06 May 2021; MEMO: The Palestinian Authority (PA) has complained to the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding the "forced eviction of Arab families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem", a PA official announced yesterday.

Spokesperson Ibrahim Melhem wrote on Facebook that Israel is violating international law by evicting the Palestinian families in this area to make way for illegal settlers.

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Thursday on cautious optimism about upcoming company earnings reports showing some recovery from the damage of the coronavirus pandemic.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 2.0% in morning trading to 29,391.19, in the first session after the Golden Week series of national holidays. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.7% to 3,168.56, but Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.5% to 7,057.80. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched up nearly 0.1% to 28,436.53, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.4% to 3,433.39.

06 May 2021; MEMO: Jared Kushner is to launch the Abraham Accords Institute for Peace to work on deepening the normalisation agreements between Israel and Arab countries during his father-in-law Donald Trump's time in the White House, Axios news website reported on Wednesday.

06 May 2021; MEMO: Tunisian President Kais Saied said he is ready to engage in dialogue, with conditions, to get the country out of the ongoing crisis, after he rejected initiatives calling for a national dialogue.

The Tunisian presidency said in a statement on Tuesday that "President Kais Saied met today at the Carthage Presidential Palace with Secretary-General of the People's Movement, Zuhair Maghzawi" to discuss the political, economic and social impasse and ways to overcome it.

06 May 2021; MEMO: The Islamic Movement in Jerusalem called on Wednesday for resistance in and around Al Aqsa Mosque, and for people not to be deceived by the claim that the Israeli occupation authorities have stopped settlers from entering the Muslims' holy site.

In a media statement, the movement hailed the worshippers inside Al Aqsa Mosque and called on them to continue their struggle against the Israeli occupation forces and the Jewish settlers who desecrate the Noble Sanctuary.

(Reuters) --- The European Union on Thursday added Israel to the list of countries who's citizens will be allowed to visit for leisure, as Europe seeks to revive travel and salvage summer tourism from tough COVID-19 restrictions. 

Reopening to Israeli tourists comes as the EU is moving to ease its current blanket ban on non-essential travel from foreign countries, with only a handful of exceptions, including New Zealand and Australia.

YEREVAN, May 6. /TASS/: Any statements running counter to the agreements between the Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders on unblocking economic ties in Nagorno-Karabakh cannot be viewed as an alternative to the current agreement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday commenting on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s remark on creating the Zangezur corridor.

05 May 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabian authorities appeared to have replaced the "Muslims only" phrase from traffic signs leading to the Prophet's Mosque in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, Islam's second holiest site after Makkah.

Images have been shared on social media purporting to show that at least one of the highway signs now reads "Haram area" in reference to Madinah's Haram or sacred site.

PRAGUE, May 6./TASS/: Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has spoken in favor of defusing tensions that are running high in relations between Moscow and Prague. His answers to the questions from parliamentarians of the lower house of parliament were broadcast by Czech TV channels on Thursday.

"I think we must calm down this tense atmosphere fuelled by emotions," Babis said.

Kathmandu, May 5 (PTI) Authorities in the Nepalese capital on Wednesday extended the lockdown in Kathmandu and surrounding districts till May 12 due to the spike in COVID-19 cases.

Nepal on Tuesday recorded yet another highest single-day rise of 7,660 new cases of the coronavirus. The health ministry also confirmed 55 new deaths in the past 24 hours, which is so far the highest number of fatalities recorded in a single day.

The local authorities have extended the ongoing prohibitory orders in the Kathmandu Valley till May 12.

ISLAMABAD, May 6 (NNN-APP) – Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan, is expected to embark on a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia tomorrow, to discuss bilateral cooperation, the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan said, today.

At the invitation of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Khan will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and other members of the cabinet, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Baghdad, May 5 (AP) Iraq's vaccine roll-out had been faltering for weeks. Apathy, fear and rumors kept many from getting vaccinated despite a serious surge in coronavirus infections and calls by the government for people to register for shots.

It took a populist Shiite cleric's public endorsement of vaccinations and images of him getting the shot last week to turn things around.