Middle East & North Africa

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel attacked Syrian military positions in the country’s south early Sunday, killing three soldiers and wounding seven others, Syria’s state-run media reported.

State news agency SANA quoted an unnamed military official as saying the attacks struck military positions in the southern region of Quneitra, near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. They also caused material damage, it said.

1 June 2019; MEMO: People in 30 countries around the world have organised demonstrations to mark Al-Quds Day, the last Friday of each Ramadan.

Several Palestinian and international organisations called on people to join the demonstrations in support of Jerusalem and the city’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as to highlight Israel’s aggression against the city and its holy sites, Al-Resalah newspaper reported.

1 June 2019; MEMO: US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner has given a new map of Israel, which included the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a press conference held in Jerusalem, Netanyahu announced that he had received this gift through Kushner, the chief architect of the US “deal of the century”.

1 June 2019; DW: The leaders of 56 Muslim-majority countries on Saturday opposed any Middle East peace plan that favors Israel and undermines Palestinians.

The Saudi-hosted summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Mecca condemned countries that have made the "illegal and irresponsible decision" to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

ISTANBUL (AP) — Ankara and Moscow are again facing an escalation of violence in Syria’s last rebel-held territory, a development that puts their cooperation to the test even as they support opposing sides in the eight-year war that has devastated Syria.

An all-out offensive by Syrian government forces to capture Idlib in northwestern Syria from insurgents could unleash an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, for the area is home to 3 million people.

CAIRO, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The United States has initiated a trade conflict against China "unilaterally," a move that is "an assault on the international values," former Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Washington stood against the general world system and tore up hopes of free trade and a growing economy, said Sharaf, who is also a committee member of the Silk Road NGO Cooperation Network.

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s King Salman slammed Iran over recent attacks targeting the kingdom, describing the incidents on Saturday in a speech before Muslim leaders gathered in Mecca as “terrorist acts” that threaten global energy supplies.

It was the monarch’s strongest words yet since tensions spiked in recent weeks between the two regional heavyweights.

Iran had a representative present at the 57-nation summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, or OIC, but its top leadership did not attend.

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — The satellite news channel Al-Jazeera said Friday that Sudan shut down its bureau, just as the country’s military government warned that the Khartoum sit-in that helped bring ruler Omar al-Bashir’s ouster had “become a threat to the revolution.”

The threat against the sit-in comes as civilian forces and the military remain divided on how much power soldiers should have in a transitional government. The protesters demand “limited military representation” on the council but the ruling generals refuse to relinquish power.

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s King Salman opened an emergency summit of Arab leaders in Islam’s holiest city of Mecca on Friday with a call for the international community to use all means to confront Iran, but he also said the kingdom remains committed to peace.

King Salman delivered his remarks at Arab summits in Mecca that were hastily convened after a spike in tensions between Saudi Arabia and its rival Iran.

30 May 2019; DW: Israeli lawmakers have voted in favor of dissolving parliament following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's failure to form a coalition government. The move comes after weeks of difficult negotiations.