Middle East & North Africa

20 May 2019; MEMO: Palestinian Authority (PA) said yesterday that it sees the German decision to class BDS anti-Semitic “very dangerous”, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported yesterday .

In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, the PA said that this decision proves that Israel still imposes its agenda on representatives of European nations, adding that it is “blackmailing” the German parliament through its historic mistake related to the Holocaust.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Palestinian prime minister said Monday that any American peace plan that ignores the Palestinian people’s political aspirations for an independent state is doomed to fail.

Mohammad Shtayyeh’s comments immediately cast a cloud over the American-led Mideast peace conference expected to take place in late June in the tiny Gulf Arab state of Bahrain.

20 May 2019; MEMO: A rocket was fired into the Iraqi capital Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign embassies, on Sunday but caused no casualties, the Iraqi military said, Reuters reports.

“A Katyusha rocket fell in the middle of the Green Zone without causing any losses,” the military said in a statement, later specifying that it landed near the Monument of the Unknown Soldier.

20 May 2019; MEMO: The Israeli organisers of this year’s Eurovision feared that some of the competitors, under pressure from the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, might inject politics into their performances.

In the end, however, it was Eurovision’s special guest star, Madonna, who used her performance to make a political statement.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump warned Iran early on Monday not to threaten the United States again or it’ll face its “official end,” shortly after a rocket landed near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad overnight.

Trump’s tweet comes after he seemingly sought to soften his tone on Iran following days of heightened tension sparked by his administration’s sudden deployment of bombers and an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf over still-unspecified threats.

ANKARA; 20 May 2019; AA: Turkey is the world’s second largest beekeeping country after China, an official said, as the country marks World Bee Day on Monday.

"Turkey is one of few self-sufficient countries in beekeeping,” Selcuk Solmaz, head of Ankara Beekeepers Association (ABA), said in an interview with Anadolu Agency.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia does not want war but will not hesitate to defend itself against Iran, a top Saudi diplomat said Sunday after the kingdom’s energy sector was targeted this past week amid heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf.

U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, warned Iran that it will face destruction if it seeks a fight, while Iranian officials said their country isn’t looking for war. Trump spoke after a rocket hit near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

19 May 2019; MEMO: Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah on Monday evening called on the country’s armed forces to take the highest level of caution amid the “dangerous developments” taking place in the region.

During a visit to the General Presidency of the Kuwaiti National Guard Forces, Al Sabah said: “You are well aware of the serious developments around us in the region that require you to take the highest level of caution while carrying out your duties.”

Tehran (ISNA) - Iran exported 4,348,000 tons of industrial mineral products in the first month of this year, which begun March 21st.

Value of industrial mineral exports stood at $503 million during the month, as customs data showed, accounting for 20 percent of non-oil exports.

During the period, Iran registered a 16 percent boost in its mineral exports to mark solid performance despite U.S. pressures.

Tehran (ISNA) - Iran is now the permanent member of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Iranian deputy Transport Minister, Saieed Rasouli announced.

According to Rasouli, who is also the head of public relations department at Railways of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the membership, ratified during the 70th meeting of CIS in Helsinki, can reinforce Iran's railway transit ties with Middle-Asian counties and facilitate transit at International North-South Transport Corridor.