Gulf

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 ...

Qatar’s Chief Negotiator Says ‘Frustrated’ by Pace of Gaza Talks

Qatar's chief negotiator voiced frustration over talks for a truce in Gaza in an interview with AFP, a month after Israel resumed its strikes on the Palestinian territory and another round of negotiations ended without a deal. "We're definitely frustrated by the slowness, sometimes, of the process in the negotiation. This is an urgent matter. ...

HTS: From a Jihadist Group to a Military Power

Over the years, Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has built a substantial military arsenal and established a force that is both professional and cohesive – an accomplishment that posed a significant challenge when the group was formed in 2017, following the merger of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly al-Nusra) with five other jihadist ...

‘Haircut:’ The Sharp Edge of Financial Cuts

Just when we thought we’d seen it all in the Lebanese saga of economic collapse, the government rolled out a new episode—one so twisted it makes a Netflix series look like a documentary on quantum physics. A draft banking reform law, rushed through cabinet, casually proposes placing the burden of the collapse on depositors and local ...

Lebanon–Qatar–UAE: Time for Business and Strategic Handshakes

The visit, which began Tuesday in Doha, aims to solidify bilateral relations and formally acknowledge Qatar’s support during Lebanon’s recent presidential election. However, beyond symbolic gestures, high-level discussions will focus on economic recovery, energy cooperation, and Qatar’s potential role in stabilizing Lebanon’s ailing ...