Middle East & North Africa

28 July 2020; MEMO: Journalist Adel Sabry has been released from jail after more than two years in pre-trial detention.

Sabry, who is editor-in-chief of Masr Al-Arabia and a journalist and member of the Egyptian Press Syndicate, returned home after Egypt’s state security prosecution ordered his release.

Adel Sabry was arrested in April 2018 for allegedly operating a news website without a licence and joining the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

28 July 2020; MEMO: Qatar, the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, announced on Monday it would also like to stage the Olympics, possibly in 2032.

The Gulf Arab state’s Olympic committee said it submitted a request to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to join the phase of “continuous dialogue” about hosting a future Games.

28 July 2020; MEMO: A Cairo court yesterday sentenced two female TikTok influencers to two years in prison and fined them 300,000 Egyptian pounds ($19,000) each for “violating the values” of the country, Anadolu Agency reported.

28 July 2020; MEMO: With little regard for normal diplomatic protocol, Iran’s former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has reached out to arch-rival Mohammad Bin Salman in a letter dismissed by officials and experts.

Ahmadinejad has apparently urged the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince to join hands in ending war and conflict in the Middle East.

28 July 2020; MEMO: Israel has deployed Iron Dome air defence batteries along its northern border with Lebanon, local media revealed on Monday. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) apparently fear Hezbollah revenge attacks following an Israeli strike in Syria that killed a senior fighter with the Lebanese movement.

BAGHDAD, July 28 (NNN-NINA) – An Iraqi army’s helicopter was damaged by an attack of three Katyusha rockets, last night, on a military base, housing U.S. forces, near Iraq’s capital Baghdad, the Iraqi military said.

The three rockets, which landed on al-Taji Camp, some 20 km north of Baghdad, were fired from the nearby Sabaa al-Bour area, and one of them hit the army’s 15th Squadron of helicopter gunships and caused great damage to a helicopter, the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in a statement.

TUNIS, July 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tunisian President Kais Saied designated the interior minister as the new prime minister to succeed Elyes Fakhfakh, who resigned over allegations of a conflict of interest, the presidency said.

New premier Hichem Mechichi pledged to respond to the social and economic demands that have spawned constant protests in the North African country.

“I will work to form a government that meets the aspirations of all Tunisians and to respond to their legitimate demands,” Mechichi said.

ISTANBUL, July 28 (NNN-ANADOLU) – The Turkish coast guard captured 23 illegal immigrants, off Turkey’s Aegean coast, a local media outlet reported Monday.

The Turkish coast guard stopped 23 Afghan migrants, off the Didim district, in the western province of Aydin, who were allegedly intending to sneak into Greece in two boats, the Haberturk daily said, on its web site.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab said on Tuesday Israel had violated his country’s sovereignty with a “dangerous military escalation” along the frontier on Monday and urged caution after a rise in border tensions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would do “everything necessary” to defend itself, a day after saying Israeli forces had thwarted an attempt by Hezbollah to infiltrate across the frontier. The Iranian-backed Shi’ite group denied this.

DUBAI (Reuters) - An explosion has set a fuel tank on fire in Iran’s western province of Kermanshah on Tuesday, Iran’s Mizan news agency reported, in the latest in a series of fires and explosions, some of which have hit sensitive sites.

“An explosion in a fuel tank occurred in Dolat Abad industrial area parking area,” Mizan said, but there were no reports of casualties.