A report revealed the Trump administration didn’t break the law when it expedited $8bn in arms sales to the Gulf nations but concluded it failed to fully assess the humanitarian impact associated with the transfers. The US State Department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has found that president Donald …
Read More »Turkey, UAE clash over Libya conflict, trade accusations of interference
A war of words has escalated between Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over Libya, where the two states support opposing sides in the African country’s long-running conflict. According to reports, the Emirati minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, has slammed Turkish defense minister for his recent …
Read More »UAE Mars probe launch rescheduled for July 20
A Japanese rocket carrying the first Arab mission to Mars will blast into space on Monday, after being delayed by bad weather, the launch company said Friday. The lift-off of the United Arab Emirates’ “Hope” probe, originally planned for Wednesday, is now set for 6:58 am Monday (21:58 GMT Sunday) …
Read More »FBI ‘kidnapped’ Instagrammer from Dubai – lawyer
A Nigerian man accused of multimillion-dollar fraud and money laundering by the United States was kidnapped by the FBI from Dubai, his lawyer says. Ramon Olorunwa Abbas – known to his 2.5 million Instagram followers as Ray Hushpuppi – and another cyber-heist suspect Olalekan Jacob Ponle (aka Mr Woodberry) were …
Read More »Libya: UAE unacceptable in our political talks
Libya’s permanent representative to the UN said that his country “no longer accepts the UAE’s presence in its political dialogues”. This came during Taher al-Sunni’s speech at the UN Security Council session on Libya, late Wednesday in New York. “The UAE is involved in supporting the failed coup attempt in …
Read More »Dubai hotels ready to welcome foreign visitors as emirate reopens
In Dubai’s Atlantis resort, at the head of a palm tree-shaped island, workers in face masks clean cushions, sofas, and king-size beds in luxury suites that have largely been vacant since the coronavirus pandemic. The resort and seven other hotels in the regional tourism hub contacted by Reuters are seeing …
Read More »Turkey: France ignoring UAE, Egypt violations in Libya
The Turkish ambassador to Paris yesterday accused France of having a biased policy over Libya and turning a blind eye to violations of the UN arms embargo by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to the benefit of eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar. “When one supports the legitimate government [Government …
Read More »Khalifa bin Zayed accused of ‘reckless extravagance’ across his billion pound property portfolio
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the Emir of Abu Dhabi, transported water tanks from Evian, France, to his Grade II listed mansion Ascot Place, near Windsor Great Park in Berkshire A super-rich sheikh has filled the water tanks of an 18th-century mansion he hardly ever visits with Evian mineral water, …
Read More »Why a coup in Qatar could be a game-changer in the Middle East
If rumors about a coup in Qatar this week turn out to be true, who could benefit from it and what would the possible consequences for the region be? Social media users may have seen recent footage of an alleged attempted coup d’etat in Qatar – footage rife with shooting …
Read More »Coronavirus crisis under full control in Russia: Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin says the coronavirus pandemic is under full control in his country, adding that Moscow has all the necessary resources to protect people’s health and support the economy under these circumstances. “All levels of power are working in an organized, responsible and timely way,” Putin said in …
Read More »Saudi Arabia, UAE expand lockdowns as coronavirus cases rise; Mideast updates
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have adopted fresh measures to tackle the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic amid an uptick in the number of patients in both Persian Gulf countries. Saudi Interior Ministry announced a lockdown and a partial curfew in seven neighborhoods of the port city of Jeddah starting on …
Read More »Saudi imposes curfew to curb coronavirus spread, UAE suspends passengers flights
Saudi Arabia will impose a nationwide curfew starting on Monday after reporting a jump of almost a quarter in coronavirus cases, while the United Arab Emirates will suspend all passenger and transit flights to and from the country. Saudi King Salman ordered a curfew – from 7 pm to 6 …
Read More »Dubai sheikh was to force his 11-year-old daughter to marry MBS, UK court reveals
Dubai’s sheikh was allegedly lining up his 11-year-old daughter to marry Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who is 22 years her senior, a UK court heard yesterday. Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum reportedly discussed the agreement in February 2019 which would have seen his daughter Princess Jalila – aged 11 …
Read More »Qatar to become first Gulf country to get submarines and aircraft carriers
Qatar is reportedly expected to acquire submarines from Italy and turn into the first Gulf Arab country to operate those watercraft. The American business magazine Forbes reported that a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Italian company Fincantieri, Europe’s largest shipbuilder, covers the “supply of cutting-edge naval vessels and submarines” …
Read More »UAE discovers the world’s fourth-largest gas reserve
A reservoir containing an estimated 80 trillion cubic feet of shallow gas, and spanning around 5,000 square kilometers, was discovered on Monday, UAE authorities reported. The reserve, located between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, is the fourth largest in the world, and the first major natural gas discovery in 15 years, …
Read More »Google and Apple remove alleged UAE spy app “ToTok”
Google and Apple have removed an Emirati messaging app called ToTok amid claims that it is used for state spying. Not to be confused with China’s TikTok, ToTok markets itself as an easy and secure way to chat by video or text. However, The New York Times (NYT) has reported …
Read More »Iran Will Destroy Saudi Arabia and UAE in Case of War
Tensions in the Middle East escalated after a recent attack on Saudi refineries that crippled the country’s crude output. The US has accused Iran of the act, despite Yemen’s Houthis claiming responsibility, and is reportedly mulling a military response to the attack on its ally. Tehran has warned that such …
Read More »US, France, Britain may be complicit in Yemen war crimes, U.N. report says.
The United States, Britain, and France may be complicit in war crimes in Yemen by arming and providing intelligence and logistics support to a Saudi-led coalition that starves civilians as a war tactic, the United Nations said on Tuesday. U.N. investigators recommended that all states impose a ban on arms …
Read More »British Museum hands back ‘looted Iraqi artefacts’
The British Museum has completed its biggest ever handover of historical artifacts looted in Iraq, a collection of 156 inscribed tablets which had been shipped to the UK, it has been reported. The items mostly dated from between 2100BC and 1800BC, originating from the third Ur dynasty or Old Babylonian …
Read More »Abdul-Malik al-Houthi’s brother assassinated: Yemeni TV
Yemen’s Interior Ministry says Ibrahim al-Houthi, the brother of Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, has been assassinated. “The treacherous hands affiliated with the US-Israeli aggression and its tools assassinated Ibrahim Badreddin al-Houthi,” a statement from the ministry, cited by al-Masirah TV, said on Friday. The statement did not provide any further …
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