Aug 31 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump was sending a message to Iran with his social media post about Iran's energy hub of Kharg Island being blown to smithereens, Vice President JD Vance said on Monday.

"The president likes to switch it up on social media a little bit. He would be the first to say he doesn't make announcements about military actions on social media, but I think that he's sending a message to the Iranians," Vance said when asked about Trump's post.

By Mehmet Emin Caliskan

KYRENIA, Cyprus, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Ayten Bicer felt her 12-year-old daughter slip from her hands and disappear as a ferry capsized off northern Cyprus on Sunday, killing at least eight people.

Her daughter Miray, and 6-year-old son Mehmet Asaf, were among 20 people still missing on Monday as search teams looked for survivors in waters more than 500 metres (1,640 feet) deep.

"She was saying, 'Don't let go'. And I didn't let go of my daughter. I swear, I didn't let her go," Ayten Bicer sobbed.

Turkey's top diplomat stressed Monday the regional defence pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia was not aimed at any particular country and open to others, including Egypt.  

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan's remarks came after the first ministerial meeting of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement which commits Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to mutual defence in the event of any of them being attacked.

By David Lawder

ASHEVILLE, North Carolina, Aug 30 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent faces a major test of his economic diplomacy skills this week as he presses finance leaders from the G20 major economies to shrink global trade imbalances, boost growth and sever business ties to Iran, while trying to calm worries about rising U.S. debt and bond yields.

MADRID, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday there were signs Russia and Israel had spread the disinformation over Spain's migration policy that triggered last month's rush of migrants into Ceuta, but no evidence of Moroccan involvement.

Over 72,000 migrants irregularly crossed from Morocco into the tiny Spanish territory between July 30 and 31 in an unprecedented surge at one of the European Union's only two land borders with Africa, prompting alarm across the bloc.At least 100 people died in the attempt, according to Ceuta's local authorities.

CAIRO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Israeli airstrikes killed at least five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday, health officials said.

Medics said two people were killed and several others wounded when one strike hit a crowd near the municipal public park in Gaza City, an area packed with displaced families.

Later on Monday, another Israeli airstrike hit a vehicle in the Tel Al-Hawa neighbourhood in western Gaza City, killing at least three people, medics added.

The Israeli military said the two attacks targeted Hamas militants, without giving further information.

ISTANBUL, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Turkey has prepared a plan for the safe passage of grain via the Black Sea and is in contact with both Russia and Ukraine regarding it, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday.

Turkey has repeatedly expressed willingness to revive a U.N.-brokered deal that got grain out of Ukraine during wartime.

"We have prepared a plan and we are in contact with both sides regarding this plan," Fidan told a press conference in Istanbul. "If the necessary conditions emerge, we are working in particular to achieve another agreement similar to the grain deal."

A prominent singer has returned to Iran after nearly two decades in exile, as authorities encourage artists living abroad to return home in a show of patriotism against the backdrop of the conflict with the United States. 

Mohsen Namjoo, 50, whose work mixes Persian traditional music with more modern styles and had been living in the United States, flew into Tehran late last week, with his arrival welcomed by official media.

By Ben Blanchard

TAIPEI, Aug 31 (Reuters) - An increasingly unpredictable Beijing is tightening its grip on the air and sea around Taiwan, Taipei said in an annual review of the Chinese threat that also said China was learning lessons from issues faced by the United States in waging war on Iran.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control, and sends its military into the waters and airspace around Taiwan on an almost daily basis.

By Steven Scheer and Lefteris Papadimas

JERUSALEM/ATHENS, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Israel and Greece signed a €3 billion ($3.5 billion) defence deal on Monday under which Israel will build a multi-layered air defence system for Greece as Athens pushes ahead with a broader military modernisation programme.

Israel's defence ministry said it was Israel's largest-ever defence export deal with Greece and one of the biggest in the country's history. The agreement confirmed an earlier Reuters report.