Middle East & North Africa

29 Dec 2020; MEMO: Head of the Iraqi Sadrist movement Muqtada Al-Sadr's remarks regarding Iranian tensions with the US are "suspicious" and "harmful", a spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.

Saeed Khatibzadeh described the timing of Al-Sadr's remarks, in which he called for Iraq not to be dragged into any Iran-US conflict, as "suspicious" and "harmful", stressing that Tehran does not want any tension in the region, but will defend its national security.

29 Dec 2020; MEMO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah II have agreed to revive the peace process and to resume Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, Rai Al-Youm news site reported yesterday.

In a statement, the Egyptian presidency said that Al-Sisi had received a phone call from King Abdullah and discussed the latest updates about regional issues, "especially the Palestinian cause."

TEHRAN, Dec 28 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran expanded the list of Americans suspected of involvement in the assassination of its senior commander, Qassem Soleimani, to include 48 names.

“The number of main accused in the assassination, increased from 45 to 48,” said Hossein Amir Abdollahian, spokesman for the Popular Committee for the Celebration of the Anniversary of the Martyrdom of General Soleimani.

Speaking at a press briefing regarding the case, Abdollahian voiced hope to see a court ruling “in the near future.”

DUBAI (Reuters) - A Saudi court on Monday sentenced prominent women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul to five years and eight months in prison, local media reported, in a trial that has drawn international condemnation and as Riyadh faces new U.S. scrutiny.

Hathloul, 31, has been held since 2018 following her arrest along with at least a dozen other women’s rights activist.

28 Dec 2020; MEMO: The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Saturday hailed the success of implementing a prisoner exchange between the Libyan government and Khalifa Haftar's forces, reported Anadolu Agency.

"UNSMIL welcomes the remarkable success registered…by the exchange of prisoners from both sides under the supervision of the Joint Military Commission (5+5)," the mission said on Twitter.

28 Dec 2020; MEMO: Yemen's new government was sworn in Saturday in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, before Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, according to a report by Anadolu Agency.

28 Dec 2020; MEMO: Hundreds of Syrian refugees fled their makeshift camp in north Lebanon after their tents were torched when fighting broke out between local youths and camp residents, aid officials said on Sunday, as reported by Reuters.

At least three were injured in the incident on December 26 in the Miniyeh region near the coastal city of Tripoli, which was followed by angry youths setting the campsite on fire, Lebanon's state-owned National News Agency said.

28 Dec 2020; MEMO: Sudan will deploy "large numbers" of troops to South Darfur state after the killing of 15 people in tribal violence recently, the state news agency cited the state governor as saying on Sunday, Reuters reports.

The state is part of the restive Darfur region, in the west of Sudan, which suffered a bitter conflict that erupted in 2003.

28 Dec 2020; MEMO: An Egyptian delegation arrived in Tripoli on Sunday to meet with Libyan officials, marking the first visit by an official Egyptian delegation to the Libyan capital since 2014, reports Anadolu Agency.

Libyan media said the delegation is led by Ayman Badie, the head of an Egyptian committee tasked with following up the Libyan file, and comprises security officials and diplomats.

28 Dec 2020; MEMO: Iraq's capital Baghdad and other cities are at risk of serious power shortages after Iran slashed gas exports, the electricity ministry said on Sunday, potentially placing further pressure on the government of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, reported Reuters.

Iran has reduced gas exports to Iraq to five million cubic metres from 50 million cubic metres two weeks ago citing unpaid bills, a ministry spokesman said.