Middle East & North Africa

07 Dec 2022; MEMO: Germany has arrested 25 suspected far-right members of a group planning to overthrow the government, using arms to storm the lower house of Parliament.

Some 3,000 officers raided 130 sites across the country and arrested 22 members of the Reich Citizens on suspicion of membership in a terror organisation.

The group is said to want a new state modelled on Germany as it was in 1871, using military means and violence against state representatives.

07 Dec 2022; MEMO: Israel's NewMed Energy signed a deal with Morocco's energy and mining ministry and Adarco Energy for offshore natural gas exploration and production.

"For a long time now, we have recognised a huge potential in Morocco for collaborations in both the natural gas and renewable energy sectors," NewMed CEO, Yossi Abu, said in a statement.

07 Dec 2022; MEMO: President Xi Jinping arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Chinese state media said, on a visit Beijing hailed as its biggest diplomatic initiative in the Arab world, as Riyadh expands global alliances beyond long-standing ties with the West, Reuters reports.

The meeting between the global economic powerhouse and Gulf energy giant comes as Saudi ties with Washington are strained by US criticism of Riyadh's human rights record and Saudi support for oil output curbs before the November mid-term elections.

08 Dec 2022; MEMO: A number of senior Israeli officials have warned of chaos inside the Israeli army that might lead to Israel's collapse, Al-Resalah reported on Wednesday.

Former Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Major General Matan Vilnai, has handed over a letter to Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu calling for an end to the "incitement wave" against the army. The letter was signed by 412 Israeli army veterans.

08 Dec 2022; MEMO: Algeria's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ramtane Lamamra, called on Wednesday for reform of the UN Security Council so that Africa can have two permanent seats. Lamamra made his call during the ninth conference of senior African officials about peace and security across the continent held in the Algerian city of Wahran.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran said Thursday it executed a prisoner convicted for a crime allegedly committed during the country’s ongoing nationwide protests, the first such death penalty carried out by Tehran.

The execution comes as other detainees also face the possibility of the death penalty for their involvement in the protests, which began in mid-September, first as an outcry against Iran’s morality police. The protests have since expanded into one of the most serious challenges to Iran’s theocracy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

08 Dec 2022; MEMO: Libya's Tripoli-based government, on Wednesday, accused Greece of exploiting the Libyan crisis for imposing a fait accompli on their maritime border, Anadolu News Agency reports.

In a statement, the Libyan Foreign Ministry decried Greece's "irresponsible behaviour" of striking a deal with international companies to start research and exploration for oil and gas in the Libyan-Greek maritime borders.

07 Dec 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, cut the January official selling price (OSP) for its flagship Arab Light crude for Asian buyers on concerns over faltering demand and a potential increase in Russian competition, Reuters reports.

According to the report, the price for January-loading Arab Light to Asia was trimmed by $2.20 a barrel from December, to $3.25.

08 Dec 2022; MEMO: The Syrian football and basketball federations, which are run by the Bashar Al-Assad regime,  yesterday announced the suspension of all their sporting activities due to the fuel crisis that the regime-controlled areas are suffering.

The official Syrian news agency SANA reported that the football and basketball federations announced the postponement of the general league for all age groups.

07 Dec 2022; MEMO: The United States is expanding its current visa restriction policy to hold to account military or political actors who undermine or delay the democratic process in Sudan, Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.