Middle East & North Africa

07 July 2022; MEMO: Jordan's Wihdat sports club said yesterday it would not participate in an international handball competition in the United Arab Emirates because of the participation of an Israeli team.

The competition is slated to be held 18-28 July in the UAE's Al-Ain, with Arab, Asian and African handball clubs taking part.

"Officially, the Wihdat club announces that will not participate in the Al-Ain handball championship,  #no_normalization," the club said on Twitter.

07 July 2022; MEMO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has sparked controversy on social media after he announced yesterday that the military was asking the government for four billion Egyptian pounds ($211.6 million) annually in rent for the government district in the New Administrative Capital located east of Cairo.

Al-Sisi stressed that it was "important and a top priority to continue the work in the New Administrative Capital, despite the high costs this project incurs."

08 July 2022; MEMO: The European Union yesterday warned of the "possible" displacement of Palestinians from the West Bank as Israel continues to force residents out of Masafer Yatta following a court ruling.

Touring Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank, EU Ambassador to the occupied Palestinian territories, Sven Kuehn von Burgsdorff, warned: "If mass evictions and forcible transfer were to be the case, that would be the biggest forcible transfer for decades." He added that he was "concerned about the situation."

ISTANBUL, July 7 (Reuters) - Ukraine will summon Turkey's ambassador to seek clarification, its foreign ministry said on Thursday, a day after a Russian-flagged cargo ship suspected of carrying stolen Ukrainian grain left a Turkish port.

The dispute comes at a time of record food prices globally, as conflict in Ukraine, the world's largest grain supplier, has fuelled concerns about food security.

RIYADH, July 7 (Reuters) - The United States and Israel are seeking to lay the groundwork for a security alliance with Arab states that would connect air defence systems to combat Iranian drone and missile attacks in the Middle East, four sources familiar with the plan said.

The idea, which would use Israeli technology, could gain momentum during President Joe Biden’s stops in Israel, the Palestinian territories and Saudi Arabia on a July 13-16 trip, said two of the sources who were briefed on the plans.

ANKARA, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Erdogan met on Wednesday with his visiting Somalian counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in the capital Ankara to discuss regional security and humanitarian aid to the African country.

In a joint press conference after their meeting, the Turkish president stressed the importance of Somalia's stability and security for the whole African horn, noting Turkey will continue to stand with Somalia in the international arena.

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — It is a scene that stirs hope — and relief — for Muslims around the world.

One million pilgrims from across the globe amassed on Thursday in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform the initial rites of the hajj, marking the largest Islamic pilgrimage since the coronavirus pandemic upended the annual event — a key pillar of Islam.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A British Royal Navy vessel seized a sophisticated shipment of Iranian missiles in the Gulf of Oman earlier this year, officials said Thursday, pointing to the interdiction as proof of Tehran’s support for Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the embattled country.

The British government statement was striking in that it provided some of the strongest findings to date that Tehran is arming the Houthis against the Saudi-led military coalition with advanced weapons smuggled through the Persian Gulf.

07 July 2022; MEMO: Iran's Revolutionary Guards have detained several foreigners, including Britain's second most senior envoy in Tehran, for alleged acts of spying such as taking soil samples in restricted areas, state television reported yesterday.

Reuters reports that it did not say whether those detained were still under arrest. The UK Foreign Office said claims that its Deputy Ambassador Giles Whitaker had been detained were "completely false".

07 July 2022; MEMO: The opposition coalition in Sudan has rejected the dissolution of the Sovereignty Council by army chief of staff General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the formation of a new government of technocrats. According to a member of the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), Omer Al-Digiar, Al-Burhan's offer is an attempt to "consolidate military rule and circumvent the December revolution."