Middle East & North Africa

ANKARA, July 4 (Reuters) - Turkey has halted a Russian-flagged cargo ship off its Black Sea coast and is investigating a Ukrainian claim that it was carrying stolen grain, a senior Turkish official said on Monday.

Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey said on Sunday the Zhibek Zholy was detained by Turkish customs authorities. Ukraine had previously asked Ankara to detain it, according to an official and documents viewed by Reuters. 

BEIRUT, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati said on Monday he opposes taking unofficial actions to deal with the maritime border demarcation issue with Israel.

"Lebanon considers that any action outside the diplomatic context pursued by the government to settle maritime border demarcation with Israel is unacceptable and exposes the country to unnecessary risks," a statement issued by Lebanon's Council of Ministers quoted Mikati as saying during a meeting with Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet is starting to offer rewards for information that could help sailors intercept weapons, drugs and other illicit shipments across the region amid tensions over Iran’s nuclear program and Tehran’s arming of Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

While avoiding directly mentioning Iran, the 5th Fleet’s decision to offer cash and other goods for actionable intelligence in the Persian Gulf and other strategic waterways may increase pressure on the flow of weapons to the Houthis as a shaky cease-fire still holds in Yemen.

04 July 2022; MEMO: The Israeli army recognised that Hamas hacked the smartphones of its soldiers and officers through fake social media accounts, Maan news agency reported yesterday.

Maan said that Israel's Channel 12 broadcast a lengthy report that disclosed Hamas' success in hacking the smartphones of its soldiers and officers despite the army's effort to undermine the attempt.

04 July 2022; MEMO: The Arabic hashtag, Leave Sisi, was trending yesterday in Egypt on the anniversary of the military coup which overthrew the country's first democratically elected president.

Then army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi led the coup against President Mohamed Morsi and went on to spearhead a tsunami of human rights violations.

Protesters were killed by police and security forces and dissidents were imprisoned and tortured. In 2021, Egypt issued the highest number of death sentences worldwide.

04 July 2022; MEMO: Reporters Without Borders has published a report on how Egypt's state-controlled media are running smear campaigns against journalists who criticise the government.

These attacks are coordinated, says the report, and follow a set pattern. First, a presenter insults a journalist on a TV channel, then the rumours are picked up and spread on social media. Egypt has thousands of fake accounts which are mobilised to defend the government and attack journalists.

03 July 2022; MEMO: Israeli military observers will participate in a military exercise in Morocco later this week, according to the country's defense ministry on Sunday, Anadolu Agency reports.

A ministry statement said the participation in the "African Lion 2022" exercise in Morocco is "an additional step in strengthening security relations between the countries."

This is the first time Israel participates in an international military drill in the North African country.

03 July 2022; MEMO: Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will be in Turkey on an official visit from July 3-5, Turkish authorities announced on Sunday, Anadolu Agency reported.

Bilateral relations and steps to enhance cooperation will be discussed in depth during the visit, which comes at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to a Turkish Presidency statement.

"The two leaders are also expected to exchange views on regional and international developments," the statement said.

04 July 2022; MEMO: Director of Authority 302 for Defense of Refugee Rights, Ali Huwaidi, said yesterday that Zionist lobbying had succeeded in pushing many countries to stop contributing to the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Speaking to Quds Press, Huwaidi said: "UNRWA's crisis has never been financial, but completely political," stressing that the Zionist lobby and the American administrations "have been targeting the issue of Palestine refugees and the right to return."

03 July 2022; MEMO: Egypt's Red Sea Governorate issued an order to shut down several Red Sea beaches on Friday after a 68-year-old Austrian woman was killed in a shark attack earlier that day, off the coast of Sahl Hasheesh, according to two security sources, Reuters reported.