Israeli troops kill Palestinian teen in West Bank clash

Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank in a village north of Ramallah. (AP)
Updated 30 January 2018
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Israeli troops kill Palestinian teen in West Bank clash

RAMALLAH: A 16-year-old Palestinian was killed in clashes between the Israeli military and stone-throwers in a West Bank village on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the teen as Laith Abu Naim and said he was killed by a shot to the head. The Israeli military denied using live fire amid a “violent riot” in which dozens of Palestinians rolled burning tires and hurled rocks at troops.
Mayor Faraj Al-Nasan said an Israeli military patrol entered the village of Mughayer and that local teens started throwing stones. Al-Nasan said the soldiers were in military vehicles and there was no threat to their lives when one of them opened fire.
The military said troops responded with “riot dispersal means,” usually tear gas and stun grenades. The military said it was aware of the death and that it was investigating.
The teen’s death brought to 18 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in confrontations since President Donald Trump’s Dec. 6 recognition of contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. An Israeli man was killed in a Palestinian shooting attack earlier this month.


Morocco’s energy ministry puts gas pipeline project on hold

Updated 03 February 2026
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Morocco’s energy ministry puts gas pipeline project on hold

  • The country’s natural gas demand is expected to rise to 8 billion cubic meters in 2027 from around ‌1 bcm currently, according to ministry estimates

RABAT: Morocco’s energy ministry said on Monday it has paused a tender launched last month ​for a gas pipeline project, without giving details on the reasons for the suspension.
The tender sought bids to build a pipeline linking a future gas terminal at the Nador West Med port ‌on the Mediterranean ‌to an existing ‌pipeline ⁠that ​allows ‌Morocco to import LNG through Spanish terminals and supply two power plants.
It also covered a section that would connect the existing pipeline to industrial zones on the Atlantic in ⁠Mohammedia and Kenitra.
“Due to new parameters and assumptions ‌related to this project... the ‍ministry of ‍energy transition and sustainable development is ‍postponing the receipt of applications and the opening of bids received as of today,” the ministry said in a statement.
Morocco ​is looking to expand its use of natural gas to diversify ⁠away from coal as it also accelerates its renewable energy plan, which aims for renewables to account for 52 percent of installed capacity by 2030, up from 45 percent now.
The country’s natural gas demand is expected to rise to 8 billion cubic meters in 2027 from around ‌1 bcm currently, according to ministry estimates.