Middle East & North Africa

14 Nov 2020; MEMO: The Palestinian Authority (PA)'s Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, Fatah and Hamas agreed on Friday that the planned visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank would be too "dangerous".

Reported by Wafa news agency, Shtayyeh believes that the planned visit aims to "legitimise the settlements" and create "a dangerous precedent that violates international law."

14 Nov 2020; MEMO: Israeli occupation authorities have ordered preparations for expediting settlement construction before a possible freeze by President-elect Joe Biden upon entering the White House, Israeli media has revealed.

14 Nov 2020; MEMO: US sanctions are preventing Iran from making advance payment to the global COVAX facility set up to provide COVID-19 vaccines to poorer countries, the Iranian government said as the virus death toll kept climbing in the Middle East's hardest-hit state, Reuters reports.

Battling a third wave of the coronavirus, Iran is considering imposing a two-week total lockdown in the capital, state media reported as the death toll rose by 461, close to a daily record, to 40,582 on Friday.

14 Nov 2020; MEMO: Libya's warring sides agreed Friday to hold elections on December 24, 2021, on Libya's independence day, according to the head of the UN support mission in the country, Anadolu Agency reports.

The decision came during a UN-sponsored Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) which began Monday in Tunisia between representatives of the internationally recognised Libyan government and warlord Khalifa Haftar.

13 Nov 2020; MEMO: A man set himself on fire in Tahrir Square in central Cairo on Thursday and was being treated for burns at a hospital in the capital, security sources said, Reuters reports.

There was no immediate official comment on the incident.

Videos circulating on social media appeared to show the man filming himself as he walked along the street and then in the square, complaining about alleged corruption.

13 Nov 2020; MEMO: The US special envoy to Sudan, Donald Booth, yesterday met with member of the Sudanese Transitional Sovereignty Council, Muhammad Hassan Al-Taishi, and discussed removing Khartoum from the state sponsor of terrorism list, Anadolu news agency reported.

13 Nov 2020; MEMO: Egypt's central bank yesterday announced that the sale of 21 billion Egyptians pounds ($1.3 billion) worth of treasury bills has been launched to cover the country's budget deficit.

In an official statement, the bank said that the value of the first offering amounted to nine billion Egyptian pounds ($575.3 million) for 182 days, and the second is 12 billion Egyptian pounds ($767.1 million) for 357 days.

13 Nov 2020; MEMO: Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom revealed on Thursday that Israel is working with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and other Gulf and Arab states, along with other countries, to designate the Lebanese Hezbollah a terrorist organisation.

13 Nov 2020; MEMO: Head of the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Hassan Quneita announced on Thursday that as many as 18 per cent of Gazan prisoners in Israeli jails suffer chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and blood pressure concerns among other ailments.

13 Nov 2020; MEMO: The Egyptian government has hired a lobbying firm following the success of Joe Biden in the US elections, reports Foreign Lobby.

The $65,000 monthly contract was signed between the Egypt's Ambassador to the US, Motaz Zahran, and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. Under their agreement the firm will "provide government relations services and strategic consul on matters before the US government."