Middle East & North Africa

2 Oct 2019; MEMO: Iran’s judiciary sentenced Hossein Fereydoun, brother and adviser of President Hassan Rouhani, to five years in prison, Tuesday.

Fars News Agency quoted judicial spokesman Gholam Hossein Ismaili as saying: “the judiciary has sentenced Rouhani’s brother, Hossein Fereydoun, to five years in prison.”

Ismaili said in a press conference that the Court of Appeal issued the final verdict of five years commuted from seven years against Fereydoun.

2 Oct 2019; MEMO: Egypt’s supply ministry yesterday said it would bring back of 1.8 million Egyptians to the so-called “smart-card system” for subsidised goods.

In an official statement, the ministry added that it was receiving citizens’ grievances through “the supply offices in the different Egyptian governorates.”

The Egyptian supply minister, Ali Al-Muselhi, has long urged “all eligible Egyptian citizens to apply and register in the subsidy system.”

2 Oct 2019; MEMO: The UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, arrived in Sanaa on Tuesday to consult with leaders of the Ansar Allah movement (Houthis) on ways to achieve a truce with Saudi Arabia.

A source in the UN envoy’s office said that Griffiths arrived in Sanaa with his assistant, Moin Shraim, from the Jordanian capital Amman where his permanent office is located.

2 Oct 2019; MEMO: Talks to form a national unity government in Israel hit a further snag on Tuesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s centrist election rival called off a meeting with the embattled leader reports Reuters.

2 Oct 2019; MEMO: Abdullah Al-Ouda, son of the famous Saudi preacher Salman, expects the last session of his father’s trial to be held tomorrow, Arabi21 reported.

On Twitter, Abdullah said that the Riyadh Court decided to hold a hearing for his father tomorrow, expecting that it would be the last session.

The court cases again Al-Ouda began in July last year.

2 Oct 2019; MEMO: A senior delegation from the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, visited the Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza on Thursday and met with Greek Orthodox Archbishop Alexios and Issa Tarazi, the head of the refugee committee of the Near East Council of Churches. The church is named after Saint Porphyry, who was Bishop of Gaza from 395 to 420.

2 Oct 2019; MEMO: Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces, which are backed by Iran, believe that the allegation by Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi that Israel is behind attacks on the group’s sites amounts to a green light to seek revenge, Anadolu has reported.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli court on Wednesday ordered a former Australian school principal suspected of sexual assault, and who Australia is seeking to extradite, released from prison to house arrest.

Implementation of the Jerusalem District Court’s decision was delayed until Friday to give the prosecution time to appeal.

Australia has been pressing Israel to extradite Malka Leifer, who fled from Australia in 2008, with what Australian authorities believe was the assistance of the insular Adass Jewish community, after accusations against her surfaced.

TEHRAN, Oct 2 (NNN-TASNIM) – Iranian Parliament Speaker, Ali Larijani, welcomed Saudi Arabia’s proposal to hold talks to resolve mutual issues.

“We welcome (Saudi Crown Prince) Mohammed bin Salman, being quoted as saying he wants to resolve issues through talks with Tehran,” Larijani said.

Any dialogue between Iran and Saudi Arabia could help solve many security and political issues, he said.

On Sunday, Crown Prince Mohammed reportedly said that he would prefer a political and peaceful solution to a military one, to resolve its disputes with Iran.

ANKARA, Oct 2 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Turkey has no time to waste to set up a safe zone across the Turkey-Syria border, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said.

“We told those who kept delaying Turkey’s proposals, to eliminate the terrorist organisation and make Syrian territory safe for refugees, that this game is up,” Erdogan said.

“We tried every method to resolve the problem next to our border, in cooperation with our allies. We were more than patient and always expressed our determination,” Erdogan said.