Middle East & North Africa

RIYADH, May 13 (Xinhua): Saudi Arabia confirmed on Monday that two of its oil tankers were part of the sabotage attack on Sunday in the waters near the United Arab Emirates, off the coast of the emirate of Fujairah.

The Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Khalid Al-Falih, confirmed in a statement through Saudi Press Agency that the two oil tankers were attacked while on their way to cross into the Gulf.

The attack didn't lead to any casualties or oil spill; however, it caused significant damage to the structures of the two vessels, the minister said.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s government went on a spending binge in its West Bank settlements following the election of President Donald Trump, according to official data obtained by The Associated Press.

Both supporters and detractors of the settlement movement have previously referred to a “Trump effect,” claiming the president’s friendlier approach to the settlements is leading to additional West Bank construction.

13 May 2019; MEMO: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to advance a bill which will curtail the power of the country’s Supreme Court, a move which could guarantee his immunity from prosecution for corruption.

13 May 2019; MEMO: Israeli NGO “Breaking the Silence” has called on Eurovision goers to experience “the full picture” of Israel’s occupation by taking a tour to the West Bank city of Hebron.

The group yesterday erected a giant billboard on a highway between Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport and Tel Aviv – where this year’s Eurovision Song Contest is being held – in a bid to highlight Israel’s now 52-year-old occupation of the Palestinian territories.

13 May 2019; DW: After the US army sent forces into the Middle East, Iran has said it won't surrender to political and economic pressure. US President Trump said he wants to hear directly from Iran's leaders and asked them to call him.

The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Major General Hossein Salami, said in a parliament session on Sunday that the United States has started a psychological war in the region, according to a parliamentary spokesman.

Tehran, May 13 (AFP/PTI) Iran on Monday called attacks on ships in the Gulf "alarming", after the UAE and Saudi Arabia said several vessels including oil tankers were damaged in acts of sabotage off the Emirati coast.

"The incidents in the Sea of Oman are alarming and regrettable," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in an English-language statement on the ministry's website, calling for a probe into the attacks and warning of "adventurism" by foreign players to disrupt maritime security.

Dubai, May 13 (AP) Saudi Arabia said Monday two of its oil tankers were sabotaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in attacks that caused "significant damage" to the vessels, one of them as it was en route to pick up Saudi oil to take to the US.

Khalid al-Falih's comments came as the US issued a new warning to sailors and the UAE's regional allies condemned the reported sabotage Sunday of four ships off the coast of the port city of Fujairah. The announcement came just hours after Iranian and Lebanese media outlets aired false reports of explosions at the city's port.

JERUSALEM, May 12 (Xinhua): Israeli researchers have found a method to stop the division of cells in the body, which may lead to the prevention of cancerous tumors development, said a report of the Ben-Gurion University on Sunday.

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is based on the chemical methylation process, an enzymatic reaction during which a methyl group CH3 is added onto DNA or proteins.

RIYADH, May 12 (Xinhua): Saudi Arabia has offered a grant of 10 million U.S. dollars to Mauritius to help the hurricane victims in the African island nation, the Arab News daily reported Sunday.

The grant was handed in the capital Riyadh by Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, supervisor-general of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) to Shaukat Ali Soudhan, the visiting president of the ruling party of Mauritius, in order to help establish a rapid response system against a natural disaster in Mauritius.

ANKARA, May 12 (Xinhua): Turkey tries to convince the United States to accept its proposal on forming a committee for examination on technical concerns about its procurement of an advanced Russian missile defense system.

"The experts should say the last word. We said that a joint working group should be set up and NATO should chair it. We know what we do about it," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said earlier.

Tensions between Ankara and Washington have reached a fever pitch over the former's plans for procurement of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system.