Saudi Arabia announced on Friday an import ban on fruits and vegetables from Lebanon because the Kingdom said shipments are being used to smuggle drugs. 

Products, especially vegetables and fruits, are being used by drug traffickers to smuggle drugs into Saudi Arabia’s territory, according to a statement by the Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry published by Saudi Arabian news agency SPA.

The ban, which will take effect on Sunday, will remain until Lebanese authorities provide sufficient and reliable guarantees that necessary measures have been taken to prevent smuggling.

To assess the necessity of similar restrictions on other products from Lebanon, shipments of other products will also be closely monitored, the ministry added.

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement that Saudi Arabia informed Lebanon about the decision.

It instructed security services to do their utmost to prevent smuggling activities by tightening security at border gates in light of laws criminalizing smuggling and drug use.

Lebanon is still trying to form a new government amid differences between Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and President Michel Aoun.

The Arab country is facing a severe economic crisis, with the local currency losing nearly all value against the US dollar.

Streets across the nation have been blocked by protests and rallies regarding the crisis, the worst since the country’s civil war from 1975 -1990. /aa 

The US voiced concern on Friday for Israeli settlers’ assault on Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem, Palestine. 

"We are deeply concerned by the escalation of violence in Jerusalem. The rhetoric of extremist protestors chanting hateful and violent slogans must be firmly rejected," State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Twitter.

Washington asks for calm and unity, and urges “authorities to ensure the safety, security, and rights of all in Jerusalem," he said.

Hundreds of Israeli settlers assaulted Palestinians in different areas across occupied Jerusalem late Thursday and at dawn on Friday as Israeli forces clashed with Palestinians, leaving at least 105 injured.

The extremist protestors chanted: "Death to Arabs" during marches, according to multiple reports.

Israeli police announced in a statement on Friday that it detained more than 50 Palestinians across Jerusalem through the night, accusing them of "violence."

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that at least 105 Palestinians were injured late Thursday as Israeli forces opened fire on them./aa

Occupied Palestine

Zionist forces hit Hamas position early Saturday after it said three rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip. 

"In response to the 3 rockets fired at Israel earlier tonight, we struck a Hamas military post in Gaza," the Zionist army said on Twitter.

Tanks deployed on the Israel-Gaza border targeted the observation point belonging to the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, in Gaza and Rafah.

No casualties or injuries were reported.

The Zionist army also claimed that two rockets were fired from Gaza with one intercepted by the Iron Dome Aerial Defense System.

The other one was reported to have fallen near the Gaza- Zionist border.

No group has claimed responsibility for the rockets fired from Gaza./ agencies

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel recommended on Friday lifting a temporary pause put in place by health authorities on the use of Johnson and Johnson's coronavirus vaccine. 

The jab was put on hold April 16 after exceedingly rare, but potentially fatal blood clots, began to emerge in patients who had received the vaccine.

In all, 15 women were reportedly diagnosed with the rare blood clots out of 8 million who received the US's sole single-dose shot.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to recommend the resumption of the vaccine, saying its health benefits outweighed any potential risk, according to multiple reports.

The advice is not final, but US regulators are set to quickly evaluate it when considering further action on the vaccine.

The US is also rolling out vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, but both of those shots require two separate doses spaced weeks apart./aa

Turkish security forces on Friday arrested a convicted PKK/KCK terrorist in southeastern Turkey, a security source said. 

Acting on a tip-off, local gendarmerie teams in the Omerli district of Mardin province, launched an operation to nab the convict, who was sentenced to over three years in prison, said the source on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.


The convict, identified only by the initials A.S., was sent to prison.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people including women, children, and infants. /aa 

The Turkish Central Bank will continue monetary tightening until mid-term inflation target of 5% is achieved, its governor said at a joint broadcast of prominent TV channels on late Friday.

Pointing to an interest rate above the inflation figure, Sahap Kavcioglu said he will focus on reducing inflation.

The central bank will take measures for credit expansion while setting a balance for household, real sector and investors, he stated.

Over a question about alleged $128 billion deficit in the Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves, Kavcioglu said the claim is untrue.

He recalled the coronavirus pandemic crisis appeared abruptly in 2020 and countries closed doors.

Portfolio investments decreased on a global scale and Turkey's share surely narrowed, Kavcioglu noted.

He also recalled that financial measures to fight the pandemic totaled $16 trillion and budget expansions by central banks reached $10 trillion.

As of the end of 2020, the real sector's foreign exchange position deficit was $208 billion but it decreased to $157 billion. This was met by reserves or transactions by the Central Bank, he said.

If the Central Bank had not met the foreign currency demand during the pandemic, the country would be facing difficulties, he said.

Mentioning foreigners' capital outflows, he underlined: "We may discuss various topics in Turkey, but everyone knows that they can bring their money to Turkey or withdraw from Turkey whenever they want.”

He added Turkey will make reserves permanent and better implement system that finances production and exports.​​​​​​​/aa

Security forces on Friday nabbed eight suspects over alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, in Turkey's northwestern province of Edirne. 

According to National Defense Ministry's statement, nine suspects were first detained by border troops in the Ipsala town while trying to flee to Greece illegally.

After being transferred to the local gendarmerie command, eight of the suspects were identified to be members of the FETO terrorist organization, the statement said.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 251 people were martyred and 2,734 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary./aa

Turkish financial crimes watchdog on late Friday blocked all bank accounts of cryptocurrency exchange platform Vebitcoin in the country.

The move came after Vebitcoin announced that it stopped all of its activities citing financial strains.

The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) also initiated an investigation into Vebitcoin and its managers.

On Thursday, an investigation into another cryptocurrency platform, Thodex, was launched and 62 suspects were arrested as part of it./aa

Turkey's president on Friday marked the country's April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day.

"We've been in the struggle to bring our country to its 2023 targets for 19 years," he said in a ceremony in metropolis Istanbul, adding that the country's children would carry it even further with a "2053 vision."

Turkey will mark the centenary of the foundation of the republic in 2023, setting specific progress targets for improvement of the economy, energy, health care, education, and transport.

The 2053 milestone refers to the 600th anniversary of Istanbul's Ottoman conquest from the Byzantine Empire.

"We're in an effort to leave our republic, which is approaching its 100th year, to the next generations by growing and strengthening it in every field," Erdogan said.

He stressed that though the malicious methods of those who seek to divide Turkey and its nation have changed, their intentions have remained the same.

"Every attack targeting this country and nation, from coup plotters to terrorist organizations and economic traps, is the product of the same dirty scenario," he said.

"May Allah not leave our country obliged to struggle another War of Independence and write another Turkish National Anthem," Erdogan added.

Standing among more than a dozen children, Erdogan pressed the button to raise a giant Turkish flag near Istanbul's Camlica Mosque complex on the country's tallest flagpole of 111 meters (364 feet).

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Turkish nation is celebrating the National Sovereignty and Children's Day and the 101st anniversary of its parliament's foundation from their homes under a nationwide curfew./aa