Middle East & North Africa

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The largest warship in the Iranian navy caught fire and later sank Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman under unclear circumstances, semiofficial news agencies reported.

The Fars and Tasnim news agencies said efforts failed to save the support warship Kharg, named after the island that serves as the main oil terminal for Iran.

01 June 2021; MEMO: Deputy Chief of Hamas Abroad, Mousa Abu Marzouq, yesterday rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's linking of the Gaza reconstruction file with a potential prisoner swap.

Taking to Twitter, Abu Marzouq wrote: "Netanyahu is linking the reconstruction of Gaza to the file of his missing soldiers. This is totally unacceptable and violates international law."

01 June 2021; MEMO: Israel's occupation authorities issued demolition orders on Monday for ten Palestinian houses in the villages of Ni'lin and Deir Qaddis, west of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, Wafa news agency has reported. According to a local Palestinian official, the owners of the homes have legal building permits issued by the Palestinian Authority.

01 June 2021; MEMO: Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman yesterday questioned whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "has lost" his mental stability, Al-Watan Voice reported.

Quoting the Israeli Public Broadcaster (Kan), Al-Watan Voice reported Lieberman saying: "I have watched the most recent video of Netanyahu. It is not clear whether this man enjoys 100 per cent mental stability."

01 June 2021; MEMO: Some 400,000 people in Israel do not currently have work as a result of coronavirus closures, a survey conducted by Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) revealed yesterday.

The head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamel, and his accompanying delegation arrived in the Gaza Strip yesterday afternoon to hold talks on the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.

Entering through the Beit Hanoun (Erez) checkpoint in the northern Gaza Strip, the delegation was received by the head of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, and the movement's leadership.

This is Kamel's first visit to Gaza since he took office in 2018.

01 June 2021; MEMO: Agence France Presse (AFP) has sacked its Palestinian correspondent in the West Bank, the journalist's union said yesterday. Nasser Abu Baker lost his job apparently after the agency came under "Israeli diktats", said the Syndicate of Palestinian Journalists.

01 June 2021; MEMO: Turkish intelligence agents have captured the nephew of Fethullah Gulen and brought him to Turkey to face prosecution, almost five years after the failed coup attempt which Ankara accuses the cleric of masterminding.

01 June 2021; MEMO: The Syrian regime of Bashar Al-Assad was elected to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) executive board last week, igniting outrage amongst medical workers and activists who fear it will use the seat to cut off aid to millions of Syrians.

The United Nations organisation's executive board, consisting of 34 members who hold three-year terms, has the responsibility of setting the agenda for the Health Assembly and implementing the agreed policies and decisions.

01 June 2021; MEMO: A number of Moroccans in the capital, Rabat, have refused to rent their properties to Israel's Chargé d'Affaires, David Govrin, forcing him to stay in a hotel since his appointment to the country, Anadolu reported.