Middle East & North Africa

CAIRO (AP) — Sudanese took to the streets in the capital of Khartoum and elsewhere across the country for mass protests Sunday against an October military takeover and a subsequent deal that reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok but sidelined the movement.

The demonstrations mark the third anniversary of the uprising that eventually forced the military removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government in April 2019.

CAIRO, Dec 18 (NNN-MENA) – The United Nations (UN) anti-corruption conference concluded yesterday, in Egypt’s city of Sharm El-Sheikh, with a declaration on fighting corruption in times of crisis, adopted.

The ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption, adopted the Sharm El-Sheikh Declaration, as well as, seven other resolutions and an agreement on the host country, for the tenth session of the conference.

18 Dec 2021; MEMO: Tens of Israeli settlers on Friday raided the town of Burqa, north of the West Bank city of Nablus, and torched and opened fire on Palestinian homes, eyewitnesses and activists reported.

Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors Israeli settlement activities in the northern West Bank, said that scores of armed settlers attacked Burqa, indiscriminately opened live fire on the residents, attacked houses and set a shack on fire.

18 Dec 2021; MEMO: Ankara stated on Friday that the US State Department's Country Report on Terrorism for 2020 "reflects an incomplete and biased approach" regarding Turkish efforts to fight terrorist groups.

17 Dec 2021; MEMO: The Speaker of Tunisia's Parliament, Rached Ghannouchi, yesterday stressed the "absolute rejection" of the disruption of government for another year, considering the measure "unconstitutional and illegal."

"Ending the deep crisis within the country cannot be achieved except through the immediate abolishment of the exceptional measures and engaging in inclusive national dialogue in order to unanimously form the future of the country," he said.

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian health authorities said they have identified the country’s first cases of the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Three people were found to have the variant among 26 travelers who tested positive for coronavirus at Cairo International Airport, the Health Ministry said in a statement late Friday. It didn’t say where the three came from.

The local Masrawy news outlet reported the three were among travelers from South Africa.

17 Dec 2021; MEMO: Turkey's minimum wage has been increased by a massive 50% for 2022, Anadolu News Agency reports.

According to the news wire, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday announced that by 2022 the minimum wage will rise from 2,826 lira ($172.90) to 4,250 ($274).

Following the decision, the Turkish lira hit a record low plunging as much as 5.2 per cent to 15.595 against the US dollar.

18 Dec 2021; MEMO: Israeli settlers on Friday attacked several Palestinian villages near Nablus city in northern occupied West Bank, Anadolu Agency reported.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Jihad Salah, the head of Burqa village council in northwestern Nablus, said the settlers assaulted the village using firearms.

He added that they set the village's barracks on fire and stoned a number of Palestinian homes.

18 Dec 2021; MEMO: Head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem Archbishop Atallah Hanna announced on Friday that Christians must not stay silent regarding the Israeli occupation's crimes against Palestinians, Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported.

18 Dec 2021; MEMO: Cairo has deported United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador Hamad Saeed Al-Shamsi over his involvement in smuggling Egyptian antiques, Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported on Friday.

According to Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Egyptian Ambassador to Qatar Amr El-Sherbini posted on his official Facebook page on Friday that the decision to deport the Emirati ambassador came following the revelation that he was involved in smuggling Egyptian antiques.