OLA is a splinter group of the Oromo Liberation Front, a formerly banned opposition group that returned from exile after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018.
    The Ethiopian military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    Abiy’s spokesperson, Billene Seyoum, said in an email the two groups – TPLF and OLA – had been designated as terrorist organisations by parliament.    She did not elaborate.
    Fighting between federal troops and the TPLF has forced more than two million people from their homes, and more than 50,000 people have fled into neighbouring Sudan.
    The government declared a unilateral ceasefire in June, after Tigrayan forces recaptured the regional capital of Mekelle.    Tigrayan forces have dismissed the ceasefire, saying the government should agree to their conditions for a truce.
(Reporting by Giulia Paravicini in Olbia, Italy, Maggie Fick in Nairobi and Addis Ababa Newsroom; Editing by Giles Elgood/Mark Heinrich)

8/11/2021 Turkey Still Keen To Run Kabul Airport Despite Taliban Advance - Officials by Orhan Coskun
FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, previously known as Kabul
International Airport, in Afghanistan, February 11, 2016. AfghanistanLM REUTERS/Ahmad Masood/File Photo
(Corrects headline to say Turkey keen to run the airport rather than running)
    ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey is for now still intent on running and guarding Kabul airport after other foreign troops withdraw from Afghanistan, but is monitoring the situation after rapid advances by Taliban insurgents, two Turkish officials said.
    Taliban fighters took control of another city in northern Afghanistan on Wednesday, the eighth provincial capital to fall to them in six days, as U.S.-led foreign forces complete their withdrawal.
    Turkey has offered to deploy troops at Kabul airport after NATO withdraws and has held talks with the United States for weeks.    In exchange, President Tayyip Erdogan has asked for financial, logistical and diplomatic conditions to be met.
    “For now nothing has changed regarding the TAF (Turkish Armed Forces) taking control of Kabul Airport. The talks and the process are continuing,” a senior Turkish official told Reuters.
    “Work is continuing on the basis that the transfer will happen, but of course the situation in Afghanistan is being followed closely.”
    In a televised interview with broadcaster CNN Turk on Wednesday, Erdogan said he could meet with the Taliban as part of efforts to end the fighting in Afghanistan.
    “Our related institutions are making efforts that could extend as far as some meetings with the Taliban… I could even meet the one that will be in the position of their leader,” Erdogan said.
    The Taliban have warned Turkey against keeping troops in Afghanistan to guard the airport.
    In comments to foreign media in Islamabad on Wednesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said after talks with Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar that efforts would be made to facilitate talks between the Taliban and Ankara.
    “The best thing is for Turkey and the Taliban to have a face-to-face dialogue.    So both can talk about the reasons why Kabul airport has to be secured,” Khan said.
    “And so we will be talking to the Taliban, to use our influence on them, to have a face-to-face talk with Turkey.”
    A Turkish security official said Turkey was continuing to assess developments in Afghanistan.
    “There is no change in view concerning the taking control of Kabul Airport.    But the situation in Afghanistan is changing from day to day,” he said.
(Additional reporting by Gibran Peshimam in IslamabadWriting by Daren ButlerEditing by Giles Elgood and Gareth Jones)

8/11/2021 Lebanese Central Bank Effectively Ends Fuel Subsidy
FILE PHOTO: A worker fills up a car with fuel at a gas station in Beirut, Lebanon June 24, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s central bank said it would offer credit lines for fuel imports based on the market price for the Lebanese pound from Thursday, effectively ending a fuel subsidy that has drained its reserves since the country descended into financial crisis.
    The move, announced late on Wednesday, means fuel prices will rise steeply: One Lebanese broadcaster cited figures showing the price of unsubsidised 95 octane gasoline at more than four times the subsidised price.
    It will spell more hardship for the growing number of people in poverty in a country whose currency has lost more than 90% of its value in less than two years, in what the World Bank has described as one of the sharpest depressions in modern history.
    But it should also alleviate crippling fuel supply shortages as incentives to smuggle and hoard heavily subsidised fuel disappear, said Nassib Ghobril, chief economist at Byblos Bank.
    Bank Governor Riad Salameh had said earlier in the day at a meeting of the Supreme Defence Council that the bank could no longer continue to offer lines of credit and subsidize fuel imports, a ministerial source and al-Jadeed TV said.
    Since the onset of the crisis, the central bank had been effectively subsidizing fuel by using its dollar reserves to finance fuel imports at official exchange rates well below the rates on the parallel market.
    Most recently, the central bank had been extending credit for fuel imports at a rate of 3,900 pounds to the dollar, compared with a parallel market rate of more than 20,000 pounds on Wednesday.
    The central bank’s reserves have sunk from more than $40 billion in 2016 to $15 billion in March.    The fuel subsidy costs some $3 billion a year.
    Senior finance advisor Mike Azar noted that since the bank would continue to sell dollars to importers, they wouldn’t need to resort to the market causing an even more rapid devaluation of the pound.
    The official rate for the Lebanese pound, against which most salaries are benchmarked, is still 1,500 pounds to the dollar, a peg that was maintained for more than two decades until the crisis erupted in late 2019.
    Ghobril said the government must now roll out an electronic cash card as quickly as possibly to help needy families.    Parliament approved the prepaid cash cards at the end of June.
    In recent days, gas stations have witnessed long queues and deadly altercations, and most people have experienced extended blackouts as diesel becomes scarce.
    The hard currency crunch means that medicines are also hard to find and prices for basic goods have skyrocketed, adding to the burden for a population where more than half are below the poverty line.
    In a June report, the World Bank said Lebanon’s 12-month inflation rate has risen to 157.9% in March this year from 10% in January 2020.
(Reporting by Laila Bassam, Nafisa Eltahir, and Tom Perry; Editing by Alison Williams, Giles Elgood, David Evans and Jonathan Oatis)

8/11/2021 Tanzania Suspends Newspaper For Story On President It Calls False
FILE PHOTO: Tanzania's new President Samia Suluhu Hassan takes oath of office following the death of her
predecessor John Pombe Magufuli at State House in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania March 19, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer
    NAIROBI (Reuters) – The Tanzanian government on Wednesday suspended a local newspaper for running what it called a false story saying that President Samia Suluhu Hassan would not vie for office in 2025, the first newspaper suspension in Hassan’s tenure.
    The suspended newspaper, Uhuru, is owned by the country’s ruling party Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), which has in effect been in power since 1961.
    The ban came after Uhuru on Wednesday on Wednesday a front-page story, “I Don’t Have Intentions to Contest for Presidency in 2025 – Samia.”
    “President Samia Suluhu Hassan has not said any information that she does not have intentions to contest for presidency in 2025,” Gerson Msigwa, Tanzania’s director of information services and chief spokesperson said in a statement.
    Hassan took office in March following the death of predecessor John Magufuli, nicknamed “the bulldozer,” who downplayed the severity of COVID-19 and banned several newspapers during his six-year administration.
    Since taking office, Hassan has indicated a change in course, urging public vigilance on COVID-19 and instituting measures to curb its spread.
    In April, she said the government would re-instate media outlawed by Magufuli.    Soon after, however, officials clarified that only online television would benefit from the measure but that banned newspapers could reapply for their licences.
    The ruling CCM party said Uhuru’s board had already suspended three top officials managing the newspaper, including the CEO, over the story.
    The party was investigating what happened, CCM General Secretary Daniel Chongolo told reporters.
    The suspension would last for 14 days and Uhuru could file an appeal to the minister of information, Msigwa said.
(Reporting by Nairobi Newsroom; Writing by Ayenat Mersie; editing by David Evans)

8/12/2021 At Least 65 Killed In Algerian Wildfires, Greece And Italy Burn by Karolina Tagaris and Hamid Ould Ahmed
FILE PHOTO: Two Egyptian Chinook helicopters fly over Elefsina Military Air Base,
providing firefighting assistance in Greece, August 11, 2021. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi
    ATHENS/ALGIERS (Reuters) – Exhausted Greek firefighters battled blazes for a ninth day on Wednesday amid sweltering temperatures that also helped stoke wildfires in Algeria, where at least 65 people died, and in southern Italy.
    Greece, in the grip of its worst heatwave in three decades, evacuated around 20 villages on the Peloponnese, though ancient Olympia, site of the first Olympic Games, escaped the inferno.
    About 580 Greek firefighters, helped by colleagues from France, Britain, Germany and the Czech Republic, were battling blazes in Gortynia, near Olympia.
    Flare-ups continued to ravage Evia, Greece’s second-largest island, just off the mainland east of Athens and scene of some of the worst devastation in the past week.
    “If helicopters and water bombing planes had come right away and operated for six, seven hours, the wildfire would have been put out in the first day,” said cafe owner Thrasyvoulos Kotzias, 34, gazing at an empty beach in the resort of Pefki on Evia.
    Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called it a “nightmarish summer” and has apologised for failures in tackling some of the more than 500 wildfires that have raged across Greece.
‘OUR IDENTITY IS TURNING TO ASHES’
    At the other end of the Mediterranean, Algeria’s government deployed the army to help fight fires that tore through forested areas in the north of the country, killing at least 65 people, including 28 soldiers.
    The worst hit area has been Tizi Ouzou, the largest district of the mountainous Kabylie region, where houses have burned and residents fled to shelter in hotels, hostels and university accommodation in nearby towns.
    President Abdelmadjid Tebboune declared three days of national mourning for the dead.
    In southern Italy fires ravaged thousands of acres of land as temperatures hit records well above 40 degrees Celsius (104°F) and hot winds fanned the flames.
    Firefighters said on Twitter they had carried out more than 3,000 operations in Sicily and Calabria in the last 12 hours, deploying seven planes to try to douse the flames.
    “We are losing our history, our identity is turning to ashes, our soul is burning,” a local mayor in Calabria, Giuseppe Falcomata, wrote on Facebook, after a 76-year-old man died when flames engulfed his house.
    A 30-year-old man died close to the city of Catania when his tractor overturned as he was carrying water to put out flames, local media reported.
    Tunisia’s capital Tunis recorded its highest ever temperature of 49C (120F) on Tuesday, the Meteorological Institute said.
    Turkey has also suffered nearly 300 wildfires over the past two weeks which have devastated tens of thousands of hectares of woodland, though only three were reported still burning as of late Wednesday.
    Turkey’s northern coast, however, faced a different challenge – floods after unusually heavy rainfall that tore down a bridge and left villages without power.
    The wildfires are not limited to the Mediterranean region.    California has suffered the second-largest wildfire in its history that by late on Sunday had covered nearly 500,000 acres (2,000 sq km).
    The U.N. climate panel published a report on Monday that said greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were high enough to guarantee climate disruption for decades if not centuries.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Gareth Jones; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

8/12/2021 Turkey Says Kabul Airport Issue To “Take Shape” In Coming Days
FILE PHOTO: Afghan passengers walk in front of Hamid Karzai International Airport
in Kabul, Afghanistan March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani/File Photo
    ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey believes it would be beneficial for Kabul airport to remain open and the issue will “take shape” in the coming days, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Thursday as talks continued on Turkey running the airport.
    He was speaking at the Turkish Embassy in Islamabad as Afghan government forces battled Taliban fighters in and around several cities on Thursday, and after a U.S. defence official said U.S. intelligence believed the Taliban could take over Kabul within 90 days.
    Turkey has offered to deploy troops at Kabul airport after NATO withdraws and has held talks with the United States for weeks.    In exchange, President Tayyip Erdogan has asked for financial, logistical and diplomatic conditions to be met.
    Akar said there had been suggestions that diplomatic missions would completely withdraw if the airport was closed.
    “For this reason we continue to share our view that the airport should remain open.    In the coming days this issue will take shape,” he said in comments which were published in a defence ministry statement.
    Two Turkish officials said on Wednesday Ankara is for now still intent on running and guarding the airport, but is monitoring the situation after rapid advances by the Taliban.
(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun and Can Sezer; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Dominic Evans)

8/12/2021 Zambia Starts Voting In Presidential Election Seen Too Close To Call by Chris Mfula
FILE PHOTO: Zambia's President Edgar Chagwa Lungu addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations
General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 25, 2018. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
    LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambians started voting on Thursday in a showdown between President Edgar Lungu and main opposition rival Hakainde Hichilema that looks too tight to call and comes amid mounting debt and a flagging economy.
    Polling opened at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) with long queues seen at voting booths in the capital Lusaka, which could point to a huge turnout in Africa’s No. 2 copper producer.
    At a voting station in the Kabwata suburb of Lusaka, first time voter Ben Mulenga, 19, said he had arrived two and half hours before voting started because he anticipated long queues.
    “The things that are happening in our country, including the bad state of the economy and the high levels of unemployment need to be addressed,” said Mulenga, a student at the University of Zambia.
    Lungu was among the earliest voters, having brought forward his voting time.    Wearing a black leather jacket and a white face mask, Lungu, accompanied by his wife, waved to a cheering crowd as he left in his motorcade.br>     “We are winning, otherwise I wouldn’t have been in the race if we were not winning,” Lungu told reporters shortly after he voted at a polling station in the Chawama township in Lusaka.
    Some 54% of registered voters are 34 or younger, statistics from the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) show.
    That could help Hichilema, who is facing Lungu for the third time and has placed the economy front and centre of his campaign, political analysts said.
    In November, Zambia became the first African state to default on part of its debt during the coronavirus pandemic.    It will be among the continent’s slowest growing economies this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates.
    Zambia owes in excess of $12 billion to external creditors and spends 30%-40% of its revenues on interest payments on its debt, credit rating firm S&P Global estimates.
    In office since 2015, 64-year-old Lungu narrowly defeated Hichilema, the CEO of an accountancy firm before entering politics, in a disputed election the following year.
    The president has touted the new road, airport and energy projects he has overseen as laying the groundwork for economic development and growth.
    His push for greater state control over the mining sector – an approach that has sparked fears of resource nationalism among international investors – will create jobs, he says.
    “The challenge we have is the economy and we are doing our best to ensure that the challenge is faced head on,” Lungu said during his final virtual campaign rally on Wednesday.
    But so far his debt-financed infrastructure splurge has failed to pay economic dividends, and unemployment remains high.
    That has left him open to attack from Hichilema.
    “So much money was borrowed at a very high cost and this is frustrating development efforts,” Hichilema, popularly known as HH, told a news conference on Wednesday.
(Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe, Editing by Joe Bavier and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

8/12/2021 Israel, Morocco To Upgrade Relations, Open Embassies, Israeli FM Says by Ahmed Eljechtimi
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid inaugurates Israel's diplomatic mission, in the presence of Minister Delegate to the Moroccan
Foreign Ministry Mohcine Jazouli, in Rabat, Morocco August 12, 2021. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout via REUTERS
    RABAT (Reuters) -Israel and Morocco plan to upgrade their restored diplomatic relations and open embassies within two months, Israel’s foreign minister said during a visit to the North African kingdom on Thursday.
    Morocco was one of four Arab countries – along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan – to move towards normalising relations with Israel last year under U.S.-engineered accords.
    Those agreements also saw Washington recognise Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, in a diplomatic boon for Rabat.
    “We are going to upgrade from liaison offices to embassies,” Yair Lapid told a news conference, saying he had agreed on the move, to be implemented in two months’ time, with his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita.
    Earlier on Thursday, Lapid inaugurated Israel’s liaison office in Rabat and visited a synagogue in Casablanca.
    Lapid’s visit was the first by an Israeli foreign minister to Morocco since 2003, after the two countries agreed in December to resume diplomatic relations.
    Morocco cooled mid-level relations with Israel in 2000 in solidarity with the Palestinians, who launched an uprising that year.
    The deals between Israel and the four Arab states angered Palestinians, who have long relied on Arab support in their quest for statehood in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza.    Until last year, only two Arab states – Egypt and Jordan – had forged full ties with Israel.
    Abdelaziz Aftati, a senior leader of the co-ruling Islamist PJD party in Morocco, condemned the move to open embassies, saying: “We will spare no effort to counter the Zionist project.”
    At the news conference, Lapid repeated his view that the time was not ripe for any major breakthrough in peace efforts with the Palestinians, which collapsed in 2014.
    He cited internal Palestinian divisions and the structure of the current Israeli government, an alliance of left-wing, Arab, centrist and right-wing parties in which consensus on peacemaking would be difficult.
(Writing and additional reporting by Jeffrey Heller in JerusalemEditing by Gareth Jones and Sonya Hepinstall)

8/12/2021 Algeria Leader Calls Wildfires ‘Disaster’, Says 22 Arsonists Arrested
Men attempt to put out a fire in Iboudraren village, in the mountainous Kabylie region
of Tizi Ouzou, east of Algiers, Algeria August 12, 2021. REUTERS/Abdelaziz Boumzar
    ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algeria has arrested 22 people suspected of being behind the most devastating wildfires in the country’s history that killed 65 people, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Thursday, calling the fires a ‘disaster’ and urging the preservation of national unity.
    Dozens of forest fires have hit mountainous areas in northern Algeria since Monday, mainly in Tizi Ouzou, the main province of the Kabylie region east of the capital, Algiers.
    “Some fires have been caused by high temperatures but criminal hands were behind most of them,” Tebboune said in a live speech on state television.    “We have arrested 22 suspects, including 11 in Tizi Ouzou. Justice will perform its duty.”
    At least 28 military men were among the dead as the North African country deployed the army to help firefighters contain fires that ravaged several houses in forested areas.
    “It’s a disaster … disaster.    But our strength will not collapse,” Tebboune said, praising aid caravans from other provinces to provide affected regions with food, medicine and donations of other material.
    “We must preserve national unity… I insist on national unity,” he added.
    In addition to soldiers on the ground, the army has been using six helicopters to extinguish blazes.    The are supported by two firefighting planes hired from the European Union and which have been in action since early Thursday.
    The government will receive two more planes from Spain on Friday and a third one from Switzerland in the next three days, Tebboune said.
(Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

8/13/2021 Zambia Counts Votes As Internet Restriction Remain In Force by Chris Mfula
FILE PHOTO: Zambia's President Edgar Chagwa Lungu addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations
General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 25, 2018. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz//File Photo
    LUSAKA (Reuters) – Zambia’s election commission will on Friday start announcing results of a tight presidential vote between top contenders President Edgar Lungu and main rival Hakainde Hichilema that was marred by restrictions on the internet and violence in three regions.
    Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) chief electoral officer Patrick Nshindano said the agency would start announcing results from 10 a.m. (0800 GMT).    ECZ has said full results will be known within 72 hours after polls closed.
    The government declined to comment on the disruptions to the internet, which users said affected several social media sites.    Mobile phone networks directed questions to the government. Facebook confirmed it was among those impacted.
    “We know that temporary disruptions of internet services have tremendous, negative human rights, economic and social consequences, and continue to strongly oppose these,” a Facebook spokesperson said.
    Use of social media like WhatsApp is part of everyday life in Zambia and restricting internet access could fuel suspicion about the outcome of the vote, which is seen as too close to call.
    On Twitter and Facebook, Zambians said they were using virtual private networks to get around the restrictions on the internet.
    Millions of Zambians turned out to vote, forcing some polling stations to remain open past their official time of closing, pointing to a large voter turnout.
    But Lungu, who has been in power since 2015, has already cast doubt on the outcome of the election in three provinces after he accused the opposition of violence on Thursday that killed a ruling party official.
    He directed the army to send reinforcements to the provinces, although European and African observers said the vote had so far been largely peaceful.
    On the streets of the capital Lusaka businesses were open and citizens went about their daily routine as they waited for results.
    The winner of the election faces the task of boosting Zambia’s flagging economy, which became the continent’s first country during the coronavirus pandemic to default on its sovereign debt in November.
(Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe Editing by Mark Potter)

8/13/2021 U.S. Envoy To Visit Ethiopia To Try To Halt Fighting
FILE PHOTO: U.N. Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman speaks during a news
conference in Colombo March 3, 2015. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte (SRI LANKA - Tags: POLITICS)
    NAIROBI (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden is sending his special envoy for the Horn of Africa to Ethiopia amid international alarm at the escalation of a war that has killed thousands and created a humanitarian crisis in one of the world’s poorest regions.
    White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, announcing the trip by envoy Jeffrey Feltman, urged Ethiopia’s government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) to come to the negotiating table after nine months of conflict.
    “Months of war have brought immense suffering and division to a great nation that won’t be healed through more fighting,” he tweeted late on Thursday.
    Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Feltman’s travel.
    Abiy’s federal troops and forces from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which control Tigray, have been battling since November in a war that has killed thousands of people, sparked a major refugee crisis and been marked by ethnic killings, rape as a weapon of war and a humanitarian crisis.
    The United Nations warned in July that more than 100,000 children in Tigray could suffer life-threatening malnutrition in the next 12 months.
    This week, the rebellious Tigrayan forces said they were in talks to forge a military alliance with insurgents from Ethiopia’s most populous region, Oromiya, heaping pressure on the government in Addis Ababa.
    The leader of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), told Reuters by phone on Thursday that the group had opted to join forces with the TPLF, whom they had bitterly opposed during their three decades in power in Ethiopia, because they now have now have a common cause.
    “I hope we are going to squeeze this government, and if possible – and I know it’s possible – we are going to overthrow this regime and stop this crisis,” said OLA leader Kumsa Diriba, who goes by the nom de guerre Jaal Marroo.br>     The government has designated both the TPLF and the OLA as terrorist organisations.
    Also this week, the government urged citizens to join the fight against the resurgent Tigrayan forces.    It said all capable Ethiopians should join the army, special forces and militias to show their patriotism.
    After retaking control of most of Tigray in late June and early July, Tigrayan forces have pushed into the adjoining Afar and Amhara regions, capturing the United Nations World Heritage site of Lalibela last week.
(Reporting by Maggie Fick; Editing by Nick Macfie)

8/13/2021 Death Toll From Northern Turkey Floods Rises To 27
Search and Rescue team members evacuate locals during flash floods which have swept through towns in the
Turkish Black Sea, in Bozkurt, a town in Kastamonu province, Turkey, August 12, 2021. Picture taken August 12, 2021.
Onder Godez/Ministry of Interior Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) Press Office/Handout via REUTERS
    ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Flash floods which have swept through towns in the Turkish Black Sea region have killed 27 people, the country’s emergency management agency said on Friday, in the second natural disaster to strike Turkey this month.
    The floods brought chaos to northern provinces just as authorities were declaring wildfires that raged through southern coastal regions for two weeks had been brought under control.
    Twenty-five people died as a result of the floods in the province of Kastamonu and another two people died in Sinop, the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said.
    Searches continued for a missing person in the province of Bartin.
    The floods and the fires, which killed eight people and devastated tens of thousands of hectares of forest, struck in the same week that a U.N. panel said that global warming is dangerously close to spiralling out of control, and that extreme weather would become more severe.
    More than 1,700 people were evacuated from affected areas, some with the help of helicopters and boats, AFAD said.
    Helicopters lowered coast guard personnel onto the roofs of buildings to rescue people who were stranded as flood water swept through the streets, footage shared by the Interior Ministry showed.
    The deluge damaged power infrastructure, leaving about 330 villages without electricity.    Five bridges had collapsed and many others were damaged, leading to road closures, AFAD added. Parts of the roads were also swept away.
    Television footage showed the floods dragging dozens of cars and heaps of debris along the streets.
(Reporting by Daren Butler; Editing by Dominic Evans)

8/13/2021 U.S. Discusses Urgent Need For Tunisia Prime Minister-Designate - White House
FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied addresses the nation in this screengrab taken from Tunisian
President's office footage, Tunisia July 25, 2021. TUNISIAN PRESIDENT'S OFFICE/via REUTERS TV
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. deputy national security adviser met Tunisia’s president on Friday and discussed the urgent need to appoint a prime minister designate to form a capable government, the White House said.
    The adviser, Jonathan Finer, delivered a message to President Kais Saied from U.S. President Joe Biden, “reaffirming his personal support, and that of the Biden-Harris Administration, for the Tunisian people and urging a swift return to the path of Tunisia’s parliamentary democracy,” the statement said.
    Finer traveled to Tunis with U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Joey Hood, the statement said.
    It said he “discussed with President Saied the urgent need to appoint a prime minister designate who would form a capable government able to address the immediate economic and health crises facing Tunisia.”
    “Empowering a new government to stabilize the economy will also create space for an inclusive dialogue about proposed constitutional and electoral reforms,” it added.
    The statement said Finer also met with civil society leaders and conveyed U.S. support for their active participation in building a democratic future.
    Saied dismissed the prime minister and suspended parliament on July 25 in moves opponents branded a coup. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Saied last month and urged him to take action to return the country “to the democratic path.”
    A Facebook post by the Tunisian presidency said Saied told the U.S. officials measures he had taken were within the framework of implementing the constitution and responding to a popular will in light of the political, economic and social crises, and rampant corruption and bribery.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom, Tim Ahmann and Lisa Lambert; Editing by Chris Reese and Richard Chang)

8/14/2021 Zambia’s Opposition Leader Hichilema Takes Early Presidential Election Lead
FILE PHOTO: Opposition UPND party's presidential candidate Hakainde Hichilema casts
his ballot in Lusaka, Zambia, August 12, 2021. REUTERS/Jean Ndaisenga/File Photo
    LUSAKA (Reuters) -Zambia’s opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema took an early lead in the country’s presidential election over incumbent Edgar Lungu, according to the first results from the electoral commission early on Saturday.
    Hichilema tallied 171,604 votes versus the 110,178 garnered by Lungu in the results for 15 of the southern African nation’s 156 constituencies.
    Those 15 constituencies include perceived Lungu strongholds, suggesting that Hichilema has gained ground since the last elections in 2016, when he lost by a slim margin in contested elections marred by allegations of rigging by Lungu.
    A total of 296,210 votes were cast in those constituencies, representing a 71.75% turnout rate, chief electoral officer Patrick Nshindano told a media briefing in the capital Lusaka.
    The first results, initially expected on Friday, were delayed after counting went on overnight due to the huge voter turnout and because political parties objected to the electoral commission’s initial figures in one constituency, which differed with those from monitors on the ground.
    The Electoral Commission of Zambia allowed the last polling station to remain open until 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Friday to give people who queued for hours an opportunity to cast their ballots amid restrictions on internet access and violence in three regions.
    An estimated 7 million people registered to vote in presidential and parliamentary elections that saw top contender Hichilema, a successful businessman, challenge Lungu’s attempt to win a second five-year term.
(Reporting by Chris Mfula; writing by Wendell Roelf; Editing by William Mallard)

8/14/2021 Turkey Combats Black Sea Floods, Death Toll Rises To 31 by Nevzat Devranoglu
A partly collapsed building hit by flash floods that swept through towns in the Turkish Black Sea region in Bozkurt,
a town in Kastamonu province, Turkey, August 13, 2021. Can Erok/Demiroren Visual Media via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS -
THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. TURKEY OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN TURKEY.
    SINOP, Turkey (Reuters) - Emergency workers battled to relieve flood-hit areas of Turkey’s Black Sea region on Friday, as the death toll rose to 31 in the second natural disaster to strike the country this month.
    The floods, among the worst Turkey has experienced, brought chaos to northern provinces just as authorities were declaring wildfires that raged through southern coastal regions for two weeks had been brought under control.
    Torrents of water tossed dozens of cars and heaps of debris along streets, destroyed bridges, closed roads and cut off electricity to hundreds of villages.
    “This is the worst flood disaster I have seen,” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters late on Thursday after surveying damage that extended across the provinces of Bartin, Kastamonu and Sinop.
    Twenty-nine people died as a result of floods in Kastamonu and another two people died in Sinop, the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said.
    Ten people were being treated in hospital, it added.
    Opposition politicians said many more people were missing and the number of deaths could rise sharply.
    “The infrastructure in Ayancik (district) has completely collapsed.    The sewage system is destroyed.    There is no electricity or water,” Sinop Mayor Baris Ayhan told Reuters.
TREES UPROOTED
    The floods and fires, which killed eight people and devastated tens of thousands of hectares of forest, struck in the same week that a U.N. panel said global warming was dangerously close to spiralling out of control, and warned that extreme weather would become more severe.
    About 45 cm (18 inches) of rain fell in less than three days in one village near the worst-hit region, Kastamonu’s Bozkurt district, AFAD cited meteorology authorities as saying.
    Footage of the flood’s first moments in Bozkurt showed the river there overflowing in a fast-moving deluge which tore up trees and dragged away vehicles.
    The small town of Bozkurt lies in a valley along the banks of the Ezine river in Kastamonu province, 2.5 km (1.6 miles) from the Black Sea.
    Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmakers attributed the level of destruction there to extensive construction on the river banks in recent years.
    Speaking in Bozkurt, Erdogan declared the three provinces a disaster zone.    “Our country has been grappling with natural disasters for a while, as are many places in the world.    This is not just our country but the United States, Canada, Germany and many other European countries,” he said.
    More than 1,800 people were evacuated from flood-affected areas, some with the aid of helicopters and boats, AFAD said.
    Helicopters lowered coast guard personnel onto the roofs of buildings to rescue people stranded as flood water swept through the streets, footage shared by the Interior Ministry showed.
    Nearly 180 villages were still without electricity on Friday evening.    Five bridges had collapsed and many others were damaged, leading to road closures, AFAD added.    Parts of the roads were also swept away.
Turkey’s meteorology authority said more heavy rain was expected in the central and eastern Black Sea region with a risk of further floods. (Additional reporting Ali Kucukgocmen; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Dominic Evans, Mike Collett-White and Giles Elgood)

8/14/2021 At Least 44 Killed In Turkey Flood As Search For Missing Continues by Mehmet Emin Caliskan and Bulent Usta
A view shows partially collapsed buildings, as the area was hit by flash floods that swept through towns in the
Turkish Black Sea region, in the town of Bozkurt, in Kastamonu province, Turkey, August 14, 2021. REUTERS/Bulent Usta
    BOZKURT, Turkey (Reuters) -Families of those missing after Turkey’s worst floods in years anxiously watched rescue teams search buildings on Saturday, fearing the death toll from the raging torrents could rise further.
    At least 44 people have died from the floods in the northern Black Sea region, the second natural disaster to strike the country this month.
    Drone footage by Reuters showed massive damage in the flood-hit Black Sea town of Bozkurt, where emergency workers were searching demolished buildings.
    Thirty-six people died as a result of floods in the Kastamonu district which includes Bozkurt, and another seven people died in Sinop and one in Bartin, the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said.
    In one collapsed building along the banks of the swollen river, 10 people were still believed buried.    The rapid floodwaters appeared to have swept away the foundations of several other apartment blocks.
    Relatives of the missing, desperate for news, were nearby.
    “This is unprecedented.    There is no power.    The mobile phones were dead.    There was no reception. You couldn’t receive news from anyone,” said Ilyas Kalabalik, a 42-year-old resident.
    “We had no idea whether the water was rising or not, whether it flooded the building or not.    We were just waiting, like this.    Our wives and children were panicked.    Once sun came up in the morning, we saw police officers.    They took us from the building and hurled us into a gas station.”
    Kalabalik was surrounded by residents who were asking each other whether anyone had any news about missing people.
    “My aunt’s children are there.    My aunt is missing.    Her husband is missing.    Her twin grandchildren are missing.    The wife of our building manager is missing along with their two children,” Kalabalik told Reuters.
    The floods brought chaos to northern provinces just as authorities were declaring wildfires that raged through southern coastal regions for two weeks had been brought under control.
    About 45 cm (18 inches) of rain fell in less than three days in one village near Bozkurt.
    “It was so awful.    I cannot get the screams of a dog with her puppies out of my head,” Elif, a resident in her 20s, told Reuters.
    Torrents of water tossed dozens of cars and heaps of debris along streets, destroyed bridges, closed roads and cut off electricity to hundreds of villages.
    “We were working in our textile workshop, and the electricity was cut off.    Then we found out that the hydroelectric dam had overflowed.    We left the factories and ran for our lives,” said Emine Rencler, a 42-year-old worker.
    The small town of Bozkurt lies in a valley along the banks of the Ezine river in Kastamonu province, 2.5 km (1.6 miles) from the Black Sea.
    “The water quickly took over Bozkurt completely.    (…) At least 60, 70 people I know are still missing.    My neighbours, my colleagues, my relatives.    We have so many casualties,” Rencler said.
(Reporting by Mehmet Emin Caliskan, Bulent Usta and Yesim Dikmen, Writing by Ece Toksabay, Editing by Christina Fincher)

8/14/2021 Zambian President Declares General Elections ‘Not Free And Fair’ by Chris Mfula
FILE PHOTO: Opposition UPND party's presidential candidate Hakainde Hichilema casts
his ballot in Lusaka, Zambia, August 12, 2021. REUTERS/Jean Ndaisenga/File Photo
    LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambian President Edgar Lungu has declared Thursday’s presidential and parliamentary election “not free and fair” after incidents of violence in three provinces, he said in a surprise statement released on Saturday.
    Lungu, who was trailing his main contender Hakainde Hichilema in early results from the electoral commission, said the Patriotic Front party that he leads was consulting on its next course of action.
    “President Lungu says the general election in three provinces, namely, Southern province, North Western province, and Western Province, were characterised by violence, rendering the whole exercise a nullity,” the statement from his office said.
    He said Patriotic Front polling agents were brutalised and chased from polling stations, a “situation that left the ruling party’s votes unprotected” in those three provinces.
    Citing the killing of a party chairman in North Western province during voting and the death of another man, Lungu said these criminal acts rendered the general election “not free and fair.”
    Lungu brought in army reinforcements to help quell violence when the deaths occurred.
    Lungu, 64, has been in power since 2015.    Hichilema – known as “HH” – is a businessman who has criticised the president’s management of an economy in turmoil.
    Investors are closely watching the outcome of the election, which was held on Thursday.    The southern African country is highly indebted and suffered the continent’s first pandemic-era sovereign default in November.
    International Monetary Fund (IMF) support, already broadly agreed, is on hold until after the vote.
    Results from 31 of the country’s 156 constituencies gave Hichilema 449,699 votes versus the 266,202 garnered by Lungu, who is running for a second five-year term.
    Some constituencies include perceived Lungu strongholds, suggesting Hichilema has gained ground since the last elections in 2016, when he lost by a slim margin in elections marred by allegations of rigging.
    The first results had initially been expected on Friday.    They were delayed after counting went on overnight following a heavy turnout and because political parties objected to the electoral commission’s initial figures in one constituency, which differed with those from monitors on the ground.
    An estimated 7 million people registered to vote in the presidential and parliamentary elections in Zambia, Africa’s second biggest copper producer.
SOCIAL MEDIA RESTRICTIONS
    The Electoral Commission of Zambia allowed the last polling station to remain open until 5 a.m. on Friday to give people who had queued for hours an opportunity to vote.    The election also saw violence in three regions and restrictions on internet access.
    In Chawama township in Lusaka, Lungu’s parliamentary constituency before he became president, residents said supporters of both Lungu and Hichilema both claimed victory and celebrated throughout the night.
    Lungu’s ruling Patriotic Front party said its vote tally showed a huge turnout in its strongholds and it was confident of victory.
    Hichilema is running for the United Party for National Development.
    Following a complaint lodged by local human rights’ organisation, Chapter One Foundation, a high court on Friday overturned a decision by the government regulator to block social media platforms including WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram.
    Linda Kasonde, the Foundation’s executive director, said it was unclear how long the social media internet blackout would remain in force.    Some people said on Saturday their online services were back up.
    “It did go up.    Some people reported that WhatsApp went down but they had access to Facebook and Twitter,” she said.
    According to the court ruling seen by Reuters, the Zambia Information Communication Technology Authority ordered the block on Thursday, the day of the election.
    Richard Mulonga, chief executive of Bloggers of Zambia, an independent group, said it was unclear whether the national regulator had implemented the order and that it could take “a week or even months” for services to stabilise.
    Lungu has cast doubt on the outcome of the election in three provinces after accusing the opposition of stirring violence on Thursday that killed an official from the ruling party.
    He directed the army to send reinforcements to the provinces on Thursday.    However, European and African observers said the vote had been largely peaceful.
(Reporting by Chris Mfula, Writing by Wendell RoelfEditing by William Mallard, Frances Kerry and Timothy Heritage)

8/14/2021 Nobody’s Running Lebanon, Central Bank Boss Says by Laila Bassam and Nafisa Eltahir
A general view of Beirut central district, Lebanon, August 22, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
    BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon’s central bank governor said nobody was running the country, hitting back after government criticism of his decision to halt fuel subsidies that have drained currency reserves.
    In an interview broadcast on Saturday, Riad Salameh said the government could resolve the problem quickly by passing necessary legislation.
    The country’s President Michel Aoun later on Saturday called on parliament to convene and take appropriate action on the crisis, his office said in a statement, without specifying a time or a particular proposal.
    Salameh denied he had acted alone in declaring an end to the subsidies on Wednesday, and said it was widely known that the decision was coming.
    “So far you have nobody running the country,” Salameh told Radio Free Lebanon.
    The worsening fuel crisis is part of Lebanon’s wider financial meltdown.    Hospitals, bakeries and many businesses are scaling back operations or shutting down as fuel runs dry.
    Deadly violence has flared in fuel lines, protesters have blocked roads, and fuel tankers have been hijacked this week.     The American University of Beirut Medical Center said it was threatened with a forced shutdown as early as Monday because of shortages of fuel used to generate electricity.
    “This means that ventilators and other lifesaving medical devices will cease to operate.    Forty adult patients and 15 children living on respirators will die immediately,” the hospital said.
    The central bank’s move to end subsidies will mean sharp price increases.    It is the latest turn in a crisis that has sunk the Lebanese pound by 90% in less than two years and pushed more than half the population into poverty.
    The central bank has effectively been subsidising fuel and other vital imports by providing dollars at exchange rates below the real price of the pound – most recently at 3,900 pounds to the dollar compared with parallel market rates above 20,000.    This has eaten into a reserve which Salameh said now stood at $14 billion.
    To continue providing such support, the central bank has said it needs legislation to allow use of the mandatory reserve, a portion of deposits that must be preserved by law.
    “We are saying to everyone: You want to spend the mandatory reserve, we are ready, give us the law.    It will take five minutes,” Salameh said.
HUMILIATION OF THE LEBANESE
    The government has said fuel prices must not change.    Fuel importers say they cannot import at market rates and sell at subsidised rates, and want clarity.
    The central bank and oil authority told importers to sell their stocks at the subsidised rate of 3,900 pounds to the dollar, prioritising hospitals and other essential functions.
    Lebanon’s army said on Saturday it had begun raiding closed petrol stations and distributing stored gasoline to citizens.
    Critics of the subsidy scheme say it has encouraged smuggling and hoarding by selling commodities at a fraction of their real price.
    Salameh said the bank had been obliged to finance traders who were not bringing their product to the market, and that more than $800 million spent on fuel imports in the last month should have lasted three months.
    Salameh said there was no diesel, gasoline or electricity, adding: “This is humiliation of the Lebanese.”
    Lebanese politicians have failed to agree on a new government since Prime Minister Hassan Diab quit last August after a deadly explosion at Beirut port.    He has stayed on as caretaker prime minister.
    President Aoun expressed optimism a new government would be formed soon.
    Salameh said Lebanon could exit its crisis if a reform-minded government took office, adding the pound was “hostage to the formation of a new government and reforms.”
    The government has said ending subsidies must wait until prepaid cash cards for the poor are rolled out.    Parliament approved these in June, with financing from the mandatory reserve, Salameh said, but they have yet to materialise.
(Reporting by Nafisa Eltahir and Laila BassamWriting by Tom PerryEditing by Timothy Heritage and David Holmes)

8/14/2021 Qatar Urges Taliban To Cease Fire At Meeting In Doha
FILE PHOTO: Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, is pictured at the
presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon February 9, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Qatar said it had urged the Taliban to cease fire and pull back their offensive in Afghanistan during a meeting between the Qatari foreign minister and a top representative of the Afghan insurgents in Doha on Saturday.
    Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani met the head of the Taliban’s political bureau, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, to follow up on peace talks hosted by the Gulf country, the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.
    “The foreign minister urged the Taliban at the meeting to let up the escalation and to cease fire,” it said.
    Envoys from the United States, China, Pakistan, the United Nations, the European Union and others met Taliban representatives and Afghan government officials on Thursday in Doha.
    The statement issued following that meeting reaffirmed that foreign capitals would not recognise any government in Afghanistan “imposed through the use of military force.”
(Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Alison Williams)

8/14/2021 Lebanese Central Bank Head Maintains Innocence Against Corruption Charges
FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during a news conference
at Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh maintained his innocence amid allegations of corruption, saying in a radio interview on Saturday that his conscience was clear.
    Salameh is under investigation in Switzerland on charges related to embezzlement, and probes are under way or being planned in several other European countries.
    Last week, a Lebanese prosecutor asked Salameh for documents relating to suspicions of embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion over an allegation that more than $300 million had been taken from the bank through a company owned by his brother.
    “I have not benefitted one penny from the central bank,” Salameh told Radio Free Lebanon.
    Salameh continued to dismiss the allegations as a smear campaign on Saturday, saying “there are those who want my head.”
    Lebanon’s crippled banking system is at the heart of a financial crisis that erupted in late 2019.    Banks have since blocked transfers abroad and cut access to deposits due to a scarcity of dollars.
(Reporting by Laila Bassam and Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Christina Fincher)

8/15/2021 At Least 20 Killed In Lebanon Fuel Tank Explosion – Red Cross
A burnt truck is seen at the site of a fuel tank explosion in Akkar, in northern Lebanon,
August 15, 2021. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim
    BEIRUT (Reuters) -At least 20 people were killed and 79 injured in a fuel tank explosion in the Akkar region in northern Lebanon, the Lebanese Red Cross said on its Twitter account early on Sunday.
    Lebanon is suffering from a severe fuel shortage, leading to long lines at gas stations and extended blackouts.
    Military and security sources said that the Lebanese army had seized a hidden fuel storage tank in the town of Altalil and was in the midst of handing out gasoline to residents when the explosion took place.
    About 200 people were nearby at the time of the explosion, eyewitnesses said.
    There were differing accounts as to the cause of the explosion.
    “There was a rush of people, and arguments between some of them led to gunfire which hit the tank of gasoline and so it exploded,” said a security source, who noted that there were members of army and security forces among the casualties.
    Local Al-Jadeed TV channel reported from eyewitnesses that an individual who ignited a lighter was the cause.
    Abdelrahman, whose face and body was covered in gauze as he laid in Tripoli’s al-Salam hospital, was one of those in line to get some precious gasoline.
    “There were hundreds gathered there, right next to the tank, and God only knows what happened to them,” he said.
    The father of another casualty at the hospital said he had two other sons he still hadn’t located.
    The Red Cross said its teams were still searching the explosion site, sharing on Twitter a photo of several people walking inside a large crater.
    Angry residents in Akkar, one of Lebanon’s poorest areas, gathered at the site and set fire to two dump trucks, according to a Reuters witness.
    Some of the injured were sent to hospitals in nearby Tripoli, while others were sent to Beirut, said Rashid Maqsood, an official with the Islamic Medical Association.
    The majority of the injured are in serious condition, said Dr. Salah Ishaq of al-Salam Hospital.    “We can’t accommodate them, we don’t have the capabilities.    It’s a very bad situation.”
    Hospitals in Lebanon have warned fuel shortages may force them to shut down in coming days, and also reported low supplies of medicines and other essentials.
    “The Akkar massacre is no different from the (Beirut) port massacre,” said former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri on Twitter, calling on Lebanese officials including the president to take responsibility and resign.
    Hariri is the leading Sunni Muslim politician, the dominant religion in Lebanon’s north, and has been in open opposition to Lebanese President Michel Aoun.
    Aoun wrote on Twitter “this tragedy that befell our dear Akkar has made the hearts of all Lebanese bleed,” adding that he asked the judiciary to investigate the circumstances that led to the explosion.
    Reuters was unable to immediately reach Red Cross and Lebanese officials for comment.
(Reporting by Walid Saleh, Omar Ibrahim, Nafisa Eltahir, Laila Bassam, and Issam Abdallah; writing by Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Christopher Cushing and Kim Coghill)

8/15/2021 Emirates Flight To Kabul Diverts To Dubai, Flydubai Suspends Services
FILE PHOTO: A Boeing 737 MAX aircraft bearing the logo of flydubai is parked at a Boeing
production facility in Renton, Washington, U.S. March 11, 2019. REUTERS/David Ryder/File Photo
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Emirates airline said a flight to Kabul on Sunday was diverted due to the temporary closure of the runway at the airport, while fellow Dubai state-owned carrier flydubai suspended services.
    The Emirates Boeing 777-300 flight circled over the Afghanistan capital, aircraft tracking website FlightRadar24 showed, before returning to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
    “We are monitoring developments around the situation in Afghanistan and are working closely with all the relevant authorities to ensure the safe operation of our services,” an Emirates spokesperson said.
    Flydubai said earlier that a Boeing 737 service to Kabul on Sunday returned to Dubai mid-flight and that the airline had suspended its services to the city until further notice.
    The Taliban militant group entered Kabul earlier on Sunday.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

8/16/2021 Israeli Forces Kill 4 Palestinians In West Bank Clash - Palestinian Official
People react at a morgue after Israeli forces killed four Palestinians during clashes, according to the
health ministry, in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 16, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
    RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Israeli forces on a raid in the occupied West Bank exchanged fire on Monday with Palestinian gunmen, Israeli police said, while a Palestinian local official said at least four Palestinians were killed.     The incident occurred in the city of Jenin, where, Israeli police said in a statement, special forces disguised as Palestinians came under heavy fire from “a large number” of attackers while on a mission to detain a militant.     “The undercover forces returned fire towards the terrorists and neutralised them,” the police said.
    On Voice of Palestine radio, Jenin’s governor said at least four Palestinians were killed.    Israeli police said there were no Israeli casualties.
    Israel captured the West Bank in a 1967 Middle East war, and Palestinians seek the territory as well as the Gaza Strip for a future state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
    The Palestinian Authority, set up under interim peace accords with Israel in the 1990s, exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, but Israeli forces are dominant in the area, where they often carry out raids to detain suspected militants.
(Reporting by Ali Sawafta and Jeffrey Heller; Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

8/16/2021 Zambia Opposition Leader Hichilema Wins Landslide In Presidential Election by Chris Mfula
FILE PHOTO: United Party for National Development (UPND) Presidential candidate Hakainde
Hichilema looks on during a rally in Lusaka January 18, 2015. REUTERS/Rogan Ward/File Photo
    LUSAKA (Reuters) -Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema secured a stunning landslide victory over incumbent Edgar Lungu in Zambia’s presidential election, results showed on Monday.
    The electoral commission said Hichilema got 2,810,777 votes against Lungu’s 1,814,201, with all but one of the 156 constituencies counted.
    “I therefore declare that the said Hichilema to be president of Zambia,” electoral commission chairman, Esau Chulu, said in a packed results centre in the capital Lusaka.
    That would make the third time that power has shifted peacefully from a ruling party to the opposition since the southern African country’s independence from Britain in 1964.
    Across Zambia, celebrations broke out in the streets as Hichilema’s supporters wearing the red and yellow of his United Party for National Development (UPND) danced and sang, while drivers honked their horns.
    Celebrations could be short-lived however: Zambia is in dire financial straights, and it became the continent’s first pandemic-era sovereign default in November after failing to keep up with its international debt payments.
    That was owing to an explosive mix of depressed commodity prices – which had pushed Zambia into recession well before the pandemic – and a brutal slowdown in economic activity caused by the pandemic itself.
    Hichilema, 59, a former CEO at an accounting firm before entering politics, now faces the task of trying to revive Zambia’s fortunes.    The economy has been buoyed only slightly by more favourable copper prices – now hovering around decade highs, driven partly by the boom in electric cars.
    Last year, Zambia, Africa’s second biggest copper miner, produced a record output of the metal.
    International Monetary Fund support is on hold until after the vote, as is a debt restructuring plan seen as an early test for a new global plan aimed at easing the burden of poor countries.
    Lungu, 64, has yet to concede defeat, and has indicated that he might challenge the result, which will be difficult, given the margin.
    Lungu said on Saturday that the election was “not free and fair” after incidents of violence against ruling Patriotic Front party agents in three provinces, and the party was consulting on its next course of action.
    UPND officials dismissed Lungu’s statement as emanating from people “trying to throw out the entire election just to cling on to their jobs.”
    If Lungu wants to settle a dispute or nullify elections, he must approach the Constitutional Court within seven days to lodge a complaint after a winner is announced.
    Hichilema’s win reverses a narrow loss in the 2016 presidential election against Lungu.
(Reporting by Chris Mfula; writing by Wendell Roelf and Tim Cocks; editing by Susan Fenton, Michael Perry and Giles Elgood)

8/16/2021 Emirates Airline Suspends Flights To Kabul – Website
FILE PHOTO: Emirates airliners are seen on the tarmac in a general view of Dubai International Airport in Dubai,
United Arab Emirates January 13, 2021. Picture taken through a window. REUTERS/Abdel Hadi Ramahi/File Photo
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Emirates has suspended flights to Afghanistan’s capital Kabul until further the notice, the airline said on its website after the Taliban militant group on Sunday entered the city.
    “Customers holding tickets with final destination to Kabul will not be accepted for travel at their point of origin,” it said.
    Fellow Dubai state-owned carrier Flydubai earlier has also suspended flights to Kabul.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

8/16/2021 Protesters Clash With Police In Beirut After Deadly Explosion by OAN Newsroom
Anti-government demonstrators protest outside the residence of Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati
in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. Protesters gathered on the streets of Beirut a day after the killing of
at least 20 people due to a warehouse explosion where fuel was illegally being stored. (AP Photo/ Hassan Ammar)
    Police clashed with protesters trying to storm the house of Lebanon Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati.    Demonstrators reportedly took to the streets in Beirut on Sunday, just one day after a warehouse explosion killed 28 people and injured at least 79.
    The explosion occurred as a result of fuel being illegally stored in the facility as the country faces a severe fuel shortage.    Protesters believe that widespread government corruption has resulted in electricity cuts, in turn, forcing many homes, businesses and hospitals to rely on generators that are now being turned off due to the current fuel shortages.
    “We identify the fact that everything that is happening to the Lebanese people today is because of this corrupt (government),” said protester Carmen Khoury.    “We went them out; we do not want anything from them anymore.    We want Mikati to resign and get out of this completely.    We want the president of this republic to resign also.”
    Lebanon’s former prime minister called on Lebanese officials, including President Michel Aoun, to take responsibility for the explosion and resign.

8/16/2021 Egypt Rushes To Build Public Housing For New Capital Employees by Patrick Werr
A view of residential units where mid-level civil servants of Egypt's new Administrative Capital
will be housed, in Badr City, outskirts of Cairo, Egypt August 16, 2021. REUTERS/Sherif Fahmy
    BADR CITY, Egypt (Reuters) – Just outside a new capital in the desert east of Cairo, the Egyptian government has been racing to ready new homes for thousands of mid-level civil servants who are expected to move to the city.
    Egypt turned to private developers to build pricier residential districts within the grandiose new capital, which is designed for more than six million people to live in over 168 square kilometres beyond Cairo’s outer reaches.
    The city is the most prominent of a series of mega-projects and infrastructure schemes https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/egypts-road-building-drive-eases-jams-leaves-some-unhappy-2021-05-14 pursued by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has said that its opening planned for later this year would mark the birth of a new republic.
    Though government ministries are largely complete https://www.reuters.com/world/china/egypt-prepares-start-move-new-capital-away-chaos-cairo-2021-03-17, other areas of the new city and transport links are still under construction.    Some Egyptians worry it will be inaccessible and unaffordable for them.
    The government began building public housing in Badr City, close to the new capital’s borders, ahead of the arrival of the first civil servants, officials told reporters on a tour of the site on Monday.
    On Saturday, Sisi inaugurated 9,024 housing units in the now-completed first phase.    Another 4,704 units are under construction in a second phase.
    “The housing is ready.    Not just the housing, but also the infrastructure, the electricity, water, gas, telephones, internet,” Ammar Mandour, head of the Badr City Development Authority, told reporters.
    The sprawling complex of public housing in Badr City is made up of uniform six-storey apartment blocs, with four apartments on each floor.    Many were draped with banners the height of the buildings and bearing the photograph of the president.
    “The decision to start transferring employees is sovereign and political.    The moment the employees are transferred to the new capital, we are ready,” Mandour said.
    The government late last year began building public housing within the capital itself, said Abdul Muttalib Mamdouh, deputy head of the state New Urban Communities Authority.
    “We began with 100,000 units.    If we multiply that by four people in a family, that means today we have housing for 400,000 people,” he said, adding that delivery of the first units would start in December.
(Editing by Aidan Lewis and Mike Collett-White)

8/16/2021 Israel Seeks Help From Abroad To Battle Fires Near Jerusalem by Rami Ayyub
Smoke cuased by wildfire near Givat Yearim at the outskirts of Jerusalem
as it is seen from Jerusalem August 16, 2021 REUTERS/ Ammar Awad
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel is seeking international help to battle wildfires outside Jerusalem that have forced hundreds to evacuate and sent clouds of smoke billowing over the city, the foreign ministry said on Monday.
    Planes and crews fought the blaze for a second day as strong winds and dry heat assisted its spread in wooded hills some 10 km (6 miles) west of Jerusalem.    Medics said some people had been treated for smoke inhalation but reported no serious injuries.
    Israel’s Fire and Rescue Authority said 75 crews and 10 planes were battling the blaze, which the country’s internal security minister said had burned at least 4,200 acres (17,000 hectares). Several hillside communities were evacuated.
    Foreign Minister Yair Lapid contacted his counterpart in Greece, where wildfires are currently raging https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/new-fire-burns-outside-athens-evacuations-ordered-2021-08-16, on Monday and requested air support to help put out the blaze near Jerusalem, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
    Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said Greece “would help as much as it could,” the statement said.
    Israel is also requesting help from Cyprus, Italy, France and others, the statement added.
    The commissioner of Israel’s Fire and Rescue Authority earlier announced a general mobilisation for personnel to help battle the blaze.
    In a meeting with fire and rescue officials late on Sunday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he was concerned the blaze could reach Jerusalem’s western localities, including the area of Ein Kerem, home to Israel’s Hadassah Medical Center.
    “Fire brigades are preparing a defensive position there,” Bennett said, warning that while he was hopeful crews would bring the blaze under control, “fires and winds have a capricious dynamic.”
    An investigation has been launched into the cause of the fires, the Fire and Rescue Authority said.
(Reporting by Rami Ayyub; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

8/16/2021 Saudi Arabia Urges Taliban To Protect Lives Under ‘Islamic Principles’
FILE PHOTO: Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, speaks after meeting with Lebanon's
President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon February 9, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
    AMMAN/DUBAI (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia on Monday urged Taliban insurgents who seized Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, completing a sweep across the country, to preserve lives, property and security as stipulated by “Islamic principles.”
    “The kingdom stands with the choices that the Afghan people make without interference,” the foreign ministry of Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, said in a statement issued by official media.
    “Based on the noble principles of Islam…, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia hopes that the Taliban movement and all Afghan parties will work to preserve security, stability, lives and property.”
    It also voiced hope the situation would stabilise as soon as possible, as thousands of Afghans fearful of the Taliban thronged Kabul airport in desperate efforts to leave. Five people were killed in the chaos on Monday.
    Fellow Gulf state Qatar said it was seeking a peaceful transition in Afghanistan and was doing its utmost to help efforts to evacuate diplomats and foreign staff in international organizations from the country.
    Doha has hosted a Taliban office since 2013 for peace talks and has played a central role in trying to reach a political settlement in Afghanistan with the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
    “There is international concern about the fast pace of developments and Qatar is doing its utmost to bring a peaceful transition, especially after the vacuum that happened,” Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told a news conference in the Jordanian capital Amman.
    Bahrain, current chair of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, said on Monday it would initiate consultations with fellow Gulf Arab states regarding the situation in Afghanistan, state media reported.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Additional reporting by Maher Chmaytelli in Dubai; editing by Mark Heinrich)

8/16/2021 OPEC Rejects Biden’s Plea To Boost Oil Output by OAN Newsroom
Participants attend the opening session of the 15th International
Energy Forum in Algiers. (RYAD KRAMDI/AFP via Getty Images)
    The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia rejected a plea by Joe Biden to increase oil production by maintaining their comfortability with current prices.    OPEC officials told reporters on Monday, there was “no need” to put out more oil to the market at this point.
    OPEC+ added the latest decision to boost product by 400,000 barrels per day would remain intact, despite Biden’s call for a bigger increase.    Last week, Biden begged both OPEC and Russia to help reduce energy prices and inflation by boosting oil output.
    However, OPEC+ said International Energy Agency data did not support Biden’s calls for more oil.
    “As the OPEC+ group has said in many of their meetings, they’re meeting on a monthly basis so they have the opportunity to continue, to halt, or to even reverse the cuts as required by the market,” Oil Market Division Head Troil Bosoni of IEA explained.    “So for now, we think that the market is looking relatively well balanced for the remainder of this year.”
    OPEC and Russia reportedly planned to keep oil prices around $70.00 per barrel and possibly reduce output if global demand fell again.
[BIDEN’S PEOPLE ARE SO STUPID BECAUSE THE ARABS WENT TO NUCLEAR POWER TO STOP SUCKING OIL OUT OF THE GROUND IN FEAR OF EARTHQUAKES AND TRUMP WAS PROVIDING THEM WITH OIL THAT YOU GOT RID OF OUR XL PIPELINE WE WERE SENDING TO THEM AND OTHERS, 3 STRIKES AND YOU ARE OUT.].

8/18/2021 Saudi Foreign Minister Discusses Strategic Relations With American Counterpart
FILE PHOTO: Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud speaks
during a news conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 22, 2021. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
    CAIRO (Reuters) – Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud discussed in a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken the strategic relations between the two countries and developments in Afghanistan, Saudi state news agency said on Wednesday.
(Reporting By Ahmed Tolba and omar Fahmy; Editing by Chris Reese)

8/18/2021 Erdogan Says Turkey Still Aims To Maintain Kabul Airport Security
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gives a statement after a cabinet meeting
in Ankara, Turkey, May 17, 2021. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via REUTERS
    ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey still aims to maintain security at Kabul airport, after Taliban fighters took control of Afghanistan’s capital.
    NATO member Turkey, which has hundreds of troops in Afghanistan, had been discussing with the United States a proposal to keep those forces in the country to guard and run the airport after the withdrawal of other NATO forces.
    Turkish sources told Reuters this week that those original plans were dropped because of the chaos in Kabul, but that Turkey would still offer the Taliban security and technical assistance at the airport.
    “With the Taliban maintaining control over the country, a new picture appeared before us,” Erdogan said in a television interview.    “Now we are making our plans according to these new realities that were formed on the field and we are continuing our talks accordingly.”
    Turkey was continuing contacts with all sides in the process, Erdogan said, and welcomed what he described as moderate statements by the Taliban since they swept into Kabul.
    “For the calm of the people of Afghanistan, the well-being of our Turkish kinsmen living in the country and protecting the interests of our country, we are open to any cooperation,” he said, repeating an offer to host Taliban leaders for talks.
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Chris Reese and Marguerita Choy)

8/18/2021 Tunisian President Saied Appoints New Director General Of National Security - Agency
FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied takes the oath of office in Tunis, Tunisia, October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
    CAIRO (Reuters) – Tunisian President Kais Saied appointed Sami el Hichri as director general of national security and Shukri Riahi as commander of the National Guard, state news agency said on Wednesday.
(Reporting By Ahmed Tolba and Omar Fahmy; editing by Diane Craft)

8/18/2021 Erdogan Says Turkey And UAE Making Progress After Rare Meeting by Ali Kucukgocmen
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters during the
Grand Congress of his ruling AK Party in Ankara, Turkey, March 24, 2021. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
    ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Regional rivals Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have made progress in relations which could lead to significant UAE investment in Turkey, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday after a rare meeting with a senior UAE official.
    The talks marked the latest move by Ankara to ease tensions with several Arab powers over the conflict in Libya, internal Gulf disputes and rival claims to Eastern Mediterranean waters.
    Erdogan held talks in Ankara on Wednesday with UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan which also focused on economic cooperation.
    “In this meeting we discussed what type of investment could be made in which areas,” Erdogan said in a television interview.
    The two countries, which backed rival sides in Libya’s conflict, have been bitter rivals for regional influence.
    Turkey last year accused the United Arab Emirates of bringing chaos to the Middle East through its interventions in Libya and Yemen, while the UAE and several other countries criticised Turkey’s military actions.
    “For several months … beginning with our intelligence unit, by holding some talks with the administration of Abu Dhabi, we have arrived at a certain point,” Erdogan said.
    He said he hoped to talk with Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates, and hoped for closer economic ties.
    “They have a very serious investment target, an investment plan,” Erdogan said, adding that the heads of Turkey’s Wealth Fund and investment support agency would pursue the talks.
    “If they continue in a good way with their counterparts, I believe the United Arab Emirates will make serious investments in our country in a very short time,” he said.
    Wednesday’s meeting came after similar overtures this year by Ankara towards Egypt and Saudi Arabia.    The overtures were aimed at overcoming tensions that have impacted Turkey’s economy, which has been struggling with high inflation, a weak lira and limited foreign investment.
    Already-strained relations with Saudi Arabia collapsed after the killing by Saudi agents of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul – a killing that Erdogan said had been ordered at the highest level in Riyadh.
    Turkey’s ties with Cairo have been poor since the military overthrew Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, following protests against his rule.
    Erdogan, whose ruling AK Party is rooted in political Islam, had been a strong supporter of Mursi.
    As part of their push to rebuild fractured relations, the two countries held talks in May over their differences on the conflicts in Libya and Syria and the security situation in the Eastern Mediterranean.
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen in Istanbul; Additional reporting by Dominic Evans and Ahmad Elhamy; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Matthew Lewis)

8/18/2021 Biden And Israeli PM Set To Discuss Iran Strategy At Meeting Next Week by Trevor Hunnicutt and Maayan Lubell
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett makes a media statement for the COVID-19 pandemic status,
at the Prime minister's office in Jerusalem, August 18, 2021. Abir Sultan/Pool via REUTERS
    WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Stalled nuclear talks with Iran will be at the top of the agenda when U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett meet next week.
    “The President and Prime Minister Bennett will discuss critical issues related to regional and global security, including Iran,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki in a statement announcing the leaders’ first in-person meeting at the White House on Aug. 26.
    Talks between Tehran and six world powers to revive the nuclear pact ditched three years ago by Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump have stalled https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-accelerates-enrichment-uranium-near-weapons-grade-iaea-says-2021-08-17 since they began in April.
    The Israeli leader, a nationalist atop a cross-partisan coalition who took office in June, opposes the deal being revived.    It views a nuclear-armed Iran as an existential threat.
    Tehran denies seeking the bomb, though a U.N. atomic watchdog report on Tuesday seen by Reuters showed the country accelerating its enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade.
    Regional tensions rose over a July 29 attack https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/ukmto-says-received-reports-vessel-attacked-off-oman-coast-2021-07-30 on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman that Israel, the United States and Britain blamed on Tehran.    Iran denied any involvement in the suspected drone strike in which two crew members were killed.
    Conflict has also flared https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/rocket-sirens-sound-northern-israel-golan-heights-israeli-miltary-says-2021-08-06 between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.
    The White House meeting will come less than three weeks after U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns held talks https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/cia-director-burns-holds-talks-israel-with-focus-iran-2021-08-11 in Israel with Bennett on Iran.
    Bennett said at a news conference that the meeting “will focus on Iran” but the White House also touted “an opportunity for the two leaders to discuss efforts to advance peace, security, and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians.”
    The Israeli leader said he planned to come to the meeting “very focused with a policy of partnership that aims to curb Iran’s destabilizing, negative regional activity, its human rights abuses, terrorism and preventing its nearing nuclear breakout.”
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington and Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem; Editing by David Holmes and Marguerita Choy)
[BIDEN AND HIS PEOPLE ARE PRESENTLY STRIKING OUT ON THEIR POLICIES AND TO HAVE THEM WORK AROUND IRANIAN ISSUES COULD BECOME ANOTHER CRISIS OF THE CENTURY WAKE UP ISRAELI'S NEW GOVERNMENT AS PROPEHCY CLAIMS YOU HAVE AN ENTITY REFERED TO HE OF YOUR OWN TO STEP UP TO BE KNOWN SOON WHO WILL SEND YOU CLOSER TO THE DAY OF DANIEL 9:27.].

8/19/2021 Israel Approves Qatari Aid To Gaza After May Conflict, Defence Minister Says by Rami Ayyub
FILE PHOTO: Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White party, speaks during an election
campaign rally in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, Israel, February 25, 2020. REUTERS/Corinna Kern
    TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Israel said on Thursday it agreed with Qatar and the United Nations on a mechanism to transfer aid from the Gulf State to Gaza, boosting prospects for relief in the Palestinian enclave after it was devastated in an Israel-Hamas conflict.
    Aid disbursement after the May fighting has been held up in part by a dispute over Israelis long held by Hamas and debate over how to prevent the Islamist group from accessing such funds.
    Hamas – deemed a terrorist group by the West – has pledged not to touch the donor money, which has emerged as a key issue in Egypt-mediated talks following a May 21 truce that mostly halted cross-border hostilities.
    Announcing a deal on Thursday, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz said he had been in touch with Qatar “to establish a mechanism that ensures the money reaches those in need, while maintaining Israel’s security needs.”
    Under the new mechanism, aid from Qatar “will be transferred to hundreds of thousands of Gazan people by the U.N. directly to their bank accounts, with Israel overseeing the recipients,” Gantz said in a statement.
    Gantz added that Israel will continue its “pressure campaign for the return of the Israeli soldiers and citizens that are being held hostage by Hamas.”
    There was no immediate comment from Hamas, which has not detailed the conditions of the four Israelis: two soldiers missing in action in a 2014 Gaza war, and two civilians who slipped separately into the enclave.
    Qatar’s Gaza Strip Reconstruction Committee said it signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.N. to distribute $100 to each of about 100,000 families starting in September.
    Over 4,000 Gaza homes were destroyed or damaged during the May fighting, with losses estimated by the World Bank at up to $380 million.    Egypt and Qatar have each pledged $500 million for Gaza reconstruction.
    At least 250 Palestinians and 13 in Israel were killed in the May fighting, in which Gaza militants fired rockets towards Israeli cities and srael carried out air strikes across the coastal enclave.
(Reporting by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

8/19/2021 U.N. Chief Calls For Immediate Ceasefire In Ethiopia
FILE PHOTO: A tank damaged during the fighting between Ethiopia's National Defense Force (ENDF)
and Tigray Special Forces stands on the outskirts of Humera town in Ethiopia July 1, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer
    UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday pushed for an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted aid access in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where he said millions of people needed help and women had suffered “unspeakable violence.”
    “It is time for all parties to recognize that there is no military solution, and it is vital to preserve the unity and stability of Ethiopia which is critical to the region and beyond,” Guterres told reporters in New York.
    Ethiopian federal government troops and forces from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have been battling since November in a war that has killed thousands of people, led to a major refugee crisis and ethnic killings, rape as a weapon of war and a humanitarian crisis.
    “Humanitarian conditions are hellish. Millions of people are in need.    Infrastructure has been destroyed.    We have heard first-hand accounts of women who have been subjected to unspeakable violence,” Guterres said.
    “The spread of the conflict has ensnared even more people in its horror,” he said.
    In recent weeks, the conflict has spread into two neighbouring regions, Afar and Amhara, displacing about 250,000 more people and raising international concerns about a wider destabilisation of Africa’s second most populous nation.
    Guterres pushed for the start of an Ethiopian-led political dialogue to end the conflict.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Grant McCool)

8/19/2021 Erdogan Says Turkey Will Not Be “Europe’s Migrant Storage Unit” Amid Afghanistan Turmoil
FILE PHOTO: Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan arrives at a NATO summit in
Brussels, Belgium, June 14, 2021. Francois Mori/Pool via REUTERS
    ANKARA (Reuters) – President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday urged European countries to take responsibility for migrants coming from Afghanistan, adding Turkey had no intention of becoming “Europe’s migrant storage unit” amid turmoil in the country after the Taliban’s takeover.
    Since the Taliban entered Kabul over the weekend, scenes of chaos have unfolded as thousands seek to leave, fearing a return to the austere interpretation of Islamic law imposed during the previous Taliban rule that ended 20 years ago.
    Thousands had also crossed into Turkey in recent weeks, as the Islamis insurgents swept through the country en route to Kabul.
    Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Erdogan said Europe needed to take responsibility for Afghans fleeing the country, adding that Ankara had taken measures along its borders with Iran – a key route for Afghan migrants into Turkey.    He also said Turkey could engage in talks with the new government to be formed by the Taliban to discuss “our common agendas.”
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ece Toksabay)

8/20/2021 UAE To Temporarily Host 5,000 Afghans At U.S. Request
Evacuees from Afghanistan sit inside a military aircraft during an evacuation from Kabul, in this photo taken on August 19, 2021
at undisclosed location and released on August 20, 2021. Staff Sgt. Brandon Cribelar/U.S. Marine Corps/Handout via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) -The United Arab Emirates has agreed to host 5,000 Afghan nationals to be evacuated from their country for 10 days on their way to a third country at the request of the United States, the Gulf Arab state’s foreign ministry said on Friday.
    “The evacuees will travel to the UAE from the Afghan capital of Kabul on U.S. aircraft in the coming days,” the ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency WAM.
    The foreign ministry told Reuters they would be hosted for 10 days.
    The UAE has so far facilitated the evacuation of 8,500 people from Afghanistan on its aircraft and through its airports, it said.
    The announcement came after U.S. officials told Reuters Washington was expected to announce that countries in Europe and the Middle East have agreed to temporarily shelter people evacuated from Kabul as its base in Qatar reached capacity.
    A Qatari official told Reuters the Gulf Arab state was “continuing our efforts to evacuate people from Afghanistan. Additional flights are scheduled during the upcoming days.”
    Bahrain will allow planes carrying evacuees to stop over in the kingdom as part of efforts to assist rescue operations in Afghanistan, the Bahraini foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.
(Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli & Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Nick Macfie, Steve Orlofsky and Jonathan Oatis)

8/20/2021 U.S. Aid Chief Says Emergency Food In Ethiopia’s Tigray To Run Out This Week by Maggie Fick
FILE PHOTO: Samantha Power, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, delivers a speech during a visit
to El Salvador at the Central American University in San Salvador, El Salvador June 14, 2021. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo/File Photo
    NAIROBI (Reuters) – For the first time in nine months of war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, aid workers will run out of food this week to deliver to millions of people who are going hungry, the head of the U.S. government’s humanitarian agency said, blaming the government for restricting access. “USAID and its partners as well as other humanitarian organizations have depleted their stores of food items warehoused in Tigray,” Samantha Power, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), said in a statement late on Thursday.
    “People in Tigray are starving with up to 900,000 in famine conditions and more than five million in desperate need of humanitarian assistance,” Power said.    “This shortage is not because food is unavailable, but because the Ethiopian Government is obstructing humanitarian aid and personnel, including land convoys and air access.”
    War broke out in November between Ethiopian troops and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls the region.    The conflict has killed thousands and sparked a humanitarian crisis in one of the world’s poorest regions.
    Billene Seyoum, spokesperson for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, did not respond to a request for comment.    At a news conference on Friday, she did not refer to Power’s statement but dismissed allegations that the Ethiopian government is “purposely blocking humanitarian assistance,” saying the government is concerned about security.
    “It is important to really address this continuing rhetoric because that is not the case,” Billene said.    “Security is first and foremost a priority that cannot be compromised, it is a volatile area so in that regards there is going to be continuous checks and processes.”
    On Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/un-chief-calls-immediate-ceasefire-ethiopia-2021-08-19 for an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted aid access in Tigray.    The U.N. warned https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/100000-children-tigray-risk-death-malnutrition-unicef-2021-07-30 last month that more than 100,000 children in Tigray could die of hunger.
    Power’s statement said that 100 trucks carrying food and life-saving supplies need to be arriving each day in Tigray to meet the humanitarian needs there.    As of a few days ago, only about 320 trucks had arrived, less than 7% of what is required, it said.
    “Across all sectors, available aid supplies in Tigray are extremely depleted, and humanitarian operations may be forced to cease if more … aid convoys do not arrive imminently,” Saviano Abreu, spokesperson for U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told Reuters on Friday.
    The Ethiopian government declared a unilateral ceasefire in June after Tigrayan forces recaptured the regional capital Mekelle and retook most of the region.    The Tigrayan forces dismissed this as a “joke” and issued preconditions for truce talks.
(Reporting by Maggie Fick; Additional reporting by Ayenat Mersie and Giulia Paravicini; Editing by John Stonestreet, Frances Kerry and Catherine Evans)

8/21/2021 UNICEF Warns Millions Of Lebanese Face Water Shortages
FILE PHOTO: Children play outisde a UNICEF tent put in place to provide psychosocial support to people affected
by a massive explosion in Beirut's port area, Lebanon August 20, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – More than 4 million people in Lebanon could face a critical shortage of water or be cut off completely in the coming days, UNICEF warned, due to a severe fuel crisis.
    Lebanon, with a population of 6 million, is at a low point in a two-year financial meltdown, with a lack of fuel oil and gasoline meaning extensive blackouts and long lines at the few gas stations still operating.
    “Vital facilities such as hospitals and health centres have been without access to safe water due to electricity shortages, putting lives at risk,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said in a statement.
    “If four million people are forced to resort to unsafe and costly sources of water, public health and hygiene will be compromised, and Lebanon could see an increase in waterborne diseases, in addition to the surge in COVID-19 cases,” she said, urging the formation of a new government to tackle the crisis.
(Reporting by Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Frances Kerry)

8/22/2021 Egypt To Close Rafah Crossing With Gaza From Monday
FILE PHOTO: A Palestinian man stands next to a truck carrying clothes for export, at Kerem Shalom
crossing in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, June 21, 2021. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo
    CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt is to close the Rafah crossing on its border with the Gaza Strip until further notice on Monday, Egyptian security sources said.
    Hamas, the Palestinian faction that controls Gaza, said it had been informed by Egypt of the decision to shut the crossing in both directions, without giving details.
    According to two Egyptian security sources, the closure was made for security reasons following an escalation on Saturday https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/two-palestinians-israeli-soldier-seriously-injured-gaza-crossfire-2021-08-21 between Israel and Hamas, with Israeli aircraft striking sites in Gaza after gunfire across Gaza’s border with Israel earlier in the day.
    Rafah is the sole crossing between Egypt and Gaza, where an Israeli-led blockade has placed severe restrictions on the movement of goods and people for years.
    Egypt had opened the crossing indefinitely https://www.reuters.com/article/palestinians-politics-egypt-int-idUSKBN2A91J7 in February in what was described as an effort to encourage negotiations between Palestinian factions meeting at the time in Cairo.
    Egypt kept the crossing open during and after an 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas in May, delivering aid and construction materials through Rafah after helping broker a truce between the two sides.
(Reporting by Yusri Mohamed, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan and Ali Sawafta; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

8/22/2021 Lebanon’s Hezbollah Says Iranian Fuel Vessels Setting Off Soon
FILE PHOTO: A woman sits near a poster of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, during an event marking Resistance and Liberation Day, in Khiam, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, May 25, 2021. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
(To correct that first vessel had already sailed)
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – The leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group, Hassan Nasrallah, said on Sunday that vessels carrying Iranian fuel will be setting sail soon followed by others to ease fuel shortages in Lebanon.
    Nasrallah insisted that the group was not trying to step in and replace the state by purchasing the fuel.
    The first vessel which last Thursday the group announced was about to leave Iran, had already sailed, he said.
    “We are not taking the place of the state, nor are we an alternative to companies that import fuel,” he said in a speech to supporters without elaborating on how the shipments would enter the country.
    Hezbollah’s foes in Lebanon have warned of dire consequences from the move, saying it risked sanctions being imposed on a country whose economy has been in meltdown for nearly two years.
    The arrival of the Iranian fuel would mark a new phase in the financial crisis, which the Lebanese state and its ruling factions – including Hezbollah – have failed to tackle even as fuel has run dry and shortages have prompted deadly violence.
    The U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea, said on Thursday that Lebanon didn’t need Iranian tankers, citing “a whole bunch” of fuel ships off the coast waiting to unload.
    The United States was in talks with Egypt and Jordan to help find solutions to Lebanon’s fuel and energy needs, she said, speaking hours after Hezbollah said it was arranging the shipments.
(This story was corrected to say that first vessel had already sailed)
(Reporting by Laila Bassam, Writing by Suleiman al Khalidi; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Hugh Lawson)

8/23/2021 Turkey Reinforces Border To Block Any Afghan Migrant Wave by Ali Kucukgocmen
Afghan migrant Benevse and her two-year old son Rehimullah, caught by Turkish security forces after crossing illegally into Turkey
from Iran, wait for a medical check at a migrant processing centre in the border city of Van, Turkey August 22, 2021. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
    VAN, Turkey (Reuters) – Afghans who manage to make the weeks-long journey through Iran on foot to the Turkish border face a three-metre high wall, ditches or barbed wire as Turkish authorities step up efforts to block any refugee influx into the country.
    The beefed up border measures in Turkey, which already hosts nearly 4 million Syrian refugees and is a staging post for many migrants trying to reach Europe, began as the Taliban started advancing in Afghanistan and took over Kabul last week.
    Authorities plan to add another 64 km by the end of the year to a border wall started in 2017.    Ditches, wire and security patrols around the clock will cover the rest of the 560 km frontier.
    “We want to show the whole world that our borders are unpassable,” Mehmet Emin Bilmez, governor of the eastern border province of Van, told Reuters at the weekend.    “Our biggest hope is that there is no migrant wave from Afghanistan.”
    Turkey is not the only country putting up barriers: Its neighbour Greece has just completed a 40-km fence and surveillance system to keep out migrants who still manage to enter Turkey and try to reach the European Union.
    Authorities say there are 182,000 registered Afghan migrants in Turkey and up to an estimated 120,000 unregistered ones.    President Tayyip Erdogan urged European countries to take responsibility for any new influx, warning that Turkey had no intention of becoming “Europe’s migrant storage unit.”
    The number of irregular Afghan migrants detained in Turkey so far this year is less than a fifth of the number detained in 2019, and officials say they have not yet seen signs of a major surge since last week’s Taliban victory, though the long distances mean refugees could take weeks to arrive.
    The Turkish side of the mountainous border with Iran is lined by bases and watchtowers.    Patrol cars monitor around the clock for movement on the Iranian side, from where migrants, smugglers and Kurdish militants frequently try to cross into Turkey.
    Migrants who are spotted getting through at the border are returned to the Iranian side, though most return and try again, according to security forces.
    “No matter how many high-level measures you take, there may be those who evade them from time to time,” Bilmez said.
‘LET US STAY’
    Roads leading from the border are lined with checkpoints. Migrants who make it through are hidden by smugglers in houses – often dirty, ramshackle buildings underground or in deep dried riverbeds – waiting to be moved to western Turkey.
    On Saturday police captured 25 migrants, mostly Afghans, behind a dilapidated building in Van’s Hacibekir neighbourhood.
    “We thought we will have facilities here, we will earn to support our parents.    There, there are Taliban to kill us,” said 20-year-old Zaynullah, one of those detained.    He said he arrived in Turkey two days earlier after travelling on foot for 80 days.
    Those captured are taken for health and security checks at a processing centre.    There Seyyed Fahim Mousavi, a 26-year-old, said he fled his home in Kabul a month ago, before the Taliban came, fearing they would kill him because he had worked as a driver for the Americans and Turks.
    His 22-year-old wife, Morsal, said they took the journey through Iran mostly on foot to escape the Taliban.
    “They harm women.    After raping them, they kill them.    They behead the men,” she said, holding her two children, aged two and five.    “We don’t want to go back.    Just let us stay here.”
    After processing, migrants are taken to a repatriation centre, where they can spend up to 12 months before being sent back to their home country.    Those repatriations have been halted for Afghans now, leaving around 7,500 Afghans in limbo in various repatriation centres.
    Ramazan Secilmis, deputy head of the migration directorate, said his organisation was working to identify those who need protection from the Taliban to relocate them to third countries.
    “Those who need protection need to be separated from those who come to our country due to economic reasons. We cannot deport anyone automatically just because they have Afghan nationality,” he said.
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Dominic Evans and Hugh Lawson)

8/23/2021 Analysis-Leaderless Lebanon On Slippery Slope To Mayhem by Tom Perry and Laila Bassam
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows the area near Beirut's port, almost a year after the Aug. 4
explosion, Lebanon, July 23, 2021. Picture taken July 23, 2021. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s financial meltdown is dragging the country towards mayhem at a quickening pace, forcing its feuding leaders to face a choice between finally doing something about the crisis or risking yet more chaos and insecurity.
    The economic collapse that has caused Lebanese mounting hardship for two years hit a crunch point this month with fuel shortages paralysing even essential services and miles-long queues forming at gas stations with little or no petrol to sell.
    Scrambles for fuel have sparked anarchic scenes which the bankrupt state’s security forces have struggled to contain.    Soldiers have at times encountered gunfire when trying to keep order.
    The country is running out of critical medicines, and the U.N. is warning of a looming water crisis, but meanwhile the ruling elite bickers over the seats in a new government.
    The Shi’ite group Hezbollah’s recent decision to go it alone and import Iranian fuel https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hezbollah-organised-fuel-lebanon-set-sail-group-says-2021-08-19 added a new element to the crisis.        Long part of Lebanon’s ruling system, the heavily armed group designated as terrorists by the United States says it only wants to ease the shortages.
    But critics say it aims to expand its already deep sway and draw Lebanon deeper into Iran’s orbit, complicating the path ahead for a state hoping for Western aid and dealing another blow to its diminished authority.
    The meltdown, stemming from decades of corruption in the state and unsustainable financing, has already pushed more than half of the population of some 6 million into poverty and reduced the value of the currency by 90%.
    Lebanon passed a milestone on Aug. 11 when the central bank declared it could no longer finance fuel imports https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/lebanons-aoun-summons-cbank-governor-after-decision-end-fuel-subsidy-2021-08-12 at subsidised exchange rates because its dollar reserves had been so badly depleted.
    The caretaker administration then decided on Saturday to raise fuel prices.    But even the new higher prices are still only a fraction of the real price, with new borrowing from the central bank until the end of September making up the difference.
    Economists say the move is no solution, as it leaves open a huge incentive for smuggling and hoarding.
    An eventual rise to market prices seems inevitable as dollars run out.    In the meantime, a black market has flourished where gasoline is sold in plastic bottles at hugely inflated prices.
    Security incidents including hijackings of fuel tanker trucks have become a daily occurrence.    Last week, at least 28 people were killed in northern Lebanon when a fuel tank exploded https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/least-20-killed-lebanon-fuel-tank-explosion-mtv-news-2021-08-15 during a scramble for its gasoline.
    “There are many small groups that have started to realise they can seize any tanker on the road through force,” said a security official speaking anonymously.    There have been at least eight incidents a day at gas stations or targeting tankers, the official said.
    An international support group including France and the United States said on Friday the “fast-accelerating crisis underscores the utmost urgency of forming a government capable of taking the situation in hand.”
    “How much worse can it get?    All we can do is pray,” said Jihad Fakher Eddine after waiting for seven hours for gas.
GOVERNMENT SOON?
    The state’s failure was encapsulated in a public row between the president and the central bank over fuel subsidies, with the bank’s governor Riad Salameh declaring that nobody was running Lebanon, where many of today’s politicians were warlords in the 1975-90 civil war.
    President Michel Aoun, the Maronite Christian head of state, and the Sunni Muslim Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati have yet to clinch a deal on the government to replace the administration that quit after the Beirut port blast a year ago.
    The delay is over a couple of names, political sources say, more than enough to spoil the process in a system where cabinet deals are prone to being derailed by factional interests.
    Alain Aoun, a senior member of the political party founded by the president and his nephew, said he believed a government would be formed soon.    “The price of failure – a rapid descent into more chaos – is too high,” he told Reuters.
    If a government is agreed, Mikati plans to resume talks with the International Monetary Fund, which wants to see reforms including bringing public finances into order, rehabilitating the banking system and restructuring public debt.
    The ruling elite believe about $860 million worth of new IMF reserves should provide some breathing space.
    But reforms are vital, and some doubt whether a new government can succeed where the outgoing cabinet failed.
    Elections are due next spring, to be followed by a whole new round of government formation negotiations.
    “Will there be the courage to undertake these reforms?    I doubt it.    The policymakers seem to be interested in tiding things over and kicking the can down the road until elections next year,” said Nasser Saidi, a former economy minister and central bank vice governor.
    “You need immediate reforms.    You need shock therapy to restore confidence,” he said.
    Meanwhile, if Hezbollah can deliver steady supplies of Iranian fuel, the situation will become even more complex.    Its opponents say the move could expose Lebanon to U.S. sanctions.
    “While what they are doing now is symbolic with this barge of diesel, it could be a starting point for something bigger,” said Ghassan Hasbani, a former deputy prime minister and member of the Christian Lebanese Forces party.
    “If it persists and they can carry on doing that at a larger scale, then we would be seeing a start of trying to fragment the country,” he told Reuters.
    Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday that the group was not trying to replace the state and that a second Iranian fuel shipment would be sailing in the coming days.
(Additional reporting by Issam Abdallah; Editing by Frances Kerry and Hugh Lawson)

8/23/2021 U.S. Blacklists Eritrean Official Over Human Rights Abuse In Ethiopia’s Tigray by Daphne Psaledakis
FILE PHOTO: The United States Department of the Treasury is seen in Washington,
D.C., U.S., August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on an Eritrean official it accused of being engaged in serious human rights abuse in the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, as Washington warned it would continue to target those involved in prolonging the conflict.
    The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it blacklisted Filipos Woldeyohannes, the chief of staff of the Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF).    The Treasury said he commands EDF forces that have been operating in Tigray.
    The Treasury accused the forces of being responsible for massacres, sexual assaults and purposely shooting civilians in the streets, among other human rights abuses.
    “The United States will continue to identify and pursue action against those involved in serious human rights abuse in Ethiopia and prolonging the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a separate statement.
    The Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said it rejected Washington’s action on Monday, adding that the accusations are “utterly baseless.”
    “Eritrea calls on the U.S. Administration to bring the case to an independent adjudication if it indeed has facts to prove its false allegations,” the statement said.
    The United States has repeatedly called for Eritrean troops to withdraw from Tigray.    Eritrea sent troops to Tigray after Ethiopian federal forces launched an offensive in November in response to attacks on federal government bases by forces loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
    Eritrea denied for months that its troops were in the region, but later acknowledged their presence while denying they were responsible for abuses.
    The U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Eritrea said in June the country now has “effective control” of parts of Tigray, calling for troops to withdraw and for a prompt investigation into abuses, including the abduction of refugees.
    “Today’s action demonstrates the United States’ commitment to imposing costs on those responsible for these despicable acts, which worsen a conflict that has led to tremendous suffering by Ethiopians,” Andrea Gacki, director of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, said in the statement.
    “We urge Eritrea to immediately and permanently withdraw its forces from Ethiopia, and urge the parties to the conflict to begin ceasefire negotiations and end human rights abuses,” Gacki added.
    President Joe Biden’s administration is far advanced in its assessment of whether to call events crimes against humanity, genocide or war crimes, Robert Godec, acting assistant secretary of state for the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, said in June https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/us-official-warns-washington-will-not-stand-by-face-horrors-tigray-2021-06-29.
    Doctors said hundreds of women reported they were subjected to horrific sexual violence by Ethiopian and allied Eritrean soldiers after fighting broke out in the mountainous northern region of Ethiopia, Reuters reported in April https://www.reuters.com/world/special-report-health-official-alleges-sexual-slavery-tigray-women-blame-2021-04-15.
    The U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, said last month https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/100000-children-tigray-risk-death-malnutrition-unicef-2021-07-30 that more than 100,000 children in Tigray could suffer life-threatening malnutrition in the next 12 months, as hundreds of thousands in the region face famine conditions.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis in Washington; Additional reporting by Giulia Paravicini in LondonEditing by Jonathan Oatis and Matthew Lewis)

8/24/2021 Israel’s COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters Show Signs Of Taming Delta by Maayan Lubell
FILE PHOTO: An Israeli woman poses for a picture as she receives a third shot of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine
as country launches booster shots for over 40-year-olds, in Jerusalem August 20, 2021. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Less than a month into a COVID-19 vaccine booster drive, Israel is seeing signs of an impact on the country’s high infection and severe illness rates fuelled by the fast-spreading Delta variant, officials and scientists say.
    Delta hit Israel in June, just as the country began to reap the benefits of one of the world’s fastest vaccine roll-outs.
    With an open economy and most curbs scrapped, Israel went from single-digit daily infections and zero deaths to around 7,500 daily cases last week, 600 people hospitalized in serious condition and more than 150 people dying in that week alone.
    On July 30, it began administering a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine to people over 60, the first country to do so.    On Thursday it expanded eligibility to 40-year-olds and up whose second dose was given at least 5 months prior, saying the age may drop further.
    In the past 10 days, the pandemic is abating among the first age group, more than a million of whom have received a third vaccine dose, according to Israeli health ministry data and scientists interviewed by Reuters.
    The rate of disease spread among vaccinated people age 60 and over – known as the reproduction rate – began falling steadily around Aug. 13 and has dipped below 1, indicating that each infected person is transmitting the virus to fewer than one other person. A reproduction rate of less than 1 means an outbreak is subsiding. https://tmsnrt.rs/3grj7kv
(Graphic: Israel, Acceleration Rate of Daily Cases: https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/ISRAEL-BOOSTERS/gkvlgglewpb/chart.png)     Scientists said booster shots are having an impact on infections, but other factors are likely contributing to the decline as well.
    “The numbers are still very high but what has changed is that the very high increase in the rate of infections and severe cases has diminished, as has the pace at which the pandemic is spreading,” said Eran Segal, data scientist at the Weizmann Institute of Science and an adviser to the government.
    “This is likely due to the third booster shots, an uptake in people taking the first dose and the high number of people infected per week, possibly up to 100,000, who now have natural immunity,” Segal said.
BOOSTER VS LOCKDOWN
    After reaching one of the highest per-capita infection rates in the world this month, the question now is whether Israel can battle its way out of a fourth outbreak without imposing another lockdown that would damage its economy.
    Evidence has emerged showing that while the vaccine is still highly effective in preventing serious illness, its protection diminishes with time.    But there is no consensus among scientists and agencies that a third dose is necessary, and the World Health Organization has said more of the world should be vaccinated with a first dose before people receive a third dose.
    The United States has announced plans to offer booster doses to all Americans, eight months after their second vaccine dose, citing data showing diminishing protection.    Canada, France and Germany have also planned booster campaigns.
    About a million of Israel’s 9.3 million population have so far chosen not to vaccinate at all and children under 12 are still not eligible for the shots.    On Thursday, health officials said they have identified waning immunity among people under 40, although relatively few have fallen seriously ill.
    According to Doron Gazit, a member of the Hebrew University’s COVID-19 expert team which advises government, the rise in cases of severely ill vaccinated people in the 60 and older group has been steadily slowing to a halt in the last 10 days.
    “We attribute this to the booster shots and to more cautious behaviour recently,” Gazit said.
    More than half of those over 60 have received a third jab, according to the Health ministry.
    The rate of new severe cases among unvaccinated patients 70 and older is now seven times that of vaccinated patients, and the gap will continue to grow as long as infections rise, according to Gazit.    Among those over 50, that gap is four-fold.
    “We are optimistic, but very cautious,” Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz told public broadcaster Kan on Sunday.    “It gives us more time, slows the spread and we’re moving away from lockdown.”
    But even if the boosters are slowing the pandemic’s pace, it is unlikely to fend Delta off entirely.
    Dvir Aran, biomedical data scientist at Technion – Israel’s Institute of Technology, said that while cases are retreating, other measures are needed alongside boosters to stop the pandemic.    “It will take a long time until enough people get a third dose and until then thousands more people will getting seriously ill.”
    Since Delta’s surge, Israel has reimposed indoor mask wearing, limitations on gatherings and ramped up rapid testing.
    Its “living with COVID” policy will be tested come September, when schools reopen after summer break and when the Jewish holiday season starts, with families traditionally gathering to celebrate.
(Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Dan Grebler)

8/24/2021 Russian Army Patrol Rebel Enclave In Syria To Avert Offensive, Sources Say by Suleiman Al-Khalidi
FILE PHOTO: A Russian soldier is seen near the Nasib border crossing with
Jordan in Deraa, Syria July 7, 2018. REUTERS/ Omar Sanadiki
    AMMAN (Reuters) – Russian forces moved into an opposition enclave in the Syrian city of Deraa on Tuesday to try to avert an army assault on a stronghold that has defied state authority since it was retaken three years ago, witnesses, residents, and army sources said.
    Their entry brought a halt to shelling by pro-Iranian army units who have encircled the enclave, where protests first erupted in 2011, and had attempted to storm the area on Monday in the latest drive to force former rebels to surrender.
    The Syrian army, aided by Russian air power and Iranian militias, in 2018 retook control of the province of which Deraa is the capital and which borders Jordan and Israel’s Golan Heights.
    Local officials and army sources say the Iranian-backed army units have been pushing for a major new offensive.
    However, Moscow gave guarantees to Israel and Washington in 2018 that it would hold back Iranian-backed militias from expanding their influence in the strategic region.
    That deal forced thousands of mainstream Western-backed rebels to hand over heavy weapons but kept the army from entering Deraa al Balaad.
    On Tuesday, dozens of Russian military police were seen patrolling neighbourhoods of Deraa al Balaad – the centre of the first peaceful protests against the Assad family rule, which were met by force before spreading across the country.
    Russian generals presented local leaders and the army with a road map on Aug. 14 to head off any showdown and have been trying to win over the opposition, some of whom fear the plan reneges on the 2018 deal.
    Moscow’s plan, seen by Reuters, offers ex-rebels a pardon but allows the army to gradually take over the enclave, while offering safe passage to former rebels who oppose the deal to leave for opposition areas in northwest Syria.
    Russian troops were accompanied by a group of former Western backed mainstream rebels now integrated in a division of the army known as the Eighth Brigade under Russian command, residents said.
    The enclave and other towns in southern Syria have continued to hold sporadic protests against President Bashar al Assad’s rule that are rare in areas under state control.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Alison Williams)

8/24/2021 Tunisian Party Concerned At President’s Extension Of Emergency Powers
FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied takes the oath of office in
Tunis, Tunisia, October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi/File Photo
    TUNIS (Reuters) – The biggest party in Tunisia’s parliament voiced concern on Tuesday at what it called the ambiguity surrounding the country’s future after the president indefinitely extended emergency measures announced a month ago.
    The moderate Islamist Ennahda initially called President Kais Saied’s seizure of governing powers and freezing of parliament a coup, although its recent statements have only described his moves as a constitutional violation.
    A month after Saied’s intervention, he has not appointed a new prime minister or government or announced what he plans to do next, amid widespread speculation that he plans to redraw the 2014 democratic constitution.
    Late on Monday, the presidency said Saied was indefinitely extending the measures without giving further details, but added that he would give a speech in the coming days.
    The constitutional crisis has erupted as the North African country struggles to deal with a dire economy and a looming threat to public finances a decade after the 2011 revolution that introduced democracy.
    The United States and France, as well as Tunisian political parties and the powerful labour union, have urged Saied to quickly appoint a government and sketch out plans for the future.
    But his intervention appears to have enjoyed widespread popular support.
    During the past month, Saied has replaced senior officials in national and regional governments, the security agencies and other bodies.
    On Tuesday, during a meeting with the trade minister posted as a video by the presidency, he justified extending his measures by attacking parliament.
    “The existing political institutions and the way they are operating are a danger to the state. … Parliament itself is a danger to the state,” he said.
    Ennahda’s leader, Rached Ghannouchi, is parliament speaker.    The party has played a role in successive governments since the revolution.
    When he announced his intervention on 25 July, Saied lifted the immunity of parliament members.    Several of them, from parties that both back and oppose him, have since been detained or put under house arrest on various charges.
    Ennahda called in its statement for an end to what it called the “abuse and violation of constitutional rights” of citizens through detentions and travel restrictions.
(Reporting by Angus McDowall; Additional reporting by Ahmad Elhamy in Cairo; Editing by Peter Cooney)

8/25/2021 Biden To Tell Israel PM He Shares Alarm Over Iran But Sticking To Nuclear Diplomacy by Matt Spetalnick and Jarrett Renshaw
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett gestures as he speaks during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., U.S. August 25, 2021. Olivier Douliery/Pool via REUTERS
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden will tell Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the White House on Thursday that Washington shares Israel’s concern that Iran has accelerated its nuclear program but remains committed for now to diplomacy with Tehran.
    Briefing reporters on their first face-to-face talks, a senior U.S. official said: “Since the last administration left the Iran nuclear deal, Iran’s nuclear program has just dramatically broken out of the box, and it’s accelerating from week to week.”
    Iran has more advanced centrifuges and uranium stockpiles as well as technology so that nuclear “breakout” – the capability to produce a bomb – “is now down to just a few months,” the official said and added the two leaders would discuss “what to do about it.”
    The administration was increasingly alarmed by Iran’s nuclear activities, the official said, but signaled that Biden was sure to reject any entreaties from Bennett to halt efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear accord.
    “We, of course, committed to a diplomatic path,” the official said amid stalled negotiations with Iran, where a new hardline president has taken power.    “We think that is the best way to put a ceiling on the program and roll back the gains that Iran has made over recent years on the nuclear side.”
    “If that doesn’t work, there are other avenues to pursue,” the official added, without elaborating.
    Despite differences, U.S. and Israeli officials alike have expressed hope the White House meeting will set a positive tone between Biden, who took office in January, and Bennett, a far-right politician who ended Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year run as prime minister in June.
    This would stand in sharp contrast to years of tensions between Netanyahu, who was close to Republican President Donald Trump, and the last Democratic administration led by Barack Obama with Biden as vice president.
    The Biden administration puts much of the onus for tensions with Iran as well as its nuclear advances on Trump’s decision to scrap involvement in the nuclear deal negotiated under Obama.
    Bennett’s visit gives Washington an opportunity to demonstrate business as usual with its closest Middle East ally while it contends with the chaotic situation in Afghanistan, Biden’s biggest foreign policy crisis since taking office.
    Iran will top the agenda, with Bennett – who arrived in Washington on Tuesday – expected to push for a hardened U.S. approach to Israel’s regional arch-enemy.
    In a report seen last week by Reuters, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran had accelerated uranium enrichment to near weapons-grade.    Iran has consistently denied seeking a nuclear bomb.
PALESTINIANS AND NORMALIZATION DEALS ON AGENDA
    Bennett has been less openly combative but just as adamant as Netanyahu was in pledging not to allow Iran, which Israel views as an existential threat, to build a nuclear weapon.
    Israel is reported to have some 200 atomic warheads but it neither confirms nor denies having nuclear weapons under a strategy of “nuclear ambiguity” billed as warding off enemies while avoiding public provocations that can trigger arms races.
    Biden and Bennett will also discuss the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian dispute. The U.S. president has again made a two-state solution a     central part of Washington’s policy, but Bennett, a right-winger who heads an ideologically diverse coalition, opposes Palestinian statehood.
    The Biden administration sees little chance of a near-term resumption of peace talks, which collapsed in 2014, “but there are a number of steps that can be taken to kind of dampen the risks of further sparks of conflict,” the official said.
    The Biden administration has already emphasized it opposes further expansion of Jewish settlements on occupied land.
    Biden will also discuss with Bennett behind-the-scenes efforts to get more Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel, the official said.    This would follow in the footsteps of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, which reached accords with Israel brokered by the Trump administration.
    “There’s an awful lot of work going on to expand those arrangements to other countries,” the official said.
(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Howard Goller)
[SO AFTER JOE BIDEN'S SCREW UP IN THE PULLOUT OF AFGHANISTAN I WONDER IF HE WOULD BECOME THE HE IN THE PEACE AGREEMENT BUT IT IS NOT LIKELY BECAUSE THAT ENTITY WOULD BE AN INDIVIDUAL WITH SOME WORLD PROMNENCE AND NOT A FUMBLING, CANT REMEMBER EVERYTHING PERSON TO PULL THAT OFF AND HIS ADMINISTRATION CONTROLLED BY THE GLOBALIST SOCIALIST ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT WHICH WOUD ATTEMPT IT THOUGH SO STAY TUNED.].

8/25/2021 Nigeria Signs Military Cooperation Agreement With Russia
FILE PHOTO: Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari in Paris, France May 18, 2021. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS
    ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria and Russia have signed a military cooperation deal providing a legal framework for the supply of equipment and the training of troops, the Nigerian embassy in Moscow said on Wednesday.
    President Muhammadu Buhari had expressed interest in such a pact with Russia as far back as 2019, when he met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at a Russia-Africa summit.
    The Nigerian ambassador to Russia at the time said Buhari felt Russia could help defeat the Boko Haram Islamic insurgency in the northeast of the country, which remains a major problem.
    “The Agreement on Military-Technical Cooperation between both countries provides a legal framework for the supply of military equipment, provision of after sales services, training of personnel in respective educational establishments and technology transfer, among others,” the Nigerian embassy said in a statement.
    It described the pact as a landmark development in bilateral relations between Abuja and Moscow.
    Nigeria already uses some Russian fighter jets and helicopters, alongside military equipment purchased from Western powers such as the United States.
    Reuters reported in July that U.S. lawmakers had put a hold on a proposal to sell almost $1 billion of weapons to Nigeria over concerns about possible human rights abuses by the government.
    Three sources familiar with the matter said at the time the proposed sale of 12 attack helicopters and related equipment was being delayed in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
(Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Sandra Maler)

8/25/2021 Algeria To Allow More International Flights In Further Easing Of Restrictions
FILE PHOTO: Planes sit on the tarmac at Algiers Airport, as Algeria resumed some international flights,
amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, Algeria June 1, 2021. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
    ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algeria will increase the number of international flights it allows from Aug. 28, partly to help repatriate Algerians stuck abroad since air travel restrictions were imposed at the start of the pandemic last year.
    The country began gradually reopening its borders in June although arrivals must comply with strict health measures.
    State carrier Air Algerie will operate 32 international flights weekly, consisting of departures from and arrivals at three Algerian airports, the transport ministry said in a statement.    It currently has nine flights arriving each week.
    The majority of flights, 24, will serve routes to France, where there is a large Algerian diaspora, and there will also be flights to Spain, Italy, Germany, Russia, Turkey and Tunisia.
    Airlines from those countries will be permitted to operate the same number of flights to and from the North African nation.
    “As part of reciprocity, (the number of Air Algerie flights) will be doubled by foreign airlines operating in Algeria,” the statement said.
    Air Algerie suspended its international routes in March last year although it later operated some emergency flights.
(Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

8/25/2021 Gunman Kills Four In Attack Near French Embassy In Tanzania
Tanzanian security forces remove the slain body of an attacker who was wielding an assault rifle, outside the
French embassy in the Salenda area of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania August 25, 2021. REUTERS/Emmanuel Herman
    DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – A gunman killed three police officers and a private security guard on a rampage through a diplomatic quarter of Tanzania’s main city Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, before being shot dead while holed up in a guardhouse at the French embassy’s gate.
    Videos on the internet, apparently filmed by onlookers from buildings across the street from the French embassy, showed the gunman inside the guardhouse.    He exchanged fire at very close range with police and men who appeared to be embassy guards.
    Police said the attacker had first shot two police officers with a pistol at an intersection in the district, which houses a number of diplomatic missions.    He took rifles from the fallen police officers, and headed on foot to the French embassy a few hundred metres away, firing randomly and occupying the guard house.
    Samia Suluhu Hassan said on Twitter that the attacker had been “neutralised” and “calm has returned.”
    “I send my condolences to the police service and the families of three policemen, and one officer of the SGA security company, who lost their lives after an armed person attacked them in the Salenda area of Dar es Salaam,” Hassan said.
    Six people were injured in addition to the four who were killed, police commissioner of operations and training Liberatus Sabas said in a Tweet shared by the account of the Tanzanian Police Force.
    Inspector-General of Police Simon Sirro said in an interview aired on local television that police were trying to identify the attacker.    While the motive was not yet known, Sirro suggested the attack could be related to Tanzania’s role in neighbouring     Mozambique, where it sent troops this month to help fight Islamist insurgents as part of a regional security force.
    “There are problems, our soldiers are there,” Sirro said of Mozambique.
    Police official Sabas told reporters it was too early to say whether the gunman was a Tanzanian national, or whether he had links to terrorism.
    Tanzanian television aired footage showing police officers in bullet-proof vests who appeared to be wrapping a dead body outside the embassy in white material to remove it from the scene.
    SGA Security, which describes itself as a major security services provider in East Africa, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.    The French embassy in Dar es Salaam could not immediately be reached for comment and French foreign ministry officials in Paris were not available.
(Reporting by Nuzulack Dausen, Ayenat Mersie and Joe Bavier; Writing by Duncan Miriri and Maggie Fick; Editing by Peter Graff)

8/25/2021 Sudan Says Ethiopian Dam Made No Impact On Floods This Year
FILE PHOTO: People wave their flags as they attend a pro-government rally to celebrate the
second filling of the Great Renaissance Dam (GERD) and condemn the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) at
Meskel Square in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, July 22, 2021. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo
    CAIRO (Reuters) – The giant dam Ethiopia has constructed on the Blue Nile made no impact on this year’s floods in Sudan, which had taken costly precautions in the absence of any deal to regulate the flow of water, a Sudanese official said.
    Ethiopia has spent years in tense negotiations over the $5 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam with Sudan and Egypt, both of which are downstream of the dam, but have yet to come to an agreement and the dam remains a bone of contention between the countries.
    Sudan has said the dam could have a positive effect on flooding during the rainy season, and hoped to benefit from electricity production, but has complained of a lack of information from Ethiopia on the dam’s operation.
    Sudan and Egypt had demanded Ethiopia hold off on a second round of filling the dam before a binding agreement was signed regulating its operation and mandating the sharing of data Sudan feels is necessary to maintain its own dams and water stations.
    “Despite the unilateral filling of the Renaissance Dam … the dam had no effect on this year’s floods, but the lack of information exchange before filling forced Sudan to make costly precautions with significant economic and social impact,” said Irrigation     Minister Yasir Abbas in a tweet.
    Ethiopia sees the dam as key to its hopes of increased power generation and development, and says it is taking the interests of both downstream countries into account in its workings.
    Abbas said that after the dam reached a particular level on July 20, it let out as much water as it received.
    He noted that for the first time Sudan was able to utilize its own dams to lower the intensity of the yearly floods, which have historically devastated riverside farming communities.
    The UN said earlier this year almost 70,000 people were affected by the rainy season across Sudan, the bulk of them in River Nile state, which lies downstream after the White and Blue Niles meet in Khartoum.
    By this time last year, the UN had noted some 380,000 people had been affected.
    Abbas noted historically large flows for the White Nile, reaching 120 to 130 million cubic meters this rainy season, compared with a typical 70 to 80 million.
(Reporting by Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by David Holmes)

8/26/2021 Biden, Israeli PM Seek To Reset Relations, Narrow Differences On Iran by Matt Spetalnick
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the situation in Afghanistan, in the
Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 24, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Thursday will seek to reset the tone of U.S.-Israeli relations in their first White House meeting and find common ground on Iran despite differences on how to deal with its nuclear program.
    In talks overshadowed by the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the two leaders will try to turn the page on years of tensions between Bennett’s predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, who was close to former President Donald Trump, and the last Democratic administration led by Barack Obama with Biden as his vice president.
    In what’s been planned as a low-key meeting, Bennett wants to move on from Netanyahu’s combative public style and instead manage disagreements constructively behind closed doors between Washington and its closest Middle East ally.
    The visit gives Biden an opportunity to demonstrate business as usual with a key partner while contending with the complex situation in Afghanistan.    Biden’s biggest foreign policy crisis since taking office has not only hurt his approval ratings at home but raised questions about his credibility among both friends and foes.
    Topping the agenda is Iran, one of the thorniest issues between the Biden administration and Israel.
    Bennett, a far-right politician who ended Netanyahu’s 12-year run as prime minister in June, is expected to press Biden to harden his approach to Iran and halt negotiations aimed at reviving the international nuclear deal that Trump abandoned.
    Biden will tell Bennett that he shares Israel’s concern that Iran has expanded its nuclear program but remains committed for now to diplomacy with Tehran, a senior administration official said. U.S.-Iran negotiations have stalled as Washington awaits the next move by Iran’s new hardline president.
    Briefing reporters ahead of the meeting, the official said: “Since the last administration left the Iran nuclear deal, Iran’s nuclear program has just dramatically broken out of the box.”
    The official said that if the diplomatic path with Iran fails, “there are other avenues to pursue,” but did not elaborate.
    Bennett has been less openly combative but just as adamant as Netanyahu was in pledging to do whatever is necessary to prevent Iran, which Israel views as an existential threat, from building a nuclear weapon.    Iran consistently denies it is seeking a bomb.
    The two leaders are expected to speak briefly to a small pool of reporters during their Oval Office meeting but there will not be a joint news conference, limiting the potential for public disagreement.
AT ODDS ON PALESTINIAN ISSUES
    On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Biden and Bennett are also divided. Biden has renewed backing for a two-state solution after Trump distanced himself from that long-standing tenet of U.S. policy.    Bennett opposes Palestinian statehood.
    The consensus among Biden’s aides is that now is not the time to push for a resumption of long-dormant peace talks or major Israeli concessions, which could destabilize Bennett’s ideologically diverse coalition.
    But Biden’s aides have not ruled out asking Bennett for modest gestures to help avoid a recurrence of the fierce Israel-Hamas fighting in the Gaza Strip that caught the new U.S. administration flat-footed earlier this year.
    Among the issues that could be raised in Thursday’s talks is the Biden administration’s goal of re-establishing a consulate in Jerusalem that served the Palestinians and which Trump closed. Biden’s aides have moved cautiously on the issue.
    The administration has also emphasized that it opposes further expansion of Jewish settlements on occupied land.    Bennett, 49, the son of American immigrants to Israel, has been a vocal proponent of settlement building.
    Biden’s advisers are also mindful that Israeli officials may be concerned about the apparent failure of U.S. intelligence to predict the swift fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban.
    Biden intends to reassure Bennett that the end of the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan does not reflect a “de-prioritizing” of the U.S. commitment to Israel and other Middle East allies, the senior U.S. official said.
    Biden will also discuss with Bennett behind-the-scenes efforts to get more Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel, the senior U.S. official said. This would follow in the footsteps of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, which reached accords with Israel brokered by the Trump administration.
    On Wednesday, Bennett met U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. He was expected to discuss, among other issues, the replenishing of the Iron Dome missile defense system that Israel relies on to fend off rocket attacks from Gaza.
(Reporting By Matt Spetalnick; editing by Grant McCool)
[AFTER BIDEN'S POOR EXCUSE OF SCREWING UP THE AFGHANISTAN PULLOUT WITH THE GLOBALIST SOCIALIST ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT BEHIND HIM I WOULD ADVISE ISRAELI PM BENNETT TO BE WELL AWARE OF WHAT HE MIGHT DO WITH THE MIDDLE EAST ABRAHAM ACCORD AND FUTURE AND I AM MORE TO BELIEVE THAT WHAT HE DID WAS INTENDED TO BRING THE PROPHECIES CLOSER.].

8/26/2021 Israeli Radio Says Bennett’s Meeting With Biden Delayed Over Afghan Situation
FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett speaks during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., U.S. August 25, 2021. Olivier Douliery/Pool via REUTERS
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House, Israel’s Army Radio reported. House on Thursday has been delayed due to the situation in Afghanistan (Writing by Dan Williams)

8/26/2021 Beirut Blast Judge Issues Subpoena For PM Diab After No-Show
FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab is pictured at the government
palace in Beirut, Lebanon, August 10, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – The judge leading the investigation into last summer’s Beirut port blast issued a subpoena for caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Thursday after he failed to show up for questioning, Lebanon’s state news agency reported.
    Judge Tarek Bitar, who is leading the inquiry into the explosion, issued requests in July to question Diab and other top officials, including Major General Abbas Ibrahim, head of the powerful General Security agency, and several former ministers.
    The blast, caused by large quantities of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely for years, killed hundreds, injured thousands and destroyed large swathes of the capital.
    More than a year on, no senior official has been held accountable, angering many Lebanese.
    The inquiry into the explosion repeatedly stalled with the first lead judge removed in February after a court granted the request of two of the former ministers he had charged with negligence for the disaster.
    Requests by Bitar to lift the immunity of several members of parliament and to question top officials have also stalled.
    Diab’s session was postponed to Sept. 20, the news agency said.
    A judicial source told Reuters that should Diab fail to attend the September session, the judge would have the right to issue an arrest warrant.
    Diab, who has said he is innocent of any wrongdoing connected to the blast, was not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Maha El Dahan and Laila Bassam; Editing by Nick Macfie)

8/26/2021 EU Worried At Lebanon’s Fast Deterioration, Says Time Has Run Out
FILE PHOTO: People wait in cars to get fuel at a gas station in Zalka, Lebanon, August 20, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – The European Union is deeply concerned at the rapid deterioration of the crisis in Lebanon, its ambassador to Beirut said on Thursday, telling Lebanese leaders the time for action had run out and urging them to form a government.
    It reflects growing worry about a sharp deterioration of the situation in Lebanon, where a two-year-long financial meltdown hit a crunch point this month as fuel shortages paralysed much of the country, sparking chaos and numerous security incidents.
    “We feel extreme concern about the rapid deterioration of the economic, financial, security and social crisis,” Ambassador Ralph Tarraf said after meeting President Michel Aoun, carrying an urgent message from EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
    The EU continues to provide substantial aid to the Lebanese people, he said, but Lebanese decision-makers – who have failed to agree on a new government for a year – needed to live up to their responsibilities.
    “There is no more time,” he said in remarks delivered in Arabic.
    Last week, an international support group including France and the United States said the “fast-accelerating crisis underscores the utmost urgency of forming a government capable of taking the situation in hand.”
    The crisis has sunk the currency by more than 90%, forced more than half of Lebanese into poverty and frozen depositors out of their accounts.    The World Bank has called it one of the sharpest depressions in modern times.
(Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Alex Richardson)

8/26/2021 U.S. Says War In Ethiopia’s North Could Affect Trade Benefits
FILE PHOTO: A tank damaged during the fighting between Ethiopia's National Defense Force (ENDF) and
Tigray Special Forces stands on the outskirts of Humera town in Ethiopia July 1, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer
    NAIROBI (Reuters) – The ongoing war and humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia’s north could affect the country’s trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office said.
    The AGOA trade programme provides sub-Saharan African nations duty-free access to the United States on the condition they meet certain eligibility requirements, such as eliminating barriers to U.S. trade and investment and making progress towards political pluralism.
    U.S. Trade Representative Katharine Tai met virtually with Ethiopia’s Chief Trade Negotiator Mamo Mihretu on Wednesday, USTR said in a statement.
    “(Tai) raised the ongoing violations of internationally recognised human rights amid the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia, which could affect Ethiopia’s future African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) eligibility if unaddressed,” the statement read.
    Mamo did not immediately respond to a comment request on Thursday.
    Ethiopia’s foreign affairs ministry spokesperson, Dina Mufti, told reporters at a news conference in Addis Ababa on Thursday: “The issue of AGOA is being presented to intimidate us.”
    “There is nothing that is being terminated,” he added.    “It is possible that we will agree on some on issues.”
    The office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
    AGOA, approved in 2000, provides African countries with duty-free access to the U.S. market for more than 1,800 products with the aim of supporting African economic growth. Ethiopia exported $525 million in goods to the United States in 2020.
    Washington has suspended Democratic Republic of Congo from the trade partnership because of alleged human rights violation, but reinstated that country’s membership in 2020.
    The conflict in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray erupted in November 2020 and has now spread to neighbouring regions.    The U.N. has said that war crimes may have been committed by all parties to the conflict.
    Ethiopia’s government has said it will hold those who commit abuses to account.    It has denied blocking food aid to the region.
(Reporting by Ayenat Mersie in Nairobi and Dawit Endeshaw in Addis Ababa; Editing by Alex Richardson)

8/26/2021 Senior UAE Official Meets Qatar’s Emir In Rare Visit
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani meets with National Security Adviser Sheikh
Tahnoun bin Zayed al-Nayhan, in Doha, Qatar, August 26, 2021. Qatar News Agency/Handout via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) -A senior United Arab Emirates official held talks with Qatar’s emir in Doha on Thursday in the first such visit in four years following this year’s deal to end a bitter dispute.
    National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al-Nayhan, a brother of the UAE’s de facto ruler, met Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the Qatari ruler’s office said.
    Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt agreed in January to end the dispute that had led them to sever ties with Qatar in 2017 over accusations that Doha supported terrorism – a reference to Islamist groups.    Doha denied the charges.
    Riyadh and Cairo have led efforts to mend ties and appointed ambassadors to Qatar, while Abu Dhabi and Manama have yet to do so.    All but Bahrain have restored travel and trade links.
    Sheikh Tahnoun and the Qatari emir discussed strengthening cooperation particularly in economic and trade areas and in investment projects, UAE state news agency WAM reported.
    Saudi Arabia and the UAE have sought to contain regional tensions, including with their rival Iran, as the United States on which they have long relied on for security reduces its military involvement in the wider region.
    The two nations could gain from investment by small but wealthy Qatar, the world’s top supplier of liquefied natural gas.
    Sheikh Tahnoun’s visit to Doha follows another rare trip that he made last week to Turkey, an ally of Qatar.    The UAE has been at odds with Turkey on several regional issues, including over the conflict in Libya where the two states have backed rival sides.
    Turkey has also moved to overcome tensions with Saudi Arabia and Egypt that have hurt the Turkish economy.
    Another senior Emirati official said last week the UAE was “building bridges” as it focuses on economic development in its domestic and foreign policy.
(Reporting by Alaa Swilam in Cairo and Ghaida Ghantous in Dubai; Editing by John Stonestreet and Edmund Blair)

8/26/2021 Lebanese Army Deploys To Area In North After Deadly Violence
FILE PHOTO: Traffic jam caused by cars lining up for fuel in Damour, Lebanon. REUTERS/Issam Abdallah
    BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Lebanese army has deployed troops to an area of the north where two men have been killed this week in violence between rival clans that spiralled out of a dispute over logging, a security source said on Thursday.
    Heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades were used during fighting in the predominantly Sunni Muslim area between people from the villages of Akkar al-Atiqa and Fnaidek on Wednesday, the source said.    The situation was calm on Thursday.
    The rival groups have a history of disputes.
    The violence adds to concerns of insecurity in Lebanon, where a financial meltdown is causing deepening chaos.
    Though the incident was not linked directly to the financial crisis, it shows that “the state is losing its standing?,” the security source said.
    In a statement on Wednesday night, Sunni politician Saad al-Hariri said the bloodshed must stop and urged a halt to the “use of weapons as the means of dialogue between brothers.”
    There have been daily security incidents in Lebanon of late involving fuel as the financial crisis has given rise to crippling shortages, sparking melees and confrontations over gasoline and diesel.    Fuel tanker trucks have also been hijacked.
(Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Alex Richardson)

8/27/2021 Israeli Prime Minister Meets With Biden Admin. Officials, Sen. McConnell by OAN Newsroom
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett meets with Secretary of State Antony Blinken
at the Willard Hotel in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021. (Olivier Douliery/Pool via AP)
    Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett apparently met with members of Joe Biden’s cabinet before meeting with Biden himself.
    According to reports Thursday, Bennett met with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday before his scheduled meeting with Biden.    The prime minister pushed that easing sanctions on Iran would fund Israel’s enemies in the Middle East.
    “The Department of Defense is also committed to maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge and to ensuring that Israel can defend itself from threats from Iran, its proxies and terrorist groups,” stated Secretary Austin.
    Bennett expressed Israel’s loyalty to the U.S. amid increased chaos in the Middle East as Biden comes under heavy scrutiny for withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
    “I can assure you that you will find no friend that is more reliable or appreciative than us,” he stated.    “And goodwill and pursuit of unity, and we work hard to find the common things that we do agree upon and move forward on it.”
    The Israeli prime minister also spoke with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), where they discussed mutual challenges including global terrorism, Iran’s dangerous aspirations, anti-Semitism and BDS.

8/27/2021 Iraqi Cleric Sadr Says He Will Participate In General Election
FILE PHOTO: A poster of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in the Sadr City
district of Baghdad, Iraq June 21, 2021. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad
    BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi populist Shi’ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Friday that he and his supporters would take part in an October general election, reversing a decision last month to stay out.
    Sadr’s bloc is part of a coalition that holds the most seats in parliament now, and is likely to be one of the frontrunners in the vote, which was called early by Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi as a response to popular protests from 2019.
    Sadr said in a televised address that the about-face came after a number of political leaders, whom he did not identify, had written to him with a “charter for reform” to rid Iraq of corruption and mismanagement.
    He urged supporters to go to the polls and vote in the early election scheduled for Oct. 10.    A vote for his movement, he said, would mean an Iraq liberated from foreign meddling and rampant graft.
    “We will enter these elections with vigour and determination, in order to save Iraq from occupation and corruption,” Sadr said.
    Sadr, who commands a loyal following of millions of Iraqis, is one of the most powerful political leaders in Iraq and has grown his influence over state institutions in recent years.
    Sadr loyalists hold official posts with control of a large portion of the country’s wealth and patronage networks.
    Detractors accuse Sadr and his supporters, like other Iraqi parties, of being involved in corruption within state institutions – a charge Sadrists reject.
    Sadr, an unpredictable and wily political operator, opposes the presence of U.S. troops, of which some 2,500 remain in Iraq, and rejects the influence of neighbouring Iran – a position at odds with many rival Shi’ite politicians and armed groups who are loyal to Tehran.
(Reporting by Baghdad newsroom, John Davison in Geneva; Editing by Peter Graff)

8/28/2021 Mideast Leaders Plus France Meet In Baghdad To Talk Security, Diplomacy
Iraq's President Barham Salih meets Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani during the welcome ceremony ahead
of the Baghdad summit at the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq August 28, 2021. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
    BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Several Middle Eastern leaders and French President Emmanuel Macron met in Baghdad on Saturday at a summit hosted by Iraq, which wants its neighbours to talk to each other instead of settling scores on its territory.
    Iraq’s security has improved in recent years but it is still plagued by big power rivalries and heavily armed militia groups.
    Competition for influence in the Middle East between Iran on one side and the United States, Israel and Gulf Arab states on the other has made Iraq the scene of attacks against U.S. forces and assassinations of Iranian and Iraqi paramilitary leaders.
    The strained relationships within the region have also led to disruptions to global oil supplies with attacks on Saudi Arabian oil installations – blamed on but denied by Tehran.
    Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said during a news conference that Iran and Saudi Arabia, which began direct talks in Iraq in April, were continuing their meetings and hoped for “positive results,” but gave no further details.
    Organisers of the Baghdad summit said they did not expect any diplomatic breakthroughs.    “Getting these countries to sit around the table – that will be achievement enough,” said one Iraqi government official.
    Heads of state attending included Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, King Abdullah of Jordan, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Macron.    Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates sent their heads of government, and Turkey its foreign minister.
    Macron was due to stay an extra day, meet Iraqi leaders and visit French special forces fighting Islamic State insurgents.
    Shi’ite Muslim Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia, longtime rivals for regional dominance, sent their foreign ministers.    The two countries resumed direct talks in Iraq in April this year, but those meetings yielded no breakthroughs.
    Iranian officials have said they are focused more on the outcome of talks in Vienna with Western powers over Iran’s nuclear programme and international sanctions.
    “The meeting in Iraq … is only focused on Iraq and how the regional countries can cooperate to help Iraq,” an Iranian official told Reuters ahead of the Baghdad summit.
    The U.S.-Iran rivalry brought the Middle East to the brink of war after the United States under former U.S. President Donald Trump killed Iran’s military mastermind Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad airport in 2020.
    Iran-backed militias have launched increasingly sophisticated drone and rocket attacks against U.S. forces stationed in Iraq, and also fired drones at Riyadh.
    Saudi Arabia has blamed attacks on its oil installations on Iran – a charge Tehran denies.
    The U.S. military drawdown in Iraq and the new nuclear talks with Iran instigated by President Joe Biden’s administration have prompted Riyadh to favour engagement with Iran as a way to contain tensions without abandoning its security concerns.
    Ahead of the summit, UAE Vice-President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum met Qatar’s al-Thani and described him as a “brother and friend” in a sign of warming ties between the Gulf rivals.
    Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt in 2017 severed ties with Qatar over charges it supports terrorism – a broad reference to Islamist groups – which Qatar denied.
    Since a deal in January, Riyadh and Cairo have restored diplomatic ties. Abu Dhabi and Manama have yet to do so.
    Complicating the security landscape in Iraq, Turkish troops are battling Kurdish separatists in the north.    Their presence has drawn rocket fire from Iran-aligned militias.
(Reporting by Baghdad newsroom and John Davison in Geneva, Ghaida Ghantous in Dubai and Dubai newsroom, Alaa Swilam in Cairo, Editing by Catherine Evans and Ros Russell)

8/28/2021 Egypt’s Sisi And Qatar’s Tamim Meet For The First Time Since Reconciliation
FILE PHOTO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks at a news conference
during a viist to Athens, Greece, November 11, 2020. REUTERS/Costas Baltas
    CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Baghdad on Saturday, the Egyptian presidency said, the first meeting since the two countries agreed in January to end a long-running dispute.
    Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain had agreed to end the dispute that saw them boycott Qatar since 2017 over charges it supports terrorism, a reference to Islamist groups, which Doha denies.
    Egypt and Qatar exchanged the appointment of ambassadors in June and August respectively in a sign of improved relations.
    “During the meeting, it was agreed on the importance of continuing consultation and working to advance relations between the two countries during the next stage,” the Egyptian presidency statement said.
    Several Middle Eastern leaders and French President Emmanuel Macron met in Baghdad on Saturday at a summit hosted by Iraq, which wants its neighbours to talk to each other instead of settling scores on its territory.
(Reporting by Mohamed Wali; writing by Mahmoud Mourad; editing by Angus MacSwan)

8/29/2021 Israel PM: Achieved All Goals And More At Biden Meeting by OAN Newsroom
WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 27: Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the Oval Office
at the White House on August 27, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Sarahbeth Maney-Pool/Getty Images)
    Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett highlighted the success of his recent talks with Joe Biden in Washington.    Talking to reporters at the Washington airport on Sunday, Bennett said he’s achieved and surpassed all goals that had been set for his meeting with Biden.
    The Prime Minister highlighted progress in U.S.-Israeli discussions of Iran’s nuclear program and U.S. visa waivers for Israeli citizens.    The two met at the White House on Friday after a short delay due to a deadly terror attack on U.S. troops in Kabul.
    Bennett also said Biden agreed to increase U.S. contributions to Israeli security.
    “Biden and I formed a direct and personal connection, a connection based on trust,” said Bennett.    “We achieved all the objectives for the trip and even beyond that.    We agreed with the Americans on a joint strategic effort to halt the Iranian nuclear race.    We have taken a significant step in equipping and building Israeli power.”
    The Prime Minister stressed Israel will continue anti-terror operations in the Gaza Strip despite a mild pushback by Biden’s State Department.

8/29/2021 Repairs Needed At Kabul Airport Before Civilian Flights Can Begin, Turkey Says
FILE PHOTO: Taliban stand at the entrance gate of Hamid Karzai International airport while Taliban forces block
the roads around the airport after yesterday's explosions in Kabul, Afghanistan August 27, 2021. REUTER/Stringer
    ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Repairs need to be made at Kabul airport before it can be opened to civilian flights, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday, as Ankara considers providing help to the Taliban to operate the airport.
    Ankara has been in talks with the Taliban about providing technical help to operate Kabul airport after the Aug. 31 deadline for troops to leave Afghanistan but said the recent bombing underlined the need for a Turkish force to protect any experts deployed there.
    Cavusoglu said on Sunday that inspection reports show runways, towers and terminals, including those in the civilian side of the airport, were damaged and that these needed to be repaired.
    “Personnel is needed for this.    Likewise, the required equipment needs to be provided,” he said.
    Turkey, which is part of the NATO mission, has been responsible for security at the airport for the last six years.
    Keeping the airport open after foreign forces hand over control is vital not just for Afghanistan to stay connected to the world but also to maintain aid supplies and operations.
    Speaking at a news conference with his German counterpart, Cavusoglu said the airport initially needs to be operated to help send humanitarian aid into the country and continue evacuations.
    “But also for the airport to be open to civilian flights, including Turkish Airlines, the deficiencies we mentioned need to be taken care of and work needs to be done,” he said, adding that the requests were being relayed to the Taliban.
    German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Germany was grateful to Turkey for its offer to continue to help run the airport after NATO’s withdrawal and said Germany was ready to support that financially and technically.
    Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters on Saturday that “it is a bit too early to decided whether we will need Turkey or Qatar’s help to operate Kabul airport.”
    President Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey has not made a final decision about operating the airport because of security concerns and that his country was “not in a rush to start flights” again to Kabul.
    “How can we give the security to you (the Taliban)?    How would we explain it to the world if you took over security and there is another bloodbath there?    This is not an easy job,” he was quoted as saying by broadcaster NTV on Sunday.
EMBASSY
    In an interview with Turkish media on a flight back from Montenegro, Erdogan also said the Turkish embassy in Kabul had relocated to its building in the city after operating from the airport for two weeks.    He added that Turkey would maintain its diplomatic presence in Kabul.
    “They returned to our embassy building in the city centre the other day and they are continuing their activities from here,”    he was quoted as saying by broadcaster NTV.
    “Our plan now is to maintain our diplomatic presence in this way.    We are continuously updating our plans according to developments regarding the security situation,” Erdogan said.
    NATO countries have been pulling out their diplomatic missions in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s victory in the country two weeks ago.    Turkey has evacuated civilians and troops from Afghanistan except for a small “technical group.”
    Erdogan has said Turkey welcomes the Taliban’s statements so far with “cautious optimism” but that it wants to see its actions.
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

8/29/2021 30+ Dead, Dozens Wounded In Suspected Houthi Attack In Yemen by OAN Newsroom
A member of security forces loyal to Yemen’s Huthi rebels stands guard in the
Huthi-held capital. (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)
    More than 30 people have died and dozens more injured following an attack on a military base in Yemen.    Officials on Sunday reported several missiles hit the barracks with more than 50 soldiers inside, after which drones attacked the surrounding area.
    Unnamed security officials added the strike was likely organized by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.    The militants however, have not confirmed or denied their involvement.
    “An explosion happened at the Al-Anad military base.    The first two missiles hit the barracks and there were more than 50 people inside,” explained Yemeni soldier Nasser Saeed.    “After 20 minutes, a third missile hit the base then around 20 more minutes later drones came, but we were able to put one down.    Many people were killed and injured.”
    This deadly attack comes amid ongoing proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran that support opposing factions in the Yemeni Civil War.

8/30/2021 South Africa Detects New Coronavirus Variant, Still Studying Its Mutations by Alexander Winning
FILE PHOTO: People queue outside a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination centre as the country opens vaccinations
for everyone 18 years old and above in Cape Town, South Africa, August 20, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo
    JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African scientists have detected a new coronavirus variant with multiple mutations but are yet to establish whether it is more contagious or able to overcome the immunity provided by vaccines or prior infection.
    The new variant, known as C.1.2, was first detected in May and has now spread to most South African provinces and to seven other countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania, according to research which is yet to be peer-reviewed.
    It contains many mutations associated in other variants with increased transmissibility and reduced sensitivity to neutralising antibodies, but they occur in a different mix and scientists are not yet sure how they affect the behaviour of the virus.     Laboratory tests are underway to establish how well the variant is neutralised by antibodies.
    South Africa was the first country to detect the Beta variant, one of only four labelled “of concern” by the World Health Organization (WHO).
    Beta is believed to spread more easily than the original version of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and there is evidence vaccines work less well against it, leading some countries to restrict travel to and from South Africa.
PANDEMIC ‘FAR FROM OVER’
    Richard Lessells, an infectious disease specialist and one of the authors of the research on C.1.2, said its emergence tells us “this pandemic is far from over and that this virus is still exploring ways to potentially get better at infecting us
    He said people should not be overly alarmed at this stage and that variants with more mutations were bound to emerge further into the pandemic.
    Genomic sequencing data from South Africa show the C.1.2 variant was still nowhere near displacing the dominant Delta variant in July, the latest month for which a large number of samples was available.
    In July C.1.2 accounted for 3% of samples versus 1% in June, whereas Delta accounted for 67% in June and 89% in July.
    Delta is the fastest and fittest variant the world has encountered, and it is upending assumptions about COVID-19 even as nations loosen restrictions and reopen their economies.
    Lessells said C.1.2 may have more immune evasion properties than Delta, based on its pattern of mutations, and that the findings had been flagged to the WHO.
    A spokesman for South Africa’s health department declined to comment on the research.
    South Africa’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign got off to a slow start, with only around 14% of its adult population fully vaccinated so far.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Tim Cocks and Gareth Jones)

8/30/2021 Israel Says It Will Loan Palestinians Money After Highest-Level Talks In Years by Jeffrey Heller
FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett chairs the weekly cabinet meeting
in Jerusalem July 19, 2021. Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel will lend the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority more than $150 million after the sides held their highest-level meeting in years, Israeli officials said on Monday, while playing down prospects of any major diplomatic breakthrough.
    Defence Minister Benny Gantz, who has overall responsibility for the Israeli-occupied West Bank, travelled to the Palestinian self-rule area of the territory for previously undisclosed talks on Sunday with President Mahmoud Abbas.
    A source close to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the premier had approved the Gantz-Abbas meeting and deemed it a “routine” matter.    “There is no diplomatic process with the Palestinians, nor will there be one,” the source told Reuters.
    U.S.-sponsored talks on founding a Palestinian state stalled in 2014. The Gantz-Abbas meeting took place as Bennett, a nationalist who opposes Palestinian statehood, returned from his first talks with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington.
    PA official Hussein Al Sheikh said the talks with Gantz included “all aspects” of Palestinian-Israeli relations.
    Abbas coordinates West Bank security with Israel.    Both sides are wary of Hamas Islamists who seized the Gaza Strip, another Palestinian territory, from Abbas in 2007.
    But Israel chafes at stipends the PA pays to militants jailed or killed in attacks on Israelis.    In a protest measure, the Bennett government last month withheld $180 million from 2020 tax revenues it collected on behalf of the PA.    A Gantz spokeswoman said that policy was unchanged.
    The 500 million shekel ($155 million) loan was meant to help “with vital PA functions” and would be repaid in 2022 out of future tax revenues collected by Israel, the spokeswoman said.
    A White House statement said Biden, during his talks with Bennett on Friday, reiterated his support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and “underscored the importance of steps to improve the lives of Palestinians.”
    Bennett did not mention Palestinians in public remarks at the White House that focused largely on arch-enemy Iran’s nuclear programme.
    Gantz, a centrist in Bennett’s coalition government, has called in the past for resumption of a peace process with the Palestinians, who aspire to a state of their own in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.    Israel captured those territories in the 1967 Middle East war.
    But any renewed movement on the issue could shake the foundations of Bennett’s government of left-wing, rightist, centrist and Arab parties that in June ended the conservative Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year run as prime minister.
    In a sign of friction within the coalition, Mossi Raz, a legislator from the left-wing Meretz party, said dismissal of prospects for renewed peace talks by the Bennett source was “outrageous
    “A peace process is an Israeli interest,” Raz wrote on Twitter
.
(Additional reporting by Dan Williams and Ali Sawafta; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Howard Goller)

8/30/2021 Tunisians Fret At President’s Silence On Future by Tarek Amara and Angus McDowall
FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied takes the oath of office in Tunis, Tunisia,
October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
    TUNIS (Reuters) – Five weeks after their president seized governing powers and a week after he indefinitely prolonged emergency measures, Tunisians are increasingly puzzled at his silence on the biggest crisis of their democratic era.
    Though President Kais Saied has spoken regularly on issues ranging from potato prices to corruption in videos of meetings that his office posts online, he has yet to name a new prime minister or say how he plans to rule.
    “We have great confidence in the president,” said Samira Salmi, a clothes vendor in Tunis, before adding: “But frankly his programme has been delayed a lot…We want quick answers.”
    Saied’s next steps will determine whether his intervention, called a coup by critics but widely supported by a populace weary of paralysis and economic decline, will ultimately be regarded as a democratic reset or a gateway back to autocracy.
    Both ordinary Tunisians and the political class widely expect him to change the constitution to give the presidency more powers after he suspended parliament.
    The existing constitution, agreed in 2014 as a messy compromise at a tense moment of polarisation after the 2011 revolution that introduced democracy, has long been unpopular.    Most candidates in the 2019 election, including Saied, said they wanted to amend it.
    However, Saied has given no public statement about what any new constitution would look like, whether he will dissolve the now suspended parliament or how long he expects the emergency period to last.
    He has dismissed calls for a “roadmap” from the powerful UGTT labour union and major foreign lenders by suggesting they look in geography books, and last week he said the government “will be appointed soon, but the state continues.”
    The UGTT has a million members and the power to shut down the economy through stirkes.
‘FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN’
    While political parties, ordinary Tunisians, the union and Western allies have voiced concern at his delay at announcing a programme, few appear ready to put Saied under public pressure yet.
    Both the government he ousted and the suspended parliament were very unpopular, while his vocal attacks on corruption and high prices have popular support, making it harder for his critics to oppose him.
    “The president is facing pressure and has started a campaign to clean up the administration and security apparatus… he is interested in the normal people like us and knows that we trust him,” said Ahmed Abid, a bank employee.
    The most vocal critic has been the moderate Islamist Ennahda party, the biggest in parliament and a supporter of successive coalition governments since the revolution.
    Its immediate response to his intervention was to call it a coup, but it has since dialled back its rhetoric, referring to his moves instead as a “constitutional violation.”    The crisis has meanwhile accelerated disputes within the party.
    “There is a fear of the unknown…the president has all the power and he has not yet announced his plans,” said Maher Madhioub, an adviser to Ennahda’s leader.
    However, patience may be running out.    “The party expresses its growing concern about the gathering of powers in the hands of the president without a clear timeframe,” said Ghazi Chaouachi, head of Attayar party.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara, writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

8/30/2021 Internet Disrupted, Streets Quiet In South Sudan After Call For Protests
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir addresses the opening session of parliament
in Juba, South Sudan August 30, 2021. REUTERS/Jok Solomun
    NAIROBI (Reuters) -Internet services in South Sudan were disrupted on Monday and security forces patrolled the streets after activists called for protests against President Salva Kiir’s government.
    The capital Juba was quieter than usual as residents sheltered inside.    Internet access was restored on Monday evening, residents said, although service was slow.
    A coalition of activist groups had reiterated their call on Sunday for rallies demanding Kiir’s resignation.    However, there was no sign by mid-afternoon of big street gatherings in Juba.    Some activists told Reuters they were in hiding for security reasons.
    The activists accuse Kiir’s government of corruption and failing to protect the population or provide basic services.    The government has repeatedly denied allegations from rights and advocacy groups of abuses and corruption.
    Addressing lawmakers as he opened a new session of parliament, Kiir termed those behind the calls as people “who wish us ill.”
    “Improving the wellbeing of our people is our priority,” he said.
    Parliament should urgently approve the government’s budget, Kiir said, adding that lawmakers should also help to facilitate the process towards an election due at the end of a transitional period to stave off instability.
    Police said the activists had not sought permission to protest and therefore any large demonstration would be illegal.
    “We deployed the forces at least to keep order in case of any problem.    Those forces are in the streets for your safety,” police spokesperson Daniel Justin Boulogne said.
    Mobile data had been unavailable on the network of South African mobile operator MTN Group from late on Sunday, and by Monday morning it had also been halted on the network of Kuwait-based operator Zain Group.
    Alp Toker, director of NetBlocks, a London-based group that monitors internet disruptions, said it had detected “significant disruption to internet service in South Sudan beginning Sunday evening, including to leading cellular networks.”
    Internet service resumed on Monday evening, residents said.
    Deputy Information Minister Baba Medan told Reuters he could not comment on the reported shutdown as he was attending the opening of parliament.    MTN did not immediately respond to a comment request.
    An industry source with direct knowledge of the matter said the outage was due to a directive by the government.
    Activist Jame David Kolok told Reuters that the internet shutdown was a sign “the authorities are panicking.”
(Reporting by Nairobi newsroomAdditional reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Dubai and Nqobile Dludla in JohannesburgWriting by Maggie Fick; Editing by Peter Graff and Angus MacSwan)

8/30/2021 Iran, Syria Propose Plan To Build Economic Relationship by OAN Newsroom
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, second right, receives Iran’s new
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, second left, in Damascus, Syria, Sunday Aug. 29, 2021. Mekdad said Sunday that the
“thunderous defeat” by the United States in Afghanistan will lead to similar defeats for American troops in Syria and other parts of the world. (SANA via AP)
    Iran and Syria celebrated the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan following the messy U.S. withdrawal.    The two nation’s foreign ministers met Sunday to discuss a plan to strengthen their economies despite U.S. sanctions.
    The U.S. has imposed financial restrictions on Iran in one form or another since 1979 and on Syria since 2004. Both ministers made negative comments about the U.S. regarding the ongoing economic impact of the sanctions.    They also criticized Joe Biden’s withdrawal strategy, or lack thereof, from Afghanistan.
    “We discussed the situation in Afghanistan; the thunderous defeat (of) the United States in Afghanistan will lead to similar defeats for American troops in Syria and other parts of the world,” stated Faisal Mekdad, Syria’s Foreign Minister.    “The two countries are currently working to put (forth) two road maps for developing relations in trade and economic cooperation in the face of the unjust sanctions imposed on them.”
    The ministers reportedly made a pact to build each other’s economies, which they say will be aided by the election of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

8/31/2021 Turkey’s Erdogan Holds Talks With De Facto UAE Leader
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses a news conference during
a visit to Cetinje, Montenegro August 28, 2021. REUTERS/Stevo Vasiljevic
    ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has spoken by phone with the UAE’s de facto ruler, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Erdogan’s office said on Tuesday, in a fresh sign of improving ties between the regional rivals.
    “Relations between the countries and regional issues were discussed in the talks,” the statement said.    It did not specify when the talks took place.
    Erdogan had said two weeks ago after a rare meeting with a senior UAE official that the two countries had made progress in improving relations, which could lead to significant UAE investment in Turkey.
    Ankara has moved to ease tensions with several Arab powers over the conflict in Libya, internal Gulf disputes and rival claims to Eastern Mediterranean waters.
    Ankara and Abu Dhabi have backed rival ideological groups for years, with Turkey supporting Islamist movements, especially the Muslim Brotherhood which took part in the “Arab spring” uprisings in a bid to overthrow autocrats in the region. Wealthy Gulf leaders worry such unrest would reach home.     UAE’s state news agency WAM said both leaders discussed “the prospects of reinforcing the relations between the two nations in a way that serves their common interests and their two peoples.”
    Erdogan’s talks two weeks ago were with UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan and focused on economic cooperation.
    Turkey last year accused the UAE of bringing chaos to the Middle East through interventions in Libya and Yemen, while the UAE and several other countries criticised Turkey’s military actions.
(Reporting by Can Sezer and Aziz El YaakoubiWriting by Daren ButlerEditing by Kim Coghill)

8/31/2021 U.S. Suspends Diplomatic Presence In Afghanistan, Moves Mission To Qatar by Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks following talks on the situation in Afghanistan,
at the State Department in Washington, U.S., August 30, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/Pool
(Refiles to fix spelling of Humeyra Pamuk’s first name in reporting credits)
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States has suspended its diplomatic presence in Afghanistan and will conduct its operations out of Qatar, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday, adding Washington will press ahead with its “relentless” efforts to help people leave the country, even after its troops have pulled out.
    Blinken’s statement comes after the departure of the last U.S. plane, leaving behind thousands of Afghans who helped Western countries and might have qualified for evacuation.
    The operation came to an end before the Tuesday deadline set by President Joe Biden, who has drawn heavy criticism from both Democrats and Republicans for his handling of Afghanistan since the Taliban made rapid advances and took over Kabul earlier this month.
    In his remarks, after which he ignored shouted questions from reporters, Blinken said Washington would conduct its Afghanistan diplomacy including consular work and administering humanitarian assistance out of Qatari capital Doha, with a team headed by Ian McCary, the deputy chief of the U.S. mission to Afghanistan.
    “A new chapter of America’s engagement with Afghanistan has begun.    It’s one in which we will lead with our diplomacy,” Blinken said and added: “We will continue our relentless efforts to help Americans, foreign nationals and Afghans, leave Afghanistan, if they choose.”
    He said close to more than 100 Americans were still believed to remain in Afghanistan who wanted to leave but Washington was trying to determine their exact number.    Over 6,000 Americans have been evacuated.
    More than 122,000 people have been flown out of Kabul since Aug. 14, the day before the Taliban – which harbored the al Qaeda militant group blamed for the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington – regained control of the country.
    As the fate of the Kabul airport, the country’s main gateway to the rest of the world, remained uncertain following the U.S. departure and Taliban takeover, Blinken said Washington was working to find ways to help Americans and others who may choose to depart via overland routes.
    “We have no illusion that any of this will be easy or rapid,” he said.
(Reporting by Simon Lewis, Humeyra Pamuk, Matt Spetalnick, Daphne Psaledakis, Mohammad Zargham, Michael Martina; Editing by Sandra Maler and Chris Reese)

8/31/2021 Firefight At Libyan Government Building Shows Continued Insecurity
Smoke rises after an attack on Administrative Control Authority in Tripoli, Libya August 31, 2021. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed
    TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Clashes erupted at a government building in central Tripoli on Tuesday after a dispute over the leadership of a state institution, its head said, underscoring the volatility and insecurity in Libya https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/untangling-crisis-libya-2021-06-22 months before a planned election.
    Pickup trucks carrying fighters rushed to the street where the Administrative Control Agency (ACA) is based, a Reuters witness said, amid the sound of gunfire and as black smoke rose overhead.
    ACA head Sulaiman al-Shanti said the fighters were affiliated with his deputy.    The two were appointed by different political entities and there have been recent disputes over the position of each.
    Although open hostilities in the civil war stopped last summer, armed groups continue to operate across Libya, vying for territory and control of state institutions that remain divided despite a peace push.
    Libya has had little security since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising against Muammar Gaddafi and was split after 2014 between warring eastern and western factions.
    Moves towards a peace process last year were accelerated after forces of the eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar were pushed back from an assault on Tripoli, culminating in the appointment of a unity government in March.
    However, although both sides publicly backed the new unity government and agreed a ceasefire, there has been little progress in unifying state institutions or preparing for a fair and free election amid accusations of obstruction.
    An election is planned for Dec. 24 under the United Nations-backed process that put in place an interim unity government this year.
    The Government of National Unity (GNU), installed in March, has complained of obstruction by the parliament, which was elected in 2014 and then split between the warring factions.
    The ACA, which is mandated to oversee government performance, has powers to challenge appointments to public positions, making it an important lever in disputes over the control of other state institutions.
(Reporting by Ahmed Elumami in Tripoli; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

8/31/2021 Iran Plans New Round Of Talks With Saudi Arabia - Iranian Envoy
FILE PHOTO: The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before
the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
    DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran plans to hold a fourth round of talks with regional rival Saudi Arabia in Iraq after the new Iranian government is set up, the Iranian ambassador in Baghdad was quoted on Tuesday as saying.
    Iran and Saudi Arabia, leading Shi’ite and Sunni Muslim powers in the Middle East, have been rivals for years, backing allies fighting proxy wars in Yemen, Syria and elsewhere.    They cut diplomatic ties in 2016.
    Iran confirmed publicly for the first time in May that it was in talks with Saudi Arabia, saying it would do what it could to resolve issues between them. Since then, it has elected a new president, hardliner Ebrahim Raisi, who was sworn in on Aug. 5.
    The announcement of plans for new talks, carried by the semi-official Iranian news agency ISNA, came days after a regional summit held in Baghdad to help ease tensions among Iraq’s neighbours.
    “We have had three rounds of negotiations with the Saudi side, and the fourth round is to be held after the formation of a new Iranian government,” said Iraj Masjedi, Iran’s ambassador to Iraq, according to ISNA.
    Iran’s parliament last Wednesday approved all but one of the nominees for a cabinet of hardliners presented by Raisi.
    Separately, Iran’s foreign minister said he had discussed ways of improving ties during a meeting with Vice-President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates on the sidelines of the Baghdad summit.
    “In this conversation, we talked about the positive intentions and will of the two countries’ leaders to strengthen relations… Working with neighbours is the (new Iranian) government’s priority,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Twitter.
    Tensions rose in Iran’s relations with the UAE after the U.S.-allied Gulf Arab state agreed last year to normalise ties with Tehran’s arch-foe Israel.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroomEditing by Peter Graff and Alistair Bell)

8/31/2021 Israeli Students Return To School Amid Surge In COVID-19 Cases
    JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli pupils returned to school on Wednesday with mask requirements and mandatory COVID-19 testing aimed at stemming a surge in coronavirus cases that has overshadowed the highly-vaccinated country’s reopening.
    Health officials worry the launch of a new school year – with most students attending in-person – will exacerbate the current wave ahead of this month’s Jewish holiday season, potentially forcing another national lockdown.
    New infections have soared since the emergence of the Delta variant, reaching a pandemic-high 10,947 on Tuesday among Israel’s 9.3 million population.
    Under what he calls a “living with COVID” policy, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has pressed ahead with the new school year, in part by ramping up vaccine booster shots and requiring testing for students and unvaccinated instructors.
    But Bennett’s government announced the new measures just days before classes resumed, drawing criticism from parents who say they were given little time to prepare.
    Students under 12 – the minimum age of eligibility for the vaccine – must present their teachers with a parent’s note confirming they performed a rapid test at home and received a negative result.
    Such testing is not required beyond the first day. But officials say further testing could be done before or after the Jewish holidays, where large family gatherings are common.    The first of those festivals is on Sept. 6 and the last on Sept. 30.
    In areas with particularly high infection, schools where less than 70% of students are vaccinated are required to conduct remote learning.    Around 10% of Israeli students will attend school online on Wednesday, according to the YNet news website.
(Reporting by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Alex Richardson)

8/31/2021 Syrian Army Steps Up Offensive On Rebel Redoubt In Southwestern City by Suleiman Al-Khalidi
A view shows damaged buildings as smoke rises in Deraa, Syria, in this
handout released by SANA on August 31, 2021. SANA/Handout via
    AMMAN (Reuters) -Syrian elite forces aided by pro-Iranian militias stepped up an offensive on Tuesday against a rebel enclave in a southwestern pocket bordering Jordan and Israel, according to residents, military and opposition sources.
    Fighting escalated earlier this week after the collapse of a Russian peace plan meant to avert an all-out offensive against Deraa al-Balaad, the core of the city of Deraa that has defied state authority since surrounding Deraa province was recaptured by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in 2018.
    Witnesses and military sources said dozens of improvised missiles were fired into Deraa al-Balaad by the Syrian military’s pro-Iranian Fourth Division, which is backed by Iranian-financed local militias.
    A halt to fighting was announced after Russian generals offered a new plan that appeared to meet some of the rebel demands to involve the Russian military police in patrolling the enclave while allowing for the first time a Syrian army security presence in the stronghold.
    Rebels said they accepted the plan while the army said it would give its response by Wednesday to the deal that also allows the Syrian and Russian flags to be raised in the opposition bastion but gives Moscow’s guarantees that Iranian-backed army units cannot act with impunity.
    Army sources said Iranian-backed troops that have encircled the urban rebel enclave for the last two months and which brought forward reinforcements on Monday would be withdrawn under the deal.
    Deraa al-Balaad was the birthplace of peaceful protests against autocratic Assad family rule that broke out a decade ago – part of the pro-democracy Arab Spring uprisings – before spreading in response to deadly crackdowns by security forces and morphing into a devastating civil war.
    The latest army campaign came amid a spate of attacks over the past 24 hours by remnants of rebel groups on army checkpoints and outposts in Dael, Jasem and other towns across Deraa province, opposition sources and residents said.
    A Western intelligence source said several thousand families in towns caught in the crossfire had fled to safer areas near the Jordanian border where the Jordanian army was on alert for a possible new wave of refugees.
    The Syrian army said at least four soldiers were killed in ambushes on troops in the towns of Sanameen and Nawa, and that rebel shelling had caused several casualties in residential areas.
    Government forces, aided by Russian air power and Iranian militias, retook Deraa province in 2018, and Moscow assured Israel and the United States at the time that it would prevent Iranian-backed militias from encroaching on the border zone.
    That deal forced thousands of Western-backed rebels to hand over heavy weapons but kept Assad’s forces from entering Deraa al Balaad, whose administration remained in opposition hands.
    Pro-Assad forces have prevented food, medical and fuel supplies from reaching Deraa al-Balaad but have opened a corridor for civilians to leave, according to local officials and residents.
    The United States and its allies have voiced concern about Assad’s military campaign in Deraa, which they say is challenging Russia’s pledge to maintain stability and rein in Iran-backed militias hostile to Israel.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi in AmmanEditing by Mark Heinrich and Matthew Lewis)

8/31/2021 Qatar Warns Isolating Taliban Could Further Destabilize Afghanistan by Eman Kamel and Andreas Rinke
German Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas and Qatar's Foreign Minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim
Al Thani attend a press conference in Doha, Qatar, August 31, 2021. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
    DOHA (Reuters) – Qatar’s foreign minister on Tuesday warned that isolating the Taliban could lead to further instability and urged countries to engage with the hardline Islamist movement to address security and socioeconomic concerns in Afghanistan.
    The U.S.-allied Gulf Arab state has emerged as a key interlocutor to the Taliban, having hosted the group’s political office since 2013.
    “If we are starting to put conditions and stopping this engagement, we are going to leave a vacuum, and the question is, who is going to fill this vacuum?,” Sheikh Mohammed said in Doha, alongside his German counterpart, Heiko Maas.
    No country has recognised the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan after their capture of Kabul on Aug. 14.    Many western states have urged the group to form an inclusive government and to respect human rights.
    “We believe that without engagement we cannot reach…real progress on the security front or on the socioeconomic front,” Sheikh Mohammed said, adding that recognising the Taliban as the government was not a priority.
    German Foreign Minister Maas told reporters Berlin was willing to help Afghanistan but that international assistance comes with certain prerequisites.
    The Taliban, which have held talks with members of the previous Afghan government and others in civil society, have said they would soon announce a full cabinet.
    Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed said the group had showed openness towards the idea of an inclusive government.
    The Taliban were known for harsh rule from 1996 to 2001 when they enforced a hardline interpretation of Islamic law and repressed women, including banning them from study and work.
    The Taliban have sought to alleviate concerns by committing to respecting individual rights and affirming that women will be able to study and work under their rule.
    Sheikh Mohammed said isolating the Taliban during their last rule 20 years ago led to the current situation.
    Since the Taliban took Kabul, there has been “tremendous engagement” on evacuations and counterterrorism, which delivered “positive results,” he said.    He added that talks on Qatar providing assistance to the running of Kabul’s airport were ongoing and no decision had been made.
    Germany’s Maas said, “There is no way around talks with the Taliban,” adding that the international community could not afford instability in Afghanistan.
(Writing by Alexander Cornwell; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Cynthia Osterman)


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