Middle East & North Africa

(APP) --- Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh publicly confirms that the de-escalation of tensions between his country and Saudi Arabia is in the interest of both nations and the region.

Iran confirmed publicly for the first time on Monday that it was in talks with Saudi Arabia, saying it would do what it could to resolve issues between them, Reuters reported.

10 May 2021; MEMO: The United Arab Emirates will bar entry to non-UAE resident travellers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka starting Wednesday to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus, Reuters reported it announcing today.

The UAE last month banned entry to travellers from India to guard against the spread of the highly contagious Indian variant.

10 May 2021; MEMO: The media office of the Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip has criticised social media platforms for "censoring Palestinian content" during the current escalation in Jerusalem. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were mentioned specifically.

These platforms, it is alleged, are responsible for deleting Palestinian content and banning dozens of pro-Palestine accounts due to their coverage of events in Al-Aqsa Mosque and the unrest in Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.

10 May 2021; MEMO: Israel appears to have bowed to international pressure and delayed the forced eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in occupied East Jerusalem. The court hearing for the evictions was due to take place today but has been postponed following this weekend's assault by Israeli police against unarmed Palestinians and the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque during the last few days of the holy month of Ramadan.

(Reuters) --- Time is of the essence in the Vienna negotiations to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday, adding talks were lengthy but conducted in a good atmosphere.

AMMAN, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Sunday summoned the Israeli charge d'affaires of the Israeli embassy in Amman to protest the ongoing Israeli violations against the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said.

Foreign Ministry's Secretary-General Yousef Bataineh stressed that the recent Israeli practices against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem contradicted international law and its historical and legal status quo, the ministry said in a statement.

DAMASCUS, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The head of the Higher Constitutional Court Jihad al-Laham announced Monday that the approved presidential candidates can start their election campaigns as of May 16.

Speaking to reporters, al-Laham said the campaigns will start on May 16 until May 24.

"The court reminds the accepted candidates that it's their right now to start their presidential campaigns starting from Sunday, May 16, 2021, until Monday, May 24, 2021," al-Laham said.

CAIRO, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed said on Sunday that Egypt will start locally producing China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in June.

During a press conference in Cairo, the minister said that the first 2 million doses will be produced in June at the plants of the Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA).

"We will receive the first shipment of the raw materials needed to manufacture the vaccine on May 18," Zayed told reporters, adding that 40 million doses will be produced in the first year.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police clashed with Palestinian protesters at a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site on Monday, the latest in a series of confrontations that is pushing the contested city to the brink of eruption.

The latest violence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound came after days of mounting tensions between Palestinians and Israeli authorities in the Old City of Jerusalem, the emotional ground zero of the conflict. Hundreds of Palestinians and about two dozen police officers have been hurt over the past few days.

BAGHDAD, May 9 (NNN-NINA) – An unidentified drone attacked, yesterday, a military airbase housing U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq’s western province of Anbar, the Iraqi and U.S. military said.

“A booby-trapped drone went down at about 2:30 local time (23:30 GMT on Friday) at Ayn al-Asad Air Base in Anbar Province, without casualties,” the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said.