GULF

Lebanon Steps Up Security as Gulf Tourists Set to Return

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met on Tuesday at the Grand Serail with ambassadors from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to coordinate preparations for the anticipated return of Gulf nationals to Lebanon. The meeting follows the United Arab Emirates’ recent decision to lift a long-standing travel ban on Lebanon, imposed during a previous ...

Qataris Hooked on Traditional Handline Fishing Competition

On the Doha seashore, rows of wooden dhow boats line a pier, with scores of fish on display, as part of a festival seeking to revive Qatar's long seafaring tradition. Aboard the boats, men in customary sea gear–a white t-shirt and towel–reprise the age-old tradition of line-fishing in the energy-rich Gulf emirate for the 11th edition of the ...

Trump to Visit the Gulf in Mid-May for Talks with GCC Leaders

US President Donald Trump is due to meet the heads of state of six Gulf countries while on a visit to Riyadh later this month, a source close to the Saudi government told AFP on Sunday. Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from May 13 to 16 will be the first foreign trip of his second term -- other than a brief visit ...

UAE to Lift Travel Ban on Lebanon Starting May 7

The United Arab Emirates will lift its travel ban on Lebanon starting Tuesday, May 7, the Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Sunday. In a statement posted on its website, the Ministry said, “In line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates, and as part of ...

Yemen Government Names Finance Minister as New PM

Yemen's internationally recognised government named finance minister Salem bin Buraik as its new prime minister on Saturday, after his predecessor quit saying he was unable to fully exercise his powers. Outgoing premier Ahmed Bin Mubarak had disputed for months with Rashad al-Alimi, who heads the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, ...

UAE: Heat Record in April Up to 46.6°C in the Gulf

The United Arab Emirates recorded unprecedented heat in April, with an average maximum temperature of 42.6 degrees Celsius over the past month — the highest in two decades for the oil-rich Gulf country. The previous highest average maximum temperature for an April was 42.2 degrees Celsius, recorded in 2017, according to a calculation based on ...

Israel Says Downs Missiles Fired From Yemen

Israel's army said Friday it intercepted two missiles fired towards its territory from Yemen within 12 hours, with at least one attack claimed by the Arabian Peninsula country's Huthi rebels. An explosion was heard over Jerusalem as the military said it was intercepting the second projectile. "The (Israeli army) has identified the ...

UAE Says Foils Bid to Transfer Weapons to Sudan Army

The United Arab Emirates said Wednesday it had foiled a weapons shipment intended for the Sudanese army, which has accused the Gulf state of backing rival paramilitaries in the country's two-year war. "The security services succeeded in preventing the transfer of a quantity of military equipment to the Sudanese Armed Forces following the arrest ...

UN 'Alarmed' by US Strikes in Yemen That Huthis Say Killed 68 Migrants

The United Nations expressed deep alarm on Monday at reports that US strikes on Yemen killed scores of people at a migrant detention center in a stronghold of the Huthi rebels. The US military has hammered the Iran-backed Huthis with near-daily strikes since March 15 in an operation dubbed "Rough Rider", seeking to end their attacks on vessels in ...

Syria Group Says Military Chief Arrested in UAE

Two sources from Jaish al-Islam, a military faction now part of Syria's transitional authorities, told AFP on Monday that its leader had been arrested at Dubai airport several days ago. Since 2015, Issam Buwaydani has been head of Jaish al-Islam, a group that fought against now ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad and once controlled the Eastern Ghouta ...

Iran Seizes Two Foreign Tankers for Smuggling Diesel in the Gulf

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have seized two foreign vessels carrying "smuggled" fuel in the Gulf, local media said on Tuesday. "The Revolutionary Guards seized two Tanzanian-flagged vessels carrying 1.5 million liters of smuggled diesel fuel," said Iranian news agency Fars. Iranian forces regularly target tankers they say ...

Yemen's Houthis Say US Strikes on Sanaa Kill at Least 12

Yemen's Houthis said early Monday that US air strikes on Sanaa killed at least 12 people and wounded 30, with a military spokesperson later claiming attacks on US aircraft carriers and Israel. The Houthi-run Saba news agency cited the ministry as saying the dead and injured had come from overnight strikes "by the American enemy" on a market and a ...