Arab League seeks new start for joint Arab action, says Algerian foreign minister

Arab League seeks new start for joint Arab action, says Algerian foreign minister
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The preparatory meeting of Arab foreign ministers in the Algerian capital, ahead of next week’s summit of heads of Arab states. (AFP)
Arab League seeks new start for joint Arab action, says Algerian foreign minister
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Arabe League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the preparatory meeting of Arab foreign ministers on Oct. 29, 2022 in Algiers. (AFP)
Arab League seeks new start for joint Arab action, says Algerian foreign minister
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The preparatory meeting of Arab foreign ministers in the Algerian capital, ahead of next week’s summit of heads of Arab states. (SPA)
Arab League seeks new start for joint Arab action, says Algerian foreign minister
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Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Khuraij attends the opening session of the preparatory meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Algiers. (SPA)
Arab League seeks new start for joint Arab action, says Algerian foreign minister
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Algeria’s Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra meets Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Khuraiji. (SPA)
Arab League seeks new start for joint Arab action, says Algerian foreign minister
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Algeria’s Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra meets Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Khuraiji. (SPA)
Arab League seeks new start for joint Arab action, says Algerian foreign minister
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Algeria’s Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra (R), attends the opening session of the preparatory meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Algiers. (AFP)
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Updated 29 October 2022

Arab League seeks new start for joint Arab action, says Algerian foreign minister

Arab League seeks new start for joint Arab action, says Algerian foreign minister
  • The preparatory meeting was held ahead of next week’s summit of heads of Arab states

LONDON: The Arab League is seeking a new start for joint Arab action and global developments should not affect the pursuit of solving Arab issues, said Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra on Saturday.
His comments came during an Arab Ministerial Council meeting in Algeria, where Lamamra took over the rotating presidency of the 31st Arab Summit from his Tunisian counterpart Othman Al-Jarandi.
Lamamra said that “the crisis in Ukraine creates a difficult reality that calls for joint Arab action,” adding that “we must push toward paths of peace to resolve crises in our Arab countries.”
He stressed the need to uphold the principles of good neighborliness and respect for the sovereignty and independence of states, and called for investing in the huge opportunities available to achieve Arab integration.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that the Arab Summit is the most important mechanism for joint Arab action, and stressed that the Algiers summit seeks to develop a plan for joint action in the next stage.
Algeria officially took over the rotating presidency of the Arab Summit on Wednesday.
The Arab foreign ministers will meet over two days to adopt the draft agenda and consider and approve draft resolutions, while a consultative session will be held on Sunday.
Saudi Arabia’s delegation was headed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed Al-Khuraiji on behalf of Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and also included the Kingdom’s ambassador to Algeria, Abdullah Al-Busairi, and the permanent representative to the Arab League Abdulrahman Al-Jumah.
Meanwhile, Lamamra held talks with Al-Khuraiji, on the sidelines of their participation in the foreign ministers’ preparatory meeting for the summit, where they discussed bilateral relations and ways of enhancing them and reviewed the most prominent regional and international developments.


Briton, hotel worker die in Morocco resort spa fire

Briton, hotel worker die in Morocco resort spa fire
Updated 24 March 2023

Briton, hotel worker die in Morocco resort spa fire

Briton, hotel worker die in Morocco resort spa fire
  • Blaze in Marrakech trapped father of two, worker in ‘truly horrific incident’
  • They died from smoke inhalation despite efforts of paramedics, police, firefighters

LONDON: A British man and a hotel worker have died in a fire that broke out at a resort in Marrakech on Wednesday, The Sun reported.

The blaze broke out in a spa in the five-star Jaal Riad Resort, trapping the father of two and the hotel worker inside.

They died from smoke inhalation despite the efforts of paramedics, police and firefighters who rushed to the scene.

A source described it as a “truly horrific incident,” adding that the Briton “was a tourist visiting the area with friends and they have had to break the news to his family. Everyone is heartbroken.”

A fire service spokesman said: “We can’t comment further because of an ongoing investigation.”


Algeria to send imams to Italy for Taraweeh prayers

Algeria to send imams to Italy for Taraweeh prayers
Updated 50 min 11 sec ago

Algeria to send imams to Italy for Taraweeh prayers

Algeria to send imams to Italy for Taraweeh prayers
  • Imams to be sent to France for same purpose; Germany and Belgium have made similar requests
  • Italy made request ‘so all Muslims will be given good spiritual care during Ramadan,’ Interior Ministry source tells Arab News

ROME: Twenty-nine imams from Algeria will be sent by their government to Italy to help local imams perform Taraweeh prayers during the holy month of Ramadan.

The imams will be sent “upon a specific request by the Italian authorities,” Algerian Religious Affairs Minister Youssef Belmehdi told state radio.

He added that 128 imams will be sent to France for the same purpose, and that Germany and Belgium have made similar requests.

A source in Italy’s Interior Ministry told Arab News that the request for imams from Algeria was made “so that all Muslims in Italy will be given good spiritual care during Ramadan.” The source said Algeria’s government “enthusiastically and promptly agreed” to the request.

Giuseppe Ciutti, a Catholic priest who is engaged in ecumenical dialogue, told Arab News: “At such an important time as Ramadan for Muslims, it’s important that everyone can get good spiritual assistance.”

According to the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, 2.5 million Muslims live in the country, comprising 4.7 percent of the total population. Moroccans represent the largest Muslim community in Italy.


Iran urges France to listen to protesters, avoid violence

Iran urges France to listen to protesters, avoid violence
Updated 24 March 2023

Iran urges France to listen to protesters, avoid violence

Iran urges France to listen to protesters, avoid violence
  • Protesters clashed with French security forces in the most serious violence yet of a three-month revolt
  • Kanani was referring to criticism, including from France, of Iran’s response to months-long protests

TEHRAN: Iran on Friday urged France to listen to protesters and avoid violence after more than 450 people were arrested and nearly as many police were injured in demonstrations against pension reforms.
Protesters clashed with French security forces on Thursday in the most serious violence yet of a three-month revolt against President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to increase the retirement age.
“The French government must talk to its people and listen to their voices,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani tweeted.
“We do not support destruction or rioting, but we maintain that instead of creating chaos in other countries, listen to the voice of your people and avoid violence against them,” he added.
Kanani was referring to criticism, including from France, of Iran’s response to months-long protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini after the 22-year-old’s arrest for an alleged breach of the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women.
Hundreds of people have been killed, including dozens of security personnel, and thousands arrested in connection with what Iranian officials described as “riots” fomented by Israel and the West.
The United States, Britain and the European Union have imposed several rounds of sanctions on Iran for its response to the protest movement, led mostly by women.
“Those who sow the wind reap the whirlwind,” Kanani said, adding that such “violence contradicts sitting on the chair of morality lessons and preaching to others.”
On Friday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 457 people had been arrested and 441 members of the security forces injured the day before during the protests.
Darmanin dismissed calls from protesters to withdraw the pensions reform.
“I don’t think we should withdraw this law because of violence,” he said. “If so, that means there’s no state. We should accept a democratic, social debate, but not a violent debate.”


Israel’s attorney general: Netanyahu involvement in judicial overhaul is illegal

Israel’s attorney general: Netanyahu involvement in judicial overhaul is illegal
Updated 24 March 2023

Israel’s attorney general: Netanyahu involvement in judicial overhaul is illegal

Israel’s attorney general: Netanyahu involvement in judicial overhaul is illegal
  • ‘The legal situation is clear: you must refrain from any involvement in initiatives to change the judiciary’

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s violated the law by saying he would get personally involved in a judicial overhaul plan, the attorney-general said on Friday.
In the face of intensifying protests against the proposed changes, Netanyahu said on Thursday that he was putting aside all other considerations and would do “anything it takes” to reach a solution.
Netanyahu added that his hands had been tied, but a new law limiting the circumstances in which a prime minister can be removed gave him more space for maneuver.
However, Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, in a letter addressed to Netanyahu, disagreed.
“The legal situation is clear: you must refrain from any involvement in initiatives to change the judiciary, including the makeup of the committee for the appointment of judges, as such activity is a conflict of interest.”
“Your statement last night and any action you take in violation of this matter is illegal and tainted by a conflict of interest,” Baharav-Miara added.


11 dead in US strikes on Syria after drone kills American contractor

11 dead in US strikes on Syria after drone kills American contractor
Updated 24 March 2023

11 dead in US strikes on Syria after drone kills American contractor

11 dead in US strikes on Syria after drone kills American contractor
  • US troops are in Syria as part of a coalition fighting against remnants of the Daesh group

BEIRUT: Eleven pro-Iran fighters were killed in US air strikes on Syria carried out in retaliation for a drone attack that left an American dead and wounded six others, a war monitor said Friday.
A US contractor was killed, and another contractor and five US service personnel were wounded, when a kamikaze drone “of Iranian origin” struck a maintenance facility on a base of the US-led coalition near Hasakah in northeastern Syria, the Pentagon said.
In response, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that, at President Joe Biden’s direction, he had ordered “precision air strikes tonight in eastern Syria against facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”
“The air strikes were conducted in response to today’s attack as well as a series of recent attacks against coalition forces in Syria by groups affiliated with the IRGC,” Austin said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor with a wide network of sources on the ground in the war-torn country, said 11 people had been killed by US strikes, including two Syrians.
“US strikes targeted a weapons depots inside Deir Ezzor city, killing six pro-Iran fighters, and two other fighters were killed by strikes targeting the desert of Al-Mayadin, and three others near Albu Kamal,” said the Observatory’s head Rami Abdel Rahman.
The United States deploys about 900 troops in bases and posts across northeastern Syria as part of the international coalition fighting remnants of the Daesh group.
Iran-backed militias have a heavy presence across Syria, especially around the border with Iraq and south and west of the Euphrates in Deir Ezzor province, where the latest US strikes took place.

American troops also support the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurds’ de facto army in the area, which led the battle that dislodged IS from the last scraps of their Syrian territory in 2019.
The US personnel are frequently been targeted in attacks by militia groups.
Two of the US service members wounded on Thursday were treated on site, while the three other troops and one US contractor were medically evacuated to Iraq, the Pentagon said.
“We will always take all necessary measures to defend our people and will always respond at a time and place of our choosing,” said General Michael Kurilla, commander of US Central Command.
When the strikes were announced, Biden had already traveled to Canada, where he is set to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In January, the US military said “three one-way attack drones” were launched against the coalition garrison at Al-Tanf in Syria, with one breaching its air defenses and wounding two allied Syrian fighters.
The Observatory said it was likely Iran-backed militants had carried out that attack.
Last August, Biden ordered similar retaliatory strikes in the oil-rich Syrian province of Deir Ezzor after several drones targeted a coalition outpost, without causing any casualties.
That attack came the same day that Iranian state media announced a Revolutionary Guard general had been killed days earlier while “on a mission in Syria as a military adviser.”
Iran, a key ally of the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, says it has deployed its forces in Syria at the invitation of Damascus and only as advisers.