Middle East & North Africa

TEHRAN, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) announced Wednesday that it has decided to turn off two surveillance cameras of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The AEOI said it has decided to, as of Wednesday, shut off the IAEA's surveillance cameras for the online enrichment monitor (OLEM) and the flow meter, according to state-run IRIB TV.

The statement said the AEOI's remedial measures are implemented in reaction to the IAEA's "illegal behaviors."

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was on a surprise visit to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, a snap trip that came as efforts to salvage a deal over Iran’s nuclear program were stalled amid a deepening standoff with Tehran.

The visit was Bennett’s second public trip to Abu Dhabi since Israel and the UAE agreed to normalize ties in 2020 after years of quiet cooperation, mainly over their shared concerns over Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Eight months after national elections, Iraq still doesn’t have a government and there seems to be no clear way out of the dangerous deadlock.

Political elites are embroiled in cutthroat competition for power, even as the country faces growing challenges, including an impending food crisis resulting from severe drought and the war in Ukraine.

ISTANBUL, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police detained a foreign national suspected of planning a suicidal bomber attack in Istanbul for the extremist group Islamic State (IS), local media reported on Tuesday.

The arrest came after a police operation launched upon a tip-off about an IS suicidal bomb attack planned in the country's largest city of over 16 million people, the NTV news website reported.

The suspect, identified as Anas Abbud Alsahi Bnaman, was caught in the Kucukcekmece district on the European side of the city. His nationality was not immediately disclosed.

JENIN, West Bank (AP) — Who killed Shireen Abu Akleh?

Almost two weeks after the death of the veteran Palestinian-American reporter for Al Jazeera, a reconstruction by The Associated Press lends support to assertions from both Palestinian authorities and Abu Akleh’s colleagues that the bullet that cut her down came from an Israeli gun.

Any conclusive answer is likely to prove elusive because of the severe distrust between the two sides, each of which is in sole possession of potentially crucial evidence.

New Delhi, May 24 (PTI) To chart the Congress' future course, its chief Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday formed three groups -- on political affairs for guidance on key issues, Task Force-2024 to implement the Udaipur 'Nav Sankalp' declaration and another to coordinate the October 2 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'.

While Rahul Gandhi and two prominent members of the G23 -- Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma -- are part of the political affairs group, senior leaders P Chidambaram and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are members of the Task Force-2024.

23 May 2022; MEMO: The Chairman of the Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, Ambassador Mohammed Al-Emadi, has pledged to finance the reconstruction of Al-Jalaa Tower. The tower block, which housed a number of major media companies, was destroyed by Israeli bombs a year ago.

23 May 2022; MEMO: A member of the Islamic-Christian Committee in Support of Jerusalem and its Sanctuaries has called for civil disobedience in occupied Jerusalem next Sunday to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque from the planned incursion by illegal Jewish settlers. Father Manuel Musallam made his call on Monday in a public statement.

23 May 2022; MEMO: A senior Israeli lawmaker said, on Monday, the country risked a "religious war" after a court ruled in favour of Jews who had tried to pray at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as nationalists planned a march near the Muslim holy site, Reuters reports.

Palestinian factions have denounced Israeli moves in Jerusalem's Old City including the Jerusalem Magistrates' Court's decision yesterday to rescind a restraining order against three Jews who had prayed while visiting the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

23 May 2022; MEMO: The 2022 World Cup hosted by Qatar is expected to be watched by five billion people around the world, FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, said on Monday, Reuters reports.

The TV audience for the 2018 World Cup in Russia was a record-breaking 3.5 billion people.

Qatar, a small but wealthy Gulf Arab State, will host the first World Cup in the Middle East, starting late November.