Iraq expels Swedish ambassador after desecration of Qur’an in Stockholm

Baghdad also recalls chargé d’affaires from Sweden as protesters storm Swedish embassy in Iraq

Iraq expelled the Swedish ambassador on Thursday in protest at a planned burning of the Qur’an in Stockholm that had prompted hundreds of protesters to storm and set alight the Swedish embassy in Baghdad.

A government statement said Baghdad had also recalled its chargé d’affaires in Sweden, and Iraq’s state news agency reported that Iraq had suspended working permits for Swedish businesses such as telecom giant Ericsson on Iraqi soil.

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West Bank medics given bulletproof vests after ‘rise in attacks by Israeli forces’

Palestine Red Crescent Society says there were 193 incidents targeting healthcare staff and vehicles in 2023

Medics working in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are being supplied with helmets and bulletproof vests after the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported what it said was a rise in attacks on healthcare workers and ambulances by Israeli forces and settlers.

According to the PRCS, there were 193 incidents targeting staff and vehicles in 2023 – a 310% increase compared with the same period last year. Violence has been increasing steadily in the region since March 2022, when the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) began launching near-nightly raids on the West Bank towns of Nablus and Jenin in response to a spate of deadly terror attacks against Israelis.

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UK must label Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as terror group, says thinktank

Report from rightwing thinktank calls for tougher sanctions on Iran as October expiry of UN sanctions looms

The October expiry of UN sanctions limiting Iran’s missile programme must become a hard deadline for the UK to adopt a tougher policy that includes proscription of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), a rightwing thinktank has warned.

The report from the Henry Jackson Society (HJS) is the second from a right-of-centre thinktank in two days demanding tougher action on Iran, and suggests that the UK ministers’ preferred strategy of introducing an Iran-specific sanctions regime that could lead to sanctions for activities outside Iran has fallen flat with Tory hawks.

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Russian veto on aid lifeline to Syria could bring ‘catastrophe’ for millions

Fears rise that UN could be forced into compromise with Damascus to keep vital corridor open from Turkey to rebel-held Idlib

Aid groups and their backers at the United Nations are pushing to revive an aid corridor into rebel-held Syria after Russia vetoed the renewal of the cross-border lifeline that has been getting food and medicines into Syria for almost a decade.

Moscow has repeatedly attempted to stymie deliveries through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing from Turkey into Idlib, a strip of land controlled by the de facto opposition known as the National Salvation government, which is linked to the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham militant group. At least nine people were killed in a Russian airstrike on a vegetable market in rural Idlib last month.

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Progressive Democrats protest Israeli president’s address to US Congress

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib say they intend to boycott address due to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians

Democratic divisions over Israel were on stark display on Tuesday, as lawmakers prepared to welcome Isaac “Bougie” Herzog, the president of Israel, for an address to a joint session of Congress.

Several progressive House members, including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, intend to boycott Herzog’s speech on Wednesday to protest against the treatment of Palestinians under the government of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Treasures lent by Israel for White House event ‘stranded at Mar-a-Lago’

Antiquities from Israel’s national treasures collection have ended up at Trump’s Florida estate, say reports

Ancient artefacts sent from Israel to the US four years ago on a short-term basis and intended for display at a White House event have ended up at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to a report.

The Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Tuesday that antiquities including ancient ceramic oil lamps, part of Israel’s national treasures collection, were shipped to Washington DC with the approval of the then director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Israel Hasson, for use in a Hanukah candle-lighting event at the White House. The event took place in December 2019, when Trump was in office.

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‘An ideal tool for a repressive regime’: Snapchat’s Saudi ties questioned

Critics say social media app – partly owned by a Saudi investor – pushes pro-crown prince hype while critical voices are punished

Saudi Arabia appears to be exploiting the US messaging app Snapchat to promote the image of its crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, while also imposing draconian sentences on influencers who use the platform to post even mild criticism of the future king.

The California-based company, which last year agreed to a “collaboration” with the Saudi culture ministry, has more than 20 million users in the kingdom – including an estimated 90% of 13-to-34-year-olds – and the crown prince has met personally with some of the platform’s biggest “Snapchatters” for informal talks about current events, according to people familiar with the encounters.

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White House ends months-long snub to invite Benjamin Netanyahu to visit US

No date set for far-right Israel PM’s visit as arrival of President Isaac Herzog highlights over creeping annexation of West Bank

The White House has finally invited Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the US after months of snubbing the Israeli prime minister over his government’s creeping annexation of the West Bank and deepening oppression of the Palestinians.

Netanyahu’s office said President Joe Biden extended the invitation in a call between the two leaders on Monday ahead of a visit to Washington by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, this week that had thrown a spotlight on to the shunning of the prime minister.

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Israelis brace for disruption amid renewed push for judicial overhaul

Knesset races to pass bill eliminating ‘reasonableness’ standard before summer recess

Israelis are bracing for a turbulent week of protests and potential strike action as the country’s governing coalition races to pass a key component of its wide-ranging judicial overhaul before the parliamentary summer recess.

The Knesset’s constitution, justice and law committee on Monday discussed sending a bill eliminating the “reasonableness” standard that allows the supreme court to overrule government decisions back to the plenum for its second reading.

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Gaza: Israeli targeted killing operations prompt petition for inquiry

Action follows deaths of civilians during Israel’s Shield and Arrow assassination strike campaign

On the street in central Gaza City where the family of Khalil al-Bahtini lived, the contents of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander’s home and the two houses on either side remain spilled out into the street. Passersby must navigate the rubble and crumpled shell of a water tank, as well as the debris of an annihilated family life: a red teddy bear, kitchen utensils, scraps of books and clothing.

The Adas family were not the targets of the airstrike that hit their neighbour’s house at about 2am on 9 May, in the opening salvo of Israel’s Shield and Arrow operation, but the buildings were less than a metre apart. The GBU-39 bomb that crashed through three floors of the Bahtini home, down into the basement, also blew apart one side of the Adas’s house, killing the family’s two teenage daughters. Dania, 19, died immediately, while her sister, Imam, 17, clung to life for two hours before succumbing to her injuries in hospital.

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Tunisia says it will not be ‘reception centre’ for returning migrants

North African country, which agreed €1bn deal with EU to stem irregular migration, says it will take back only Tunisians

Tunisia has said it will not be a “reception centre” for returns of sub-Saharan migrants from Italy or any other country in Europe despite a groundbreaking €1bn deal signed on Sunday.

Authorities in the north African country are determined not to enter a contract similar to that which the UK has with Rwanda and will take back only Tunisians who have made irregular entry to the EU.

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Monday briefing: Thousands killed, millions displaced – the conflict in Sudan, three months in

In today’s newsletter: In April, fighting broke out between two rival factions – with no end in sight, the UN is investigating

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Good morning.

Last week the United Nations discovered a mass grave in Sudan’s West Darfur in which 87 people were buried, prompting the UN high commissioner for Human Rights to demand a “thorough and independent investigation” into activity in the region.

Ukraine | Explosions have reportedly hit the Kerch bridge connecting the Crimean peninsula to Russia, a heavily guarded road and rail link that is among the Kremlin’s most important infrastructure projects. The head of the Russian-controlled administration in Crimea, said traffic had been stopped because of “an emergency situation”. Two people have been killed and a child was injured.

Environment | Southern Europe is bracing for a second “heat storm” in a week. Record temperatures across the Mediterranean could be broken on Tuesday, and people in Italy have been told to prepare for most intense heatwave ‘of all time’. Meanwhile in the US more than 100 million people were under extreme heat advisories this weekend.

Iran | Iran’s “morality police” have returned to the streets 10 months after the death of a woman in their custody sparked nationwide protests. It comes as authorities announce a new campaign to force women to wear the Islamic headscarf.

Hospitals | The government is on track to break a key election promise from Boris Johnson to build 40 new hospitals in England by the end of the decade, a damning report by the public spending watchdog has found.

Music | France’s favourite “petite Anglaise”, the British-born singer and actor Jane Birkin, has died at her home in Paris aged 76. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, paid tribute to Birkin, saying she “embodied freedom and sang the most beautiful words in our language”.

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Iran’s ‘morality police’ resume patrols 10 months after nationwide protests

Authorities announce new campaign to force women to wear the Islamic headscarf, after period of scaled-back policing

Almost 10 months after Mahsa Amini died in police custody, triggering weeks of protest across Iran, police vans are again patrolling the country’s streets looking for women who are not wearing the hijab “correctly”. Now, however, the vans and officers will not bear the name “morality police”, and patrolmen will be wearing body cameras.

The announcement on Sunday followed widespread reports that unmarked vans had been spotted on the streets of cities such as Tehran and Shiraz, stopping people not wearing the hijab. The move has already prompted demonstrations: on Sunday, protesters took to the streets in Rasht after three women were reportedly arrested.

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EU signs off €1bn deal with Tunisia to help stem irregular migration

Ursula von der Leyen hails deal as an investment in shared prosperity and stability

The EU has signed off on a €1bn (£860m) deal with Tunisia to help stem irregular migration, as the president of the north African country denounced those who offer migrants “sympathy without respect” for their goal to have equity in life.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, hailed the deal with Tunisia, including significant measures to stem deadly irregular migration across the mediterranean, as an investment in shared prosperity and stability.

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Iranian academic will appeal against prison sentence for criticising government

Sadegh Zibakalam was sentenced for tweeting in March about the alleged poisoning of schoolchildren in Iran

One of the most distinguished former political science professors at the University of Tehran, who was sentenced to a year in jail for tweeting about the alleged poisoning of schoolchildren, has said his sentence was inexplicable and he will appeal against it.

Sadegh Zibakalam said nothing in his tweet directly accused the government of being behind the mysterious spate of alleged poisonings of schoolchildren that left hundreds in hospital and no one charged.

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Benjamin Netanyahu discharged from hospital after heart tests

Israeli prime minister fitted with monitoring device after being kept overnight with dehydration

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been discharged from hospital after heart monitoring tests showed no irregularities during an overnight admission for dehydration.

Netanyahu, 73, was taken to hospital near his private residence in the coastal town of Caesarea on Saturday afternoon after complaining of dizziness and kept overnight for observation, his office said.

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Benjamin Netanyahu says he feels ‘very good’ after being taken to hospital

Israeli prime minister, 73, thought to be suffering from dehydration and is undergoing medical tests in hospital near Tel Aviv

Benjamin Netanyahu has said he “feels very good” after being taken to a Tel Aviv hospital for what doctors determined was likely to be dehydration.

Israel’s prime minister issued a video statement hours after he was hospitalised. In the statement, Netanyahu said he had been out in the sun on Friday without a hat and without water. “Not a good idea,” he said.

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EU to give Tunisia €1bn to fight trafficking and prop up ailing economy

Von der Leyen to return with Italian and Dutch PMs despite warnings over ‘breakdown’ of democracy under Saied

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is to return to Tunisia on Sunday with the prime ministers of Italy and the Netherlands to sign off the details of a €1bn deal aimed at combating people smuggling and supporting the country’s collapsing economy.

Sources have confirmed they are expecting to sign off on a memorandum of understanding only days after a group of politicians in the European parliament warned that Tunisia should not be handed a deal on a “silver plate” amid fears of a “breakdown” of democracy in the country.

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UK invites Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman to visit

Saudi heir’s official visit would be first since he was accused of being behind killing of Jamal Khashoggi

The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has been invited to the UK on an official visit in late autumn, the first such visit by the heir to the Saudi throne since he was accused of masterminding the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist and dissident.

Numerous UK ministers have been to Saudi Arabia in the interim, and senior Saudi ministers have also come to the UK, including the foreign minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

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Syria reopens key aid corridor after Russian veto of UN deal

British UN security council chair fears lack of monitoring will ‘hand control’ of aid to Assad

Syria will let humanitarian aid flow through its main border crossing into rebel-held areas, reopening a conduit that had closed after a stalemate on the United Nations security council, the country’s UN ambassador has said.

Damascus had made a “sovereign decision” to let aid move overland from Turkey through the Bab al-Hawa crossing in north-west Syria for six months starting on Thursday, ambassador Bassam Sabbagh told reporters.

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