Middle East & North Africa

ANKARA/BAGHDAD, May 2 (Reuters) - ISIS leader Abu Hussein al-Qurashi's six-month rule ended when he detonated a suicide vest during a Turkish special forces raid in northwest Syria on Saturday after refusing to surrender, a senior Turkish security official said.

The third ISIS leader to die by detonating an explosive vest during a raid since 2019, Qurashi leaves behind an organization that once ruled millions of people via its control of a third of Iraq and Syria but has now been forced underground.

01 May 2023; MEMO: Suicide rates among the Israeli military are on the rise, presenting a "dangerous and daunting" challenge, warned Lieutenant- General Herzi Halevi according to a report published by Israeli public broadcaster KAN.

The chief of general staff also called on military authorities to devise a solution to address the growing problem. Local media reported that three Israeli soldiers committed suicide since the beginning of this month, two of whom took their own lives last week.

01 May 2023; MEMO: Qatar yesterday arrested a foreign network of eight Indians allegedly for spying for the Israeli state.

Hebrew media quoted local sources as saying that the defendants were "recent graduates of the Indian navy," adding that they were working for "Dehara Trading Company."

An Israeli army officer was dismissed yesterday from his command position after participating in a political protest in uniform.

Hebrew Channel 14 identified the officer as a major, adding that he was spotted on television participating in a pro-government reforms rally on Thursday.

The channel quoted military sources as saying that the officer was "stripped of his command authorities," adding that his act was "violating all the army orders."

01 May 2023; MEMO: Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir approved on Sunday the easing of conditions to obtain firearm licenses, Israeli media reported.

According to the Walla news website, former Israeli combat soldiers, police officers, firefighters and active reservists will receive an exemption from personal interviews when applying for a license.

01 May 2023; MEMO: During a five-day campaign, Saudi authorities seized 16.9 million narcotic amphetamine and Captagon pills, Saudi media reported on Sunday.

The authorities conducted the campaign between 25 April and 29 April – immediately after the Eid Al Fitr holiday – in various regions and governorates across the Kingdom.

01 May 2023; MEMO: An Al Jazeera correspondent has been released from about four years' pretrial detention in Egypt, his wife said in a tweet on Monday.

Egypt's Press Syndicate head Khaled Elbalshy confirmed to Reuters that the Qatar-based television network correspondent Hisham Abdel Aziz had returned home on Sunday evening.

02 May 2023; MEMO: Sheikh Khader Adnan was announced dead by Israeli authorities this morning after 86 days on hunger strike in protest against his illegal administrative detention.

Adnan, a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement in the occupied West Bank, was found unconscious in his cell at the Israeli prison of Nitzan, and was declared dead at Assaf Harofeh Hospital.

02 May 2023; MEMO: Leader of Israel's National Unity Party, Benny Gantz, said yesterday that there has been no progress in talks launched to reach an agreement on planned judicial overhaul, local media reported.

The talks are being hosted and mediated by Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Both sides of the talks blame each other for the stalemate.

02 May 2023; MEMO: Some 80 per cent of Israeli firms founded by Israeli entrepreneurs are relocating to other countries due to the planned judicial overhaul, Israeli economic outlet the Globes reported.