Middle East & North Africa

19 Dec 2022; MEMO: The UN Human Rights Office on Monday condemned Israel's recent deportation of Palestinian-French human rights defender Salah Hammouri to France, reports Anadolu Agency.

"We are deeply concerned by the chilling message this sends to those working on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory," UN Human Rights spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said in a statement after the decision issued on Sunday.

19 Dec 2022; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday accused The New York Times of calling for undermining his prospective government, reports Anadolu Agency.

"After burying the Holocaust for years on its back pages and demonising Israel for decades on its front pages, the New York Times now shamefully calls for undermining Israel's elected incoming government," Netanyahu tweeted.

20 Dec 2022; MEMO: A Kuwaiti court last week handed a death sentence to a man convicted of kidnapping and killing a lady who refused his marriage proposal.

The case of the murder of Farah Akbar was reopened last month after the Public Prosecutor's Office appealed against a life sentence handed to the defendant. It said there were clear signs that the murder was premeditated and so the death sentence was sought.

19 Dec 2022; MEMO: An Israeli military base in the Negev has been breached by unidentified people, local media reported yesterday, a 4×4 and motorcycle were reported missing, Al Mayadeen website reported.

Israeli news website Walla! said that the breach was discovered while occupation forces were securing the base, which is located in Negev, as they noticed a big hole in the fence placed around the military base.

19 Dec 2022; MEMO: The Israeli spy agency Mossad is cooperating with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to recruit and train Lebanese spies to carry out specific tasks, Iran's Nour news website has reported.

The site said Lebanese citizens who declare their readiness to cooperate with the Mossad are immediately sent to the UAE to avoid being uncovered by Lebanese security institutions.

18 Dec 2022; MEMO: The International Monetary Fund early Saturday approved a $3 billion loan for Egypt under a 46-month program.

In a statement, the IMF said the arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) includes the immediate disbursement of $347 million.

18 Dec 2022; MEMO: Former British Prime Minister David Cameron is to start a new job teaching politics at a university in the UAE according to a report on Friday by the Financial Times (FT).

18 Dec 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has called for a swift investigation into the killing of an Irish peacekeeper in southern Lebanon, reports Anadolu Agency.

A soldier with the UN peace mission UNIFIL was killed and three others injured when their vehicle came under fire in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.

Lebanese media said a problem occurred between local residents and a UNIFIL patrol over the convoy's route, where gunshots were heard.

18 Dec 2022; MEMO: Jordan has imposed a temporary ban on popular social media platform TikTok amid violent protests over fuel price hikes, reports Anadolu Agency.

In a statement, the Public Security Directorate said the widely used but controversial platform was suspended as it was used "for glorifying hate speech and for inciting chaos, attacking law enforcement agencies, and property and blocking roads."

18 Dec 2022; MEMO: An Israeli citizen was arrested over charges of smuggling sensitive military components used for nuclear weapons from the US to Russia, according to local media on Saturday, reports Anadolu Agency.

Israeli public broadcaster KAN said Alexey Brayman, 35, who holds US citizenship, was arrested along with another US citizen and five Russians on Wednesday in New Hampshire state.