Middle East & North Africa

TEHRAN, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Navy has thwarted a pirate attack on an Iranian cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, Iranian Press TV reported on Saturday.

Unidentified pirates attacked the ship on Friday, but facing the fire from the Iranian Navy's 80th fleet they fled, the Navy said in a statement.

The Iranian vessel is now sailing to its designated destination, it added.

Over the past years, Iran's Navy has managed to foil several attacks on both Iranian and foreign vessels in international waters.

TUNIS, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Tunisia and Egypt signed several agreements on Friday to strengthen bilateral cooperation, according to a statement released by the Tunisian government.

These agreements were signed in the presence of Tunisian Prime Minister Najla Bouden Romdhane and her Egyptian counterpart Mostafa Madbouly at a ceremony upon the conclusion of the 17th session of the Egyptian-Tunisian Joint Higher Committee.

ISTANBUL, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Turkey does not have a positive opinion on the idea of Finland and Sweden joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

"We are currently following the developments regarding Sweden and Finland, but we do not have a positive opinion," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul after Friday prayers.

Finland and Sweden are expected to submit their membership applications to NATO soon, local media reported.

Islamabad, May 13 (PTI) Pakistan's President Arif Alvi has written to Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, asking him to form a judicial commission to probe the alleged "regime change conspiracy" to oust former prime minister Imran Khan and to prevent a "political powder keg" from igniting in the country.

Khan, ousted through a no-trust vote on April 10, has accused the US of orchestrating the fall of his government after he decided to follow an independent foreign policy over the issue of Ukraine. The US repeatedly refuted Khan's allegations.

13 May 2022; MEMO: A top Irish Cabinet Minister, on Friday, declared himself "shocked" Friday by images of violence emerging from the funeral procession of slain Palestinian journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh.

Video clips from her funeral procession showed Israeli riot police clashing with mourners and firing tear gas as people carried her coffin outside a Jerusalem hospital.

14 May 2022; MEMO: The site of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh's murder at the entrance to Jenin refugee camp has turned into a memorial for Palestinians.

Since the early hours of Thursday morning, Palestinians have flocked from various places to visit the site where Abu Akleh was shot to lay flowers and pray for her.

Pictures of Abu Akleh were hung on the trees surrounding the area, along with Palestinian flags and a traditional keffiyeh.

14 May 2022; MEMO: Turkey summoned on Friday the undersecretary of the French Embassy in Ankara over a "terrorist attack" on Turkey's Consulate General in Paris that took place on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reported.

Diplomatic sources said that the undersecretary of the French Embassy in Ankara was summoned to the Foreign Ministry building, where Turkey conveyed its discomfort over the attack.

13 May 2022; MEMO: Israeli police, on Friday, assaulted Palestinian mourners in the funeral procession of slain Al Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh in occupied East Jerusalem, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency that the Israeli police attacked the funeral procession as it started from the French Hospital in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.

JERUSALEM (AP) — A 21-year-old Palestinian man died Saturday from a head wound sustained last month after Israeli police fired rubber bullets at stone-throwing Palestinian demonstrators during violence at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site.

Israel’s Hadassah hospital announced the death early Saturday, saying only that Waleed Shareef had died weeks after being hospitalized with severe head injuries. His family confirmed the death.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Rulers in the United Arab Emirates announced Saturday that they unanimously appointed Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the president of this hereditarily ruled nation on the Arabian Peninsula.

The state-run WAM news agency said the rulers of the country’s seven sheikhdoms made the decision at a meeting held in Al Mushrif Palace in Abu Dhabi.