Middle East & North Africa

26 Dec 2022; MEMO: Greece has moved to postpone a major arms purchase from Israel, local media reported on Saturday.

Defense Ministry officials fear that the purchase of Spike NLOS missiles, a particularly desired system for the navy's fast attack boats and the ground forces' AH-64 attack helicopters, risk being postponed indefinitely, private broadcaster CNN Greece reported.

26 Dec 2022; MEMO: Polls opened in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as residents began voting in Sunday's local elections.

A total of 208,236 registered voters are eligible to cast their votes in 768 ballot boxes across the country.

Voters will choose 18 mayors, 220 city council members, 240 headmen and 960 council of elders, according to the country's Supreme Election Board (YSK).

Turkish Cypriots will decide on 67 candidates, six of them women, for the mayoral posts.

27 Dec 2022; MEMO: Lebanon's maritime border demarcation for oil exploration and extraction must be completed, Hezbollah's deputy secretary general said yesterday.

Naim Qassem told Al-Nour radio station that oil extraction in Lebanon had nothing to do with "electing the Lebanese president," adding that his group was keen on "reaching tangible results on the issue of Lebanon's wealth."

26 Dec 2022; MEMO: Thousands of Moroccans protested against normalisation with Israel in several cities on Saturday, coinciding with the second anniversary since Rabat resumed its diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv.

The Moroccan Front in Support of Palestine and Against Normalisation said in a statement that these protests were against the normalisation agreement with Israel.

According to the statement, the protesters expressed their unconditional support for the Palestinian resistance.

26 Dec 2022; MEMO: Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday that the arrests of citizens linked to the United Kingdom showed London's "destructive role" in the recent protests in Iran.

Asked by a reporter to comment on Sunday's announcement in Tehran of the arrest of seven people linked to Britain, foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said: "Some countries, especially the one you mentioned, had an unconstructive role regarding the recent developments in Iran.

27 Dec 2022; MEMO: The Consultative Assembly in the Sultanate of Oman on Monday referred a bill amending Article 1 of the Law of Boycotting Israel to the Legislative and Legal Committee to complete the procedures.

27 Dec 2022; MEMO: From inside his small shop in souk in the centre of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, Abdullah Al-Sarraj was able to make bee stings an "effective and rapid treatment" for people who are suffering from chronic diseases.

27 Dec 2022; MEMO: The first Judicial Conference of the Constitutional/Supreme Courts/Councils of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member/Observer States kicked off in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Saturday.

The Turkish constitutional court said in a statement that presidents and official constitutional representatives from 32 Islamic countries participated in the conference.

27 Dec 2022; MEMO: Algeria's foreign reserves amounted to $60 billion by the end of 2022, the governor of the Bank of Algeria announced yesterday, Anadolu Agency reported.

Salah-Eddine Taleb told reporters that the available reserves would cover the country's import needs from goods and services for two and a half years.

RAMALLAH, Dec 26 (NNN-WAFA) – Dozens of Palestinians participated in a vigil yesterday, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, demanding the return of bodies of Palestinians killed in conflicts by Israeli soldiers.

The Palestinian national campaign organised the protest to bring back Palestinian corpses, which Israel has kept for years. The participants, waving Palestinian flags and pictures of the dead, chanted: “We want our children.”