Middle East & North Africa

21 Dec 2022; MEMO: Saudi authorities have returned the endangered oryx to the desert in the kingdom's north-western NEOM region, after a century of their absence.

According to Saudi media outlets, oryx and the species of ibex, sand gazelles, and mountain gazelles were sent to the region by the Riyadh-based National Centre for Wildlife (NCW) in late October. After spending time in specially-designed pens to help them adapt to their new environment, the oryx were released into the region's much larger reserve.

21 Dec 2022; MEMO: Eight Republican Senators in the US have penned a letter to the FBI and Department of Justice (DoJ) to cease their investigation into the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

The eight lawmakers suggest that the probe could negatively affect US-Israel ties.

ANKARA, December 20. /TASS/: Turkey under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan has abdicated its role as NATO stronghold against Russia, the Sabah newspaper reported on Tuesday.

CAIRO, Dec 20 (NNN-MENA) – Egypt’s Suez Canal, registered a record-breaking revenue of 7.932 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, the chairman of Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority (SCA), announced yesterday.

“The revenues of 2022 are the highest in the SCA’s history,” Osama Rabie told parliament, in a public session. The revenue for 2021 was 6.333 billion dollars.

More than 23,000 ships, carrying 1.4 billion tonnes of cargo, passed the navigation course in 2022, up from 21,700 ships, in the previous year, he said.

CAIRO, Dec 20 (NNN-MENA) – An Egyptian archaeological mission, discovered 20 tombs, dating back to the 26th Dynasty of ancient Egypt, running from 664 to 525 BC, the Egyptian ministry of tourism and antiquities, said yesterday.

The tombs were unearthed at the site of Tell El Deir (Hill of the Monastery), in the northern city of Damietta, said a ministry statement, adding, the find would “rewrite the city’s history.”

BAGHDAD, Dec 20 (NNN-NINA) – A total of eight civilians were killed and seven others wounded yesterday, in attacks by the Daesh militants, in Iraq’s eastern province of Diyala, a local official said.

The incident occurred in the evening, when Daesh militants attacked a civilian car, outside a village, near the town of Khalis, some 70 km north-east of the capital, Baghdad, Udai al-Khadran, the mayor of the town, said.

Later, the militants opened fire on villagers, who gathered near the car, al-Khadran said.

19 Dec 2022; MEMO: Qatar has expressed its rejection of attempts to associate the Gulf State with misconduct, Al Jazeera has reported. The government in Doha is apparently furious at a Belgian investigation into an "alleged attempt to influence the European Parliament" which "relied on 'inaccurate' information." Relations between the two countries could suffer "negatively" as a result.

19 Dec 2022; MEMO: Egyptian media tycoon Mohamed Al-Amin has died of cancer yesterday while serving a three-year jail sentence for human trafficking and sexual misconduct.

Journalist Mustafa Bakri announced the 62-year-old's death on Twitter, saying he had been transferred to Al-Salam International Hospital in Cairo a few months ago from Wadi El-Natrun Prison, where he was serving his sentence.

19 Dec 2022; MEMO: Algerian Minister of Religious Affairs Youcef Belmehdi yesterday criticised foreign reports on restrictions on religious freedoms in the country, saying they are based on "inaccurate information".

This comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on 2 December that Washington had placed Algeria on the "Religious Freedom Infringement Watchlist".

19 Dec 2022; MEMO: Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki has called on current President Kais Saied to submit his resignation after the low turnout in the parliamentary elections held on Saturday, following in the footsteps of former French President Charles de Gaulle who had resigned after a majority of the French people rejected government reforms he proposed in 1969.