Middle East & North Africa

24 Dec 2022; MEMO: Dozens of Tunisians protested on Friday to demand the release the former prime minister and vice-president of Ennahda Movement, Ali Laarayedh, four days after a judicial decision was issued to imprison him.

The protest was organised by Ennahda Movement in front of the Palace of Justice in the capital, Tunis, under the slogan "Release Laarayedh." Several of the movement's leaders, lawyers and jurists took part in the protest.

TEHRAN, Dec 24 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran sent a shipment of Iran-made goods to Venezuela, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported, yesterday.

The dispatch of consignment comes, in line with the policies of the Iranian government and the necessity of developing the export of Iranian goods in the world markets, according to the report, citing an announcement by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines.

Dec 24 (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Court has accepted the death sentence appeal of

rapper Saman Seydi Yasin even as it confirmed a death sentence against another protestor, the country's judiciary said on Saturday.

Yasin, a Kurd who raps about inequality, oppression and unemployment, had been accused of attempting to kill security forces, setting a rubbish bin on fire and shooting three times into the air, charges which he denied.

TEHRAN, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Iraq has put forward a proposal for holding talks between Tehran and Cairo at political and security levels to restore relations between the two countries, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said.

The senior diplomat made the remarks in an interview with Iran's Mizan news agency, which was published on Saturday.

Amir-Abdollahian said the proposal was made by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, whom he met on the sidelines of a regional conference held this week in the Jordanian capital of Amman.

23 Dec 2022; MEMO: The United States Alternate Representative for Special Political Affairs to the United Nations Robert Wood has called on the Syrian regime of Bashar Al-Assad to "constructively" participate in the Syrian Constitutional Committee meetings.

23 Dec 2022; MEMO: As pilgrims from around the world flock to Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Nazareth for Christmas, members of Gaza's Christian community wait to hear whether Israel will grant them a travel permit, Reuters reported.

This year, Israeli authorities have approved travel for nearly 600 Palestinian Christians in Gaza, according to COGAT, a unit in Israel's defence ministry that coordinates civilian issues with Palestinians.

The African Union (AU) said that the absence of political and partisan consensus in Tunisia is a crucial matter that led to the low turnout in the elections, and it called for the launch of a comprehensive dialogue between the various political components.

23 Dec 2022; MEMO: An Israeli citizen arrested in Abu Dhabi ten days ago on charges of assaulting police officers was granted release from custody after paying the court fine of 65,000 dirhams ($17,700).

It comes after the court decided against imprisonment and instead ordered 21-year-old Nachman Gabai to be deported from the country, reported the Times of Israel. He was held in custody until his family was able to pay the fine.

23 Dec 2022; MEMO: American public relations firm, Edelman, has received some $10 million for helping Saudi Arabia clean up its image, according to the Guardian. ​

Richard Edelman, CEO of the $1 billion firm, signed deals with the kingdom over the past four years to sanitise its image despite being a leading campaigner against doing business with autocratic regimes.

23 Dec 2022; MEMO: Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday criticised Greece over its hostile approach toward migrants.

"The attitude of our western neighbor Greece toward migrants has now reached the level of brutality," Erdogan said in his address to the inaugural congress of the Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of the Islamic World in Istanbul.

Unfortunately, the Western countries are not responding to "this brutality of Greece," the Turkish leader lamented.