Middle East & North Africa

BAGHDAD, May 22 (NNN-NINA) – The Iraqi Ministry of Health said yesterday that, up to 90 cases of viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) have been registered in Iraq, including 18 deaths.

“There has been a serious increase in the VHF cases in Iraq recently, and the number of registered cases could rise further, if some other suspected cases are confirmed,” the ministry’s spokesman, Sayf al-Badr, said at a press conference.

The first VHF case was detected in Dhi Qar last month, and later more cases were discovered in several other provinces, he added.

TEL AVIV/GENEVA, May 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Israel and Switzerland have confirmed their first cases of monkeypox, joining several European and North American countries in detecting a disease that is endemic to parts of Africa.

In recent weeks, more than 100 confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox have been detected in the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden as well as in the US, Canada, and Australia, raising fears the virus may be spreading.

DUBAI, May 22 (Reuters) - Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency reported on Sunday that members of an Israeli intelligence service network had been discovered and arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"Under the guidance of the Zionist regime's intelligence service, the network attempted to steal and destroy personal and public property, kidnapping and obtaining fabricated confessions through a network of thugs," the IRGC public relations service said in a statement.

BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iraqi court Sunday postponed the trial of two European tourists charged with antiquities smuggling after their lawyers argued more information was needed about the ancient shards found in their possession.

The defense team for German national Volker Waldman filed a motion in court saying there was insufficient information about the value of the pieces Iraqi officials found on him. He was charged alongside Jim Fitton, 66, a retired British geologist.

Baghdad’s felony court postponed the case until June 6.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An Israeli court on Sunday sentenced six Palestinian inmates to five years in prison for tunneling out of their cell last year and escaping from a high-security facility in the biggest prison break of its kind in decades.

The jailbreak sparked a massive manhunt in the country’s north and the occupied West Bank in search for the men, who were members of Palestinian militant groups. They were recaptured days later.

21 May 2022; MEMO: The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad has condemned and rejected the Turkish government's plan to settle one million Syrian refugees in the northern Syrian 'safe zone.'

21 May 2022; MEMO: Egyptian human rights organizations have announced the deterioration of Aisha Al-Shater's health, the daughter of the Muslim Brotherhood leader Khairat Al-Shater, during her detention at Al-Qanater Women's Prison.

Aisha is suffering severe health complications, such as bone marrow failure, which led to a shortage of blood cells, including platelets and red blood cells.

21 May 2022; MEMO: The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) announced on Friday the re-election of Ahmed Sa'adat as its Secretary-General, who is serving a term of 30 years in Israeli jails, a press release confirmed.

21 May 2022; MEMO: Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani announced on Wednesday that his country is ready to mediate between Iran, the European Union and the US regarding the nuclear deal, Anadolu Agency reported.

This came during a joint press conference held in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who confirmed that Qatar would play a "central role" in Germany's new energy strategy.

21 May 2022; MEMO: Joint List MK Sami Abu Shehadeh announced on Friday that he would request the start of the process of dissolving the Israeli Knesset on Wednesday, Israeli media reported.

"I will submit the Knesset Dispersal Law [for a vote] next Wednesday," he announced via Twitter. "This bad government must fall," he declared.