Middle East & North Africa

30 July 2020; MEMO: Head of Ennahda parliamentary bloc Noureddine Al-Beheiri revealed what he referred to as “pressure exerted from inside and outside the country” with the temptation of Emirati funds to urge MPs to amend their positions and to withdraw confidence from Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi during the voting session scheduled for next Thursday.

30 July 2020; MEMO: Libya’s delegate to the United Nations (UN) Taher Al-Sunni criticised the selectivity of the UN sanctions committees, stressing their ineffectiveness in stopping violations and agency to some countries that aim to achieve political goals in his country.

RABAT, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud discussed on Wednesday bilateral ties between the two countries and the political settlement of the Libyan crisis.

The two sides share the same views concerning the resolution of the Libyan crisis, mainly the refusal of foreign interventions and military solutions, Bourita said during a press conference following the talks.

CAIRO (AP) — When Turkey’s president signed a security deal last year to back one of the sides in Libya’s civil war, another agreement was waiting to be signed by his new proteges the same day: a memorandum redrawing the two countries’ maritime borders.

In Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s memo, Turkey and Libya lay claim to large areas of the Mediterranean Sea and the potential natural gas deposits under it. The deal achieved a longtime goal of Turkey — finding a partner to back its claims.

KHARTOUM, July 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Sudanese government is sending more troops to the restive Darfur region, following a spike in violence there.

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said the forces would protect people during the farming season.

Unidentified gunmen killed more than 60 people in the region on Saturday, and another 20 the day before, the UN said.

Hundreds of thousands of people have died in fighting between government forces and rebels since 2003. Millions have been forced from their homes.

29 July 2020; MEMO: For the fifth consecutive year, Iran achieves self-sufficiency in wheat production, the New Khaleej reported President Hassan Rouhani saying on Monday.

During a meeting with a group of activists in the field of steel and petrochemical industries, Rouhani said: “We achieved self-sufficiency in wheat production this year,” adding: “We also achieved self-sufficiency in the past four years.”

“This is unprecedented!” he continued.

29 July 2020; MEMO: Turkey’s parliament has approved a controversial social media regulation bill, in a landmark legal move that many see as a clampdown on freedom of expression within the country. The bill, which was passed by lawmakers from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), sets a formal and legal precedent for the operation of popular social media sites in Turkey.

29 July 2020; MEMO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said that his country is keen on resolving the crisis over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam through negotiations and not military action.

In statements he gave during the inauguration of an economic project, Al-Sisi added that Egypt supports Ethiopia’s right to pursue its development as long as this does not affect the Nile waters that reach Egypt.

29 July 2020; MEMO: The annual Hajj pilgrimage performed by Muslims from around the world has begun in Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Makkah, dramatically downsized due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a bid to curb the spread of the deadly virus, only 1,000 pilgrims residing in the kingdom were given permission to take part, compared to roughly two million who usually flock to Makkah for the five-day ritual.

In an unprecedented move, international visitors have been banned  from taking part.

29 July 2020; MEMO: One of the landmarks of Tiberias, the mosque, also known as the Zaydani mosque, was built on the Mameluke architecture, with a big dome and a minaret.

“Like most Palestinians, the Tiberias residents have fled to Syria and Lebanon following the Nakba,” Kamal Khatib of the High Follow-up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, told Anadolu Agency.