IRAN
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may seek a return to the nuclear deal before his protégé Ebrahim Raisi becomes president in August. It would secure sanctions relief but also allow the new administration to maintain its anti-western stance.
Iran's sole nuclear power plant has undergone an unexplained temporary emergency shutdown, the first time such an event has been reported. An official from the state electric company said that the Bushehr plant shutdown began on Saturday and would last "for three to four days".
The family of Shokrollah Jebeli, an 83-year-old who has been held in Iran's Evin jail for 17 months without trial, have called for his immediate release after he received substandard medical treatment for a series of health problems. The father of three previously suffered a stroke but was returned to the prison after hospital treatment on the same day.
IRAQ
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced that Brussels will send election observers to Iraq to monitor October's polls, as Europe seeks to ensure stability in the country.
UK military commanders said Britain's newest aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, has taken on the "lion's share" of operations against ISIS in Iraq. Commodore Steve Moorhouse said the Eastern Mediterranean had become more "congested and contested" because of Russia's military presence in Syria.
The mother of prominent Iraqi human rights activist Ihab Al Wazni, who was murdered near his home last month, held a sit-in protest outside Karbala's court demanding justice. His death sparked outrage over the authorities' failure to protect civilians and provide them with basic public services.
Four years after Mosul's Al Nuri Mosque was blown up by ISIS, the Iraqi government, the UN, the UAE and the EU remain committed to efforts to restore the city's identity and cultural heritage.
GAZA
One month after a ceasefire ended the 11-day conflict between Israel and militants in Gaza that devastated the Palestinian enclave, reconstruction has not even started and tensions remain high. More than 2,000 homes were destroyed and thousands more damaged in the fighting, which claimed the lives of 256 Palestinians and 13 Israelis, and tens of thousands of people have been left uprooted, according to Gaza's Ministry of Public Works. Meanwhile, unexploded bombs are still killing those who survived the initial Israeli bombardment, humanitarian organisations and engineering teams say.
Israel allowed exports from Gaza to leave the Palestinian enclave yesterday for the first time since last month's hostilities began. Lorries loaded with clothes drove through the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza, Rami Abu Alreesh, general manager of trade at the territory's Finance Ministry, told The National.
AFGHANISTAN
The latest UN report shows the Taliban contesting or controlling an estimated 50 to 70 per cent of territory outside urban centres, with the government calling the losses "tactical retreats", as the Afghan military struggle to fend off militant attacks.
ETHIOPIA
Elections billed by Ethiopia's Prime Minister as the country's "first attempt at a free and fair election" took place yesterday but voting was delayed in some areas and cancelled in the restive Tigray region.
UAE
The UAE was the world's 15th-biggest recipient of foreign direct investment in 2020, ranking one place above the UK and seven places higher than the prior year, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development.
LIBYA
Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, is to attend a Berlin summit on resolving Libya's political divisions tomorrow as the country's factions look to hold unified elections for a new leadership by the end of 2021.
Ninety Egyptian migrants have been released from a detention centre in Tripoli through the co-operation of Egyptian and Libyan authorities. They had been held since Friday on illegal immigration charges.
EGYPT
Egypt's president yesterday reassured Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Cairo's support against any attempts to breach the southern European nation's sovereignty. Mr El Sisi's assurance is significant given the ongoing tensions between Greece and Turkey as well as Cairo's recent engagement with Ankara to improve bilateral relations while maintaining its close ties with Greece and its ally Cyprus.
JORDAN
King Abdullah's former confidant, Bassem Awadallah, faced a secret trial yesterday accused of sedition and plotting incitement acts against the regime. Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a distant cousin of the king, is on trial on similar charges. Mr Awadallah's lawyer said both defendants pleaded not guilty.
SAUDI ARABIA
The withdrawal of US military assets from Saudi Arabia will not affect the kingdom's defensive capabilities, said coalition spokesperson Gen Turki Al Maliki. "We have a strong understanding with our allies about the threat in the region. We do have the capability to defend our country."
SYRIA
Syrian government forces and rebels exchanged shellfire in north-western Syria last night, killing at least 10 people, most of them in rebel-held areas, state media reported.
A UN Security Council resolution on the supply of aid through Bab Al Hawa, the border crossing through which most foreign relief enters Syria, expires on July 10. The council has not yet voted to extend it. About four million people in Syria may face being cut off from vital UN aid, and many already endure hunger and rely on the global organisation for even the most basic sanitation.
LEBANON
Lebanon's military interrogated prominent student activist Karim Safieddine after he took part in a university protest, a move rights defenders say is a worrying attempt to stifle dissent.
CORONAVIRUS LATEST
The WHO says it is in discussions with companies and institutions to set up the first technology transfer centre for coronavirus vaccines in South Africa.
UAE residents stranded in India rushed to book tickets to return to Dubai after authorities in the emirate said flights from the country would resume on June 23.
Long Covid symptoms: UAE residents tell of perfume that smells like sewage.
LIVE BLOG
Follow our live blog for the latest coronavirus news from the region and beyond.
PLUS …
After President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a visit to Azerbaijan last week, where he promoted a plan to build a rail link and declared that "a new middle corridor will be opened that everyone can benefit from, from East to West," David Lepeska asks: with Turkey's sun rising in the East, does that mean it is setting in the West?
The National's editorial team explains why foreign investment in the Gulf is still rising – unlike in much of the rest of the world.
AND …
Cairo's Egyptian Museum celebrates World Music Day with a special display of artefacts.
Mona Farag
Arab Affairs Editor
All this and more in The National – subscribe to the print edition, visit TheNationalNews.com, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for round-the-clock updates.
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
PLAY-OFF%20DRAW
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The 12 breakaway clubs
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 290hp
Torque: 340Nm
Price: Dh155,800
On sale: now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
The years Ramadan fell in May
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
The five pillars of Islam
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More coverage from the Future Forum
SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
((Disclaimer))
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Company%20profile
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The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
