Middle East & North Africa

ABOARD GEO BARENTS (AP) — At least 17 bodies, likely of Europe-bound migrants, have washed ashore in western Libya, the Libyan Red Crescent said as authorities began to vaccinate migrants in the North African country on Wednesday against the coronavirus, in cooperation with the United Nations.

The bodies were found Tuesday near the western Libyan town of Zawiya, the Red Crescent’s branch in the town said, and were handed over to authorities for burial.

Al-MUFAGARA, West Bank (AP) — Dozens of Jewish settlers swept down from the dusty hills, hurling rocks at a small Palestinian village in broad daylight, smashing windows, cars and water cisterns as families hid inside their homes and Israeli soldiers looked on.

Palestinians in this rural part of the occupied West Bank say last week’s attack was especially violent but not unusual. They view it as part of a much larger effort by Israel to force them off their land, including by cutting off vital water resources in a parched region.

BEIRUT (AP) — A trove of leaked documents confirmed that for years, Lebanon’s politicians and bankers have stowed wealth in offshore tax havens and used it to buy expensive properties — a galling revelation for masses of newly impoverished Lebanese caught in one of the world’s worst economic meltdowns in decades.

Some of the newly outed holders of offshore accounts belong to the same ruling elite that is being blamed for the collapse and for derailing the lives of ordinary Lebanese who have lost access to savings and now struggle to get fuel, electricity and medicine.

06 Oct 2021; MEMO: Claims being made against Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Egypt are "contradictory", Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported a defence attorney saying yesterday.

Calling for his client, former acting Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood Mahmoud Ezzat, to be acquitted, Muntaser Al-Zayyat said the claims against him "are contradictory and lack material proofs."

The Egyptian Public Prosecution set 19 December for Izzat's retrial on charges of "spying with Hamas".

06 Oct 2021; MEMO: Turkey's presence in Syria's Idlib Governorate saved the lives of millions of civilians and prevented them from becoming displaced, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday.

06 Oct 2021; MEMO: Weapons worth $15 million have been stolen from Israeli army bases, including rockets, rocket launchers, mines and machine guns, local media revealed yesterday.

A report published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz showed that hundreds of guns, nearly 50 rocket launchers and numerous other types of weaponry were stolen between 2013 and 2020.

06 Oct 2021; MEMO: Israel is working to expand its ties with Arab states, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said at the Jewish Federations of North America's annual conference yesterday.

"I wouldn't name names because this will harm the process, but of course, we're working with the United States and with the new friends in the Emirates, in Bahrain and Morocco… in order to expand this to other countries," he said.

06 Oct 2021; MEMO: Hamas and Egypt agreed to strengthen the ongoing ceasefire between the Palestinian resistance and Israeli occupation, Anadolu reported yesterday.

The news service reported an informed source as saying that the two sides also agreed to accelerate the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which suffered massive destruction during the latest Israeli offensive in May.

CAIRO, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Egypt is finalising arrangements to start supplying gas to Lebanon soon under a plan to help ease Lebanon's power crisis, the two countries' energy ministers said after meeting on Tuesday.

Under an agreement announced last month, Egypt will supply natural gas to Lebanon via a pipeline that passes through Jordan and Syria to help to boost Lebanon's electricity output. The deal, agreed by all four countries, is part of a U.S.-backed plan to address Lebanon's power shortages. 

05 Oct 2021; MEMO: The President of Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court has sent a message to human rights advocates to stay silent.

"Stay quiet, it is better for you. Egypt is a leading nation in respecting human rights," Counsellor Said Marei told a TV station in Egypt.