Xinhua Middle East news summary at 2200 GMT, March 20

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SANAA — Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Saturday three tear gas bombs fired by their riot forces are the cause of the deadly fire that broke out earlier this month inside a migrant detention center in the capital Sanaa and killed at least 45 African migrants.

There were a total of 862 African migrants in the seven-ward migrant detention center, and the accident took place on March 7 in Ward No. 1, which hosted 358 of the detained African migrants, according to the Houthi-controlled interior ministry’s statement aired by the group’s al-Masirah TV.

The ministry said riot forces were called in to quash a riot after a hunger strike of the detained African migrants spiraled out of control. (Yemen-Migrants-Fire)

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ANKARA — Turkey has withdrawn from an international accord designed to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence, the country’s official gazette said Saturday.

The Council of Europe accord, better known as the Istanbul Convention, was opened for signature in Turkey’s Istanbul Province on May 11, 2011. Turkey was the first among 45 countries and the European Union to ratify the accord. (Turkey-Istanbul Covention-Withdraw)

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ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed Central Bank Governor Naci Agbal in a presidential decree published in Official Gazette on Saturday.

Erdogan replaced Agbal with Sahap Kavcioglu, a former member of parliament for the ruling Justice and Development Party.

Agbal, a former finance minister, was appointed as the head of the central bank in November 2020 to address the growing financial weakness and the fluctuation of the exchange rates. (Turkey-Central Bank-Chief)

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RAMALLAH — The Palestinian Central Elections Commission (PCEC) on Saturday started to receive nomination applications for the upcoming legislative election, according to a statement from the elections commission.

The statement said the PCEC started to receive the nomination applications for the legislative election from March 20 to March 31.

It said electoral lists have been asked to submit the names of their candidates to the commission’s headquarters in Ramallah and Gaza. (Palestine-Elections-Application)