Middle East & North Africa

27 July 2022; MEMO: The Christian population in Palestine is dwindling because of the catastrophes Palestinians have had to endure and the West's policies in the Middle East, Archbishop Atallah Hanna, head of the Greek Orthodox Church, has said.

Speaking at a symposium on the antiquity of the Christian presence in the East, specifically in Palestine, the Holy Land, Hanna highlighted that Christianity was born in Palestine and apostles set out from there to the West to preach and spread its teachings.

27 July 2022; MEMO: A new joint coordination Centre in Istanbul, established as part of a historic deal to restart Ukrainian grain exports to the world, officially opened on Wednesday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

"The duty of the Centre is to provide safe sea transportation of grain and similar food products to be exported from Ukraine," Turkish Defence Minister, Hulusi Akar, said at the opening ceremony, held at the National Defence University in Istanbul.

27 July 2022; MEMO: The US State Department warned on Tuesday that the new Tunisian constitution could "compromise" human and fundamental rights in the North African country. A referendum on the draft document was held yesterday at the insistence of President Kais Saied, who will have near absolute power in Tunisia if it is supported by the majority of citizens who voted.

28 July 2022; MEMO: Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said yesterday that "the images and information broadcast by the Israeli enemy army about the presence of weapons in civilian areas in the Gaza Strip are pure lies and slander."

"The fact that the Israeli enemy spreads these photos expresses the true crisis it is facing with human rights institutions and international bodies," he added.

27 July 2022; MEMO: Turkiye said grain exports from Ukrainian ports could resume within a week, Reuters reports.

According to the report, the export will reach 25 million tonnes by the end of the year, after it brokered a deal between Kyiv and Moscow that eased fears of a global food crisis.

The exports halted by Russia's invasion, will be determined by logistical groundwork, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said during an interview with local media.

27 July 2022; MEMO: Jordan's King told Israel's visiting Prime Minister on Wednesday that Palestinians should be part of US-sponsored regional economic projects to underpin stability in the Middle East, Reuters reports.

Jordanian officials say Amman has been pushing Israel to include the Palestinians in water-for-energy deals that both countries are considering and which Gulf Arab countries could help finance.

27 July 2022; MEMO: Iran said, on Wednesday, a sabotage team detained by its security forces were Kurdish militants working for Israel, who planned to blow up a "sensitive" defence industry centre in the city of Isfahan, state media reported.

Iran's Intelligence Ministry had announced the arrests on Saturday, amid heightening tensions with arch-enemy, Israel, over Tehran's nuclear programme, without giving the nationality of those detained, Reuters reports.

27 July 2022; MEMO: Iran will soon start accepting payments made with Russia's Mir bank cards, a top official was quoted by Russia's RIA news agency as saying, making it the latest country to adopt the Russian-made alternative to Visa and MasterCard, Reuters reports.

"I think this payment system will be activated in Iran soon," RIA quoted Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy, Medhi Safari, as saying on Wednesday.

27 July 2022; MEMO: The US Defence Department is considering an alternative country to host the largest military exercise in Africa instead of Morocco.

ANKARA, July 27 (Reuters) - Sweden and Finland have yet to extradite suspects Turkey seeks over terrorism-related charges despite signing an accord to lift Ankara's veto to its NATO membership last month, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday.

The two Nordic countries applied for NATO membership in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but were faced with opposition from Turkey which accused them of imposing arms embargoes on Ankara and supporting groups it deems terrorists.