Middle East & North Africa

ADDIS ABABA, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) on Wednesday expressed its deep concern over the worsening security and humanitarian situations in the Sahel region.

The urgent call was made by the AU's Peace and Security Council in a statement issued on Wednesday that followed its latest meeting that dwelt upon the situation in the Sahel region.

The council associated the worsening security and humanitarian situations in the region due to increasing attacks by terrorists, criminals and armed groups operating in the area.

15 July 2021; MEMO: The Saudi Coast Guard has turned away three Egyptian tourist boats near the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir, which President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi previously transferred to Saudi control amid outrage by opponents in 2016, Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported.

14 July 2021; MEMO: The Turkish Foreign Ministry yesterday summoned Greek Ambassador in Ankara, Michael-Christos Diamessis, to "firmly" protest his country's ill- treatment of Turkey's football club Galatasaray at Athens airport on Monday, Anadolu reported.

14 July 2021; MEMO: The Ever Given container ship that had blocked the Suez Canal in March left Egyptian waters at 4 a.m. local time following inspections at Port Said, a canal source said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Ship tracker MarineTraffic showed the Ever Given to be underway in the Mediterranean Sea north of the Egyptian coast.

14 July 2021; MEMO: Egyptian intelligence officials have intensified their contacts with Palestinian factions in the besieged Gaza Strip over the past few hours asking them for time to pressure Israel to move forward with Gaza reconstruction plans.

14 July 2021; MEMO: Facebook yesterday removed the page of the Palestinian Shehab News Agency from its platform.

News Director at Shehab, Hossam Al-Zayegh, described Facebook's action as a new violation of freedom of opinion and expression guaranteed by international law.

"Deleting our page is a reprehensible and condemned action which aims to fight Palestinian content under the pretext of violating standards and inciting violence," he added.

14 July 2021; MEMO: The Algerian military accused Morocco of trying to destablise the country, considering the move as a continuation of an old Moroccan policy based on "grudge and hatred."

An editorial published by the Algerian magazine El Djeich this week stated that "a neighbouring country that moves and works against the interests of Algeria has not hidden its hatred and resentment for our country, not only today, but for centuries."

14 July 2021; MEMO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi today expressed full support for Lebanese Prime Minister-Designate Saad Hariri in his efforts to resolve a crippling economic and political crisis as he visited Cairo, Reuters reports.

Lebanon is battling an economic meltdown dubbed by the World Bank as one of the deepest depressions in modern history.

14 July 2021; MEMO: United Arab Emirates carrier Flydubai on Tuesday announced that it had reached an agreement with Boeing, under which it would amend previous deals and cancel orders of 65 737 MAX aircraft due to the repercussions of the coronavirus.

"Flydubai has reached an agreement with Boeing, and the airline has adjusted its aircraft orders which had been placed in 2013 and 2017," the company confirmed in a statement.

14 July 2021; MEMO: Egypt's Defence Minister Mohamed Zaki on Tuesday signed a military cooperation protocol with his Serbian counterpart, Nebojša Stefanović, in a meeting in the Egyptian capital city of Cairo.

The meeting discussed a number of issues of mutual interest, including "military cooperation and the exchange of experiences and knowledge between the two countries," according to a statement by the Egyptian Army.

Zaki lauded what he described as: "Deeply-rooted relations between Egypt and Serbia in the military field."