Middle East & North Africa

Int’l Campaign To Protect Palestinians Set To Launch: Abbas

RAMALLAH, Dec 21 (NNN-WAFA) – Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, yesterday announced that, a broad campaign to provide international protection for “the defenseless Palestinian people is about to be launched.”

Abbas made the remarks, during a joint meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) executive committee, and his Fatah movement’s central committee that he chaired, the official Palestinian news agency reported.

Jubilant Morocco welcomes home history-making World Cup team

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Tens of thousands of jubilant Moroccans welcomed their national soccer team home Tuesday after the players exceeded the North African nation’s wildest expectations and finished fourth at the World Cup in Qatar.

Fans packed squares and lined up along avenues and streets in and around Rabat, lighting flares, waving flags, dancing to the beat of drums and cheering as an open-top bus carrying the suit and tie-clad players rolled into the capital with a heavy police escort.

Palestine: Red Cross conducts rare visit with 3,400 Yemen war prisoners

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Red Cross said Wednesday that it had conducted rare visits to thousands of prisoners on both sides of Yemen’s eight-year civil war, a step that could pave the way for an exchange of detainees between the rival parties.

Fabrizio Carboni, the International Committee of the Red Cross’s director for the Middle East, told The Associated Press that the members of the organization had seen more than 3,400 individuals in a 10-day visit to a facility in Saudi Arabia in December and a separate trip to Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in October.

Iran suggests holding referendum on creation of independent Palestinian state

21 Dec 2022; MEMO: Iran has suggested holding a referendum on creation of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, news agencies reported yesterday.

This came as Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian addressed the second round of the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership held in Jordan.

He also reiterated the Islamic Republic's solidarity with the Palestinian cause and said the issue of Palestine was the "primary issue" of the Muslim world.

Turkiye resumes joint patrols in Syria with Russia

20 Dec 2022; MEMO: Turkiye and Russia have resumed joint patrols along the northern border of Syria after a four-week hiatus. According to local sources on Monday, a joint patrol made up of eight Russian and Turkish army vehicles, accompanied by two Russian helicopters, left the village of Ashma, west of Ayn Al-Arab in the countryside to the east of Aleppo.

Palestinian dies in Israeli jail after years of 'medical negligence'

20 Dec 2022; MEMO: Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jail, Nasser Abu Hamid, had died in detention as a result of medical negligence, the Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees' Affairs announced today.

Fifty-year-old Nasser was transferred from Ramle Prison to Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh Medical Centre) by occupation forces yesterday after his health deteriorated rapidly.

Tunisia: Former prime minister arrested, opposition says its to cover up failure

20 Dec 2022; MEMO: A Tunisian judge has ordered the arrest of former Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh, Arabi21 has reported. According to lawyer Mukhtar Al-Jamie, the arrest took place after a number of hours in the presence of several of his legal colleagues.

France calls for immediate reforms after poor election turnout

20 Dec 2022; MEMO: Former colonial power France has called on Tunisia to carry out necessary reforms of the electoral system after the parliamentary election on Saturday was boycotted by around 90 per cent of voters. The French confirmed their full support for their former colony in light of the challenges Tunisia is facing.

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