Middle East & North Africa

16 Dec 2019; MEMO: Sudan has withdrawn some of its forces from the Saudi-led alliance of Arab states in Yemen handing over its positions in the west coast to the government’s joint forces, Yemeni media outlets reported.

Sudanese forces evacuated their positions in western Yemen after completing their mission and following Sudanese assurances that the troops were not involved in combat missions, the reports said.

16 Dec 2019; MEMO: An Israeli soldier killed a Palestinian outside his home “for no reason whatsoever”, according to an investigation by human rights group B’Tselem.

Despite the fact that the shooting of Omar Al-Badawi in Al-’Arrub refugee camp in the southern occupied West Bank was captured on film, B’Tselem does not expect any accountability.

16 Dec 2019; MEMO: Jordan is expected to witness a wave of popular protests as the implementation of a $10 billion gas deal with Israel looms on the horizon. Activists and lawmakers in the Hashemite Kingdom have been calling on the government to cancel the agreement with Israel, saying that the US has forced Jordan to sign the deal despite its economic and moral prejudices.

16 Dec 2019; MEMO: Israeli occupation forces prevented dozens of Palestinians from Burka village in the northern West Bank from reaching the site of the evacuated settlement of Homesh, reported Haaretz, “a week after the state said it had revoked a ban on Palestinians accessing the land”.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on Monday urged Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to take steps to prevent bases housing U.S. troops from being shelled, a statement from the premier’s office said.

Esper’s call came after a senior U.S. military official warned last week that attacks by Iranian-backed groups on bases hosting U.S. forces in Iraq were pushing all sides closer to an uncontrollable escalation.

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday called on the international community to make joint efforts to fight against terrorism.

He made the remarks at the 3rd World Youth Forum opened on Saturday in Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Sharm El Sheikh.

Speaking at a session discussing challenges facing international peace and security, the president said terror groups could harm a big country as one or two terrorist operations would destroy tourism.

ALGIERS, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Experts believe that the newly-elected Algerian president is facing complex political and economic challenges.

Former Prime Minister Abdelmadjid Tebboune was recently elected Algerian president, following months of public protests that ousted former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in April.

"In light of the continuing public protests, the new president will certainly try to call up the opposition for dialogue," said Noureddine Bekkis, professor of political sociology with the University of Algiers.

GAZA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Israel has banned the Christian minority who live in the Gaza Strip ruled by Hamas from visiting Christian holy sites and churches in the West Bank and Jerusalem to celebrate Christmas, a spokesman for the Christian community said Sunday.

Israeli media reported on Saturday that Israel bans 500 Christians in the Gaza Strip from travelling to the West Bank for Christmas and New Year holidays.

Meanwhile, the Israeli daily said the Israeli security only agreed to allow 100 Christians from the Gaza Strip to travel to Jordan only for Christmas.

DOHA (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday a “phase one” trade deal between the United States and China was “very good” for global economic growth, and added that the second phase could come in several steps.

The United States and China cooled their trade war on Friday, announcing a “phase one” agreement that reduces some U.S. tariffs in exchange for what U.S. officials said would be a big jump in Chinese purchases of American farm products and other goods.

15 Dec 2019; MEMO: Turkey criticised a European Council decision rejecting last month’s Turkish-Libyan maritime pact, Anadolu Agency reports.

“The European Union has no authority to decide maritime jurisdiction and the EU is not an international court, they cannot give a verdict on the legality of the Libyan agreement,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement.