The BBC, Guardian, Independent and The Times report that Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi, inspector general of the UAE’s interior ministry, has been elected as president of the global police agency Interpol, despite being accused of complicity in torture. Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi will serve a four-year term in the part-time and unpaid role. However, Human rights groups had lobbied against his candidacy, accusing him of failing to investigate credible complaints of torture against UAE security forces. Raisi rejects the allegations.
 
The Independent follows the latest statements by Iranian negotiators ahead of the return to nuclear talks in Vienna next week. Ali Bagheri Kani, the deputy foreign minister, told reporters that the talks will fail unless the US agrees to a key set of conditions, including guarantees a future US administration will not leave the JCPOA deal again and that US sanctions have been lifted.
 
Reuters reports that the US has threatened to confront Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency next month if it does not cooperate more with the UN’s nuclear watchdog – an escalation that could undermine talks on reviving the 2015 JCPOA deal with Iran.
 
The Times writes that Libya has selected its candidates for the upcoming presidential election, describing it “as a cast of kleptocrats and criminals” waiting in line to take control of the war-torn country. The leading candidates are Khalifa Haftar, a self-appointed field marshal, was a Gaddafi-era army officer before he defected and is himself accused of war crimes in the conflict that has torn Libya apart in the last seven years, and Aguila Saleh, the speaker of the country’s divided house of representatives, who is under US sanctions for undermining “peace, security and stability”. The Financial Times notes that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has been barred from Libya’s presidential poll. The former Dictator’s son can appeal the ruling but has not said whether he intends to do so.
 
The Guardian follows the migrant crisis in Europe, writing that as officials grapple with the Channel drowning crisis, even more Iraqi Kurds are preparing to make dangerous journey to Europe.
 
Reuters reports Israel has slashed its list of countries eligible to buy cyber technologies following concern over possible abuses abroad of a hacking tool sold by Israeli firm NSO Group.
 
In the Israeli media, Kan Radio notes that Israel will put several countries in southern Africa on the red list due to fears of a new variant of the coronavirus: South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Eswatini. Foreigners from those countries will not be admitted into Israel. Israeli citizens returning from those countries will be quarantined in hotels for a week and released after having two negative PCR tests, including citizens who have been vaccinated three times. Whoever refuses to get tested will be required to quarantine in the hotel for two weeks. The Health Ministry confirmed this morning that one case of the new variant has been confirmed in Israel, whilst two other cases are suspected of the new variant. All three are in isolation. The new variant has over 30 mutations, twice as many as the Delta variant, and experts fear that it will turn out to be more contagious and more vaccine-resistant.
 
Yediot Ahronot writes that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett did not wait until the effect of the new variant before deciding to ban foreigners from the seven African families entering Israel. “If this is a new and unfamiliar mutation, the new wave is unlikely to be a ripple. It could be more like a tsunami,” the article says. Meanwhile, Bennett is calling the new wave “the children’s wave”, because 60 per cent of new cases are from those aged 5-12 and another 15 per cent are aged 12-20. “One of the questions troubling the Health Ministry, the advisory team and the coronavirus cabinet is whether, or rather when, the immunity provided by the booster shot will wane. Since Israel did this before the rest of the world, if it wanes, it will be the first country that will have to come up with a response.”
 
An Israeli official told Walla news last night that Israel has conveyed messages to the Biden administration saying the government will not move ahead with construction of the new neighbourhood in Atarot that was approved by the Jerusalem municipality’s local planning and construction committee. He said that Israel had told the administration that [the national government] has no control over the Jerusalem municipality’s local committee but that the plan would not be advanced in the District Planning and Construction Committee, which it does control.
 
On the eve of the resumption of the talks between the US and Iran on Monday, Maariv reports that Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will hold meetings next week with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron to convey Israel’s concerns. The article cites officials who said that Lapid was very sceptical that an agreement would be reached and “this situation of uncertainty constitutes a potential danger. The world powers are very likely to try to create a ‘table’ of lifting sanctions in exchange for a phony halt to enrichment. From Israel’s standpoint, this is a highly undesirable situation.”
 
Israel Hayom cites an unnamed official from the United Arab Emirates who told the newspaper that the Gulf states had changed their position toward Iran and were now more inclined to hold a dialogue with it, all because the Biden administration “has driven a wedge in the regional defence alliance among the countries of the region toward the Iranian threat. For example, by suspending the agreement to sell F-35 planes to the Emirates, as well as Washington’s opposition and its veto of the sales of weapons that we need.”