Tag Archives: United Arab Emirates

Alaa was executive director of a UK-based non-profit that advocated for human rights in the Gulf.

A United Nations special rapporteur has called on the United Arab Emirates to immediately free five human rights defenders who have been held in harsh conditions in the country’s prisons for eight years. Mohamed al-Mansoori, Hassan Mohammed al-Hammad, Hadif Rashed Abdullah al-Owais, Ali Saeed al-Kindi, and Salim Hamdoon al-Shahhi are …

Yemen has strongly condemned a recent move by the United Arab Emirates to transfer Israeli tourists to the strategic island of Socotra on Emirati visas. The Yemeni Tourism Ministry said in a statement issued on Monday that the UAE’s measure violates international law, given that Socotra is a Yemeni island …

Saudi Arabia has acknowledged that it has constructed a military base on an island in the Bab al-Mandab strait to fight the Sana’a-based government. In a Thursday statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, an official said all equipment currently present on Yemen’s volcanic Mayyun Island is under the control …

A “mysterious” airbase being built on a volcanic island in the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb, off Yemen’s southwestern coast and at the cusp of a key global maritime energy trade route, has been traced to the United Arab Emirates, even though the country has claimed to have disengaged from Yemen …

Lebanese top diplomat’s remarks on the Gulf states and the rise of ISIL were ‘insulting’, Riyadh says. Saudi Arabia has summoned the Lebanese ambassador to protest against “insulting” remarks by Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe, who made critical comments about the Gulf states. In a television interview on Monday, Wehbe …

Spain’s former King Juan Carlos, who went into exile this month in the face of graft allegations, is in the United Arab Emirates, the royal palace said Monday, ending the mystery over his whereabouts. The 82-year-old, who has long had warm relations with the Gulf monarchies, “traveled to the United …

Bahrain and Oman could be the next Gulf countries to follow the United Arab Emirates in formalising ties with Israel, Israel’s intelligence minister said on Sunday. Israel and the UAE announced on Thursday that they will normalise diplomatic relations, reshaping Middle East politics from the Palestinian issue to the fight …

Iran’s highest-ranking military commander unveiled a change in the approach adopted by the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces on the United Arab Emirates after its ruling regime struck a deal with the Zionist regime on normalization of ties. In remarks at a conference held in Tehran on Sunday, Chief of Staff …

Telephone service between the United Arab Emirates and Israel began working Sunday as the two countries open diplomatic ties, part of a deal brokered by the US. Associated Press journalists in Jerusalem and Dubai were able to call each other from both landline and cellular phones registered to Israel’s country …

After years of informal normalisation, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has finally reached a formal “peace agreement” with Israel that paves the way for a strategic relationship between the two countries under the auspices of the Trump Administration. The agreement rewards US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin …

The United Arab Emirates has made a “huge mistake” in reaching a deal toward normalizing ties with Israel, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech on Saturday. He warned the Gulf state against allowing Israel to have a “foothold in the region.” The UAE-Israel agreement, announced on Thursday, …

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there is no change in his bid to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank and the strategic Jordan Valley despite allegations that a normalization deal with the UAE included a halt to the annexation plan. “There is no change to my plan …

Firefighters and civil defense crews are battling a major fire at a fruit and veg market in the United Arab Emirates’ city of Ajman on Wednesday. No injuries have been reported, and the cause of the blaze is still unknown. Only a day after a massive explosion devastated Beirut, the …

The United Arab Emirates minister of state for foreign affairs said on Saturday that Turkey should stop interfering in Arab affairs, criticising comments on Libya made by Turkey’s defence minister. Turkish media had reported the Turkish minister making remarks critical of the UAE’s actions over Libya. The UAE, alongside Egypt …

French authorities are opening an investigation into accusations of complicity in acts of torture against the powerful crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, sources said Friday. Multiple sources with knowledge of the case told AFP that a French investigating magistrate had been mandated to take on the …

The liftoff of the United Arab Emirates’ Mars orbiter was postponed until Friday due to bad weather at the Japanese launch site. The orbiter named Amal, or Hope, is the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission. The launch was scheduled for Wednesday from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan, but …

The UAE’s new academic year will start on August 30, the Minister of Education has announced. Hussain Al Hammadi said administrative and teaching staff would begin work a week earlier on August 23. It has not yet been established how lessons will be organized, although a mixture of remote learning …

Turkey accused the United Arab Emirates of bringing chaos to the Middle East through its interventions in Libya and Yemen, allegations that are likely to inflame tensions between the regional rivals, Reuters reported. Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu was responding to criticism of Turkey’s role in the Libyan conflict, where it …

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 …