Middle East & North Africa

05 July 2022; MEMO: Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has issued a new decree granting immunity to all members of the country's armed forces.

According to the new decree, the Ministry of Defence is the number one sovereign ministry in the country and its officers and soldiers have complete immunity.

This immunity means that no one in the country can question them and if they do, they will be subject to investigation themselves.

06 July 2022; MEMO: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi denounced as "irresponsible" the US and European efforts to propose a resolution against his country at the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors while negotiations are still ongoing over Iran's nuclear energy file, the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

Raisi's statements came in a meeting with the new Swiss Ambassador to Tehran, Nadin Olivier Rey, who was presenting her credentials to him.

06 July 2022; MEMO: The Tunisian judiciary yesterday froze the bank accounts of the Speaker of the House in the now dissolved government, Rached Ghannouchi, and two of his family members, as well as the accounts of the former Prime Minister, Hamadi Jebali, and two of his daughters.

06 July 2022; MEMO: The health of a former presidential candidate in Egypt is deteriorating badly in the notorious Tora Prison, his son announced on Tuesday. Dr Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh is serving fifteen years in prison after being arrested in 2018 a day after returning from London, where he criticised the regime of Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi during an interview with Al Jazeera.

06 July 2022; MEMO: The Commander-in-Chief of Sudan's army, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, dismissed the five civilian members of the country's Sovereignty Council on Tuesday. Well-informed sources in the council confirmed to Al-Quds Al-Arabi that the civilian members received an official letter relieving them of their duties.

06 July 2022; MEMO: Algeria organised a military parade in the capital Algiers on Tuesday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the country's independence from France. The parade was the first of its kind for thirty-three years.

05 July 2022; MEMO: Morocco has filed a lawsuit against a Spanish journalist for his reporting of the Moroccan government and intelligence services using the advanced Israeli Pegasus spyware against him and others.

05 July 2022; MEMO: Israel's Defence Minister said on Tuesday that Iran has been entrenching itself militarily in the Red Sea, calling it a threat to regional stability and trade, Reuters reports.

"Today, we can confirm that Iran is methodically basing itself in the Red Sea, with warships patrolling the southern region," Defence Minister, Benny Gantz, said at an event in Athens.

05 July 2022; MEMO: Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, said funds originating from the Arab world are nearly $20 billion – with half coming from the South American nation's recent participation at the Expo Dubai, Anadolu News Agency reports.

06 July 2022; MEMO: The Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah demanded on Tuesday that Lebanon should be given its full oil and gas rights in its territorial waters, agencies have reported.

"Today we are facing a rightful demand related to Lebanon's restoration of its oil and gas wealth in its territorial waters," said Sheikh Naim Qassem in a speech at a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the movement. "The promises made by some about postponing the solution are not useful."