NEW YORK, May 29 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 jolted southwest of Africa at 21:52:04 GMT on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 10.0 km, was initially determined to be at 52.8887 degrees south latitude and 10.4898 degrees east longitude.

ZVECAN, Kosovo (AP) — The NATO-led peacekeeping force said on Monday that 25 of its troops were injured in clashes with ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo after they tried to take over the offices of one of the municipalities where ethnic Albanian mayors took up their posts last week.

JERUSALEM, May 30 (NNN-MA’AN) – Israeli settlers, said yesterday that, they built a Yeshiva (Jewish seminary) in Homesh, an outpost in the occupied West Bank, that was dismantled by Israel in 2005.

The Yeshiva was erected in “a secret operation” overnight, to avoid clashes with Palestinians, the settlers said in a statement.

Homesh is one of the four unpermitted outposts in the northern West Bank, which were evacuated at the same time as the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

30 May 2023; MEMO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday agreed on "the immediate start of upgrading diplomatic relations, exchanging ambassadors."

Egypt's presidency said in a statement that Al-Sisi spoke to Erdogan on the phone to congratulate him on his victory in the presidential elections and his re-election as president of Turkiye, while the Turkish president expressed appreciation for the kind gesture.

JERUSALEM, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday and congratulated him on winning presidential elections.

The two leaders "agreed to continue strengthening the ties between the two countries and bring them to new heights," said a statement issued by the Israeli prime minister's office.

Netanyahu told Erdogan that he is "committed to expanding the peace circle of Israel and strengthening relations between Israel and Türkiye."

MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/: A bill has been put forward in Russia banning gender affirmation surgeries for any reason other than to treat congenital abnormalities.

Thus, the law on health protections of Russian nationals is supplemented with a provision banning "medical interventions geared to swap gender," including surgeries to change primary or secondary sex characteristics.

QAMISHLI, Syria (AP) — For at least four years, thousands of children have been growing up in a camp in northeast Syria housing families of Islamic State group militants, raised in an atmosphere where the group’s radical ideology still circulates and where they have almost no chance for an education.

Fearing that a new generation of militants will emerge from al-Hol Camp, the Kurdish officials who govern eastern and northern Syria are experimenting with a rehabilitation program aimed at pulling children out of extremist thought.

BEIRUT, May 30 (NNN-NNA) – A Saudi Arabian citizen was kidnapped in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut on Sunday, Lebanese caretaker Minister of Interior, Bassam Mawlawi, said yesterday.

Mawlawi said in a tweet that, Lebanon will work “on liberating any citizens who are exposed to any harm on Lebanese soil.”

“What happened affects Lebanon’s relationship with its brothers, and the perpetrators will be punished harshly,” he noted.

The Saudi man was kidnapped from a neighbourhood, close to the airport road in Beirut, the al-Jadeed TV reported.

MADRID (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s snap general election call breaks apart the coalition he built with the far-left United We Can party, marking a line in the sand with a movement born from grassroots activism whose electoral fortunes have nosedived.

On Monday, Sánchez brought forward a national election expected in December to July 23 after the conservative Popular Party, or PP, and far-right Vox movement dramatically increased their vote share in Sunday’s local and regional elections.

29 May 2023; MEMO: Instead of relying on Palestinian workers, Israel has decided to import 10,000 workers from India. The Indian Government has signed an agreement with Israel to bring 10,000 Indian workers to the country.

RIYADH, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces on Monday agreed to a five-day extension of a cease-fire agreement they signed on May 20 after negotiations in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, Al Arabiya News reported.

The two sides stressed commitment to allowing safe passage of all civilians from conflict areas and protecting civilian supplies.

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese troops rescued a Saudi citizen kidnapped over the weekend in Beirut, the army said Tuesday. The man reportedly had been held for ransom.

A statement by the Lebanese military said Mushari al-Mutairi was released in a “special operation” along the Lebanon-Syria border, where the kidnappers held him hostage. It gave no further details.

Al-Mutairi was kidnapped after midnight Saturday in Beirut.