TEL AVIV, ISRAEL - Israel's US$3.5-billion sale of its Arrow 3 missile defense system to Germany, sparked by security fears after Russia's Ukraine invasion, is the biggest yet for the small country's outsized arms sector. With its armed forces steeled by a tragic history of war, Israel is now the ninth...

Israel's top court debated appeals against a law restricting how a prime minister can be removed from office, as current premier Benjamin Netanyahu faces protests against the judicial overhaul. Eleven of the Supreme Court's 15 judges sat to hear three appeals against legislation passed by parliament in March.

The Biden administration made the decision after Israel in July promised a series of steps to comply with longstanding US demands to treat all US passport holders equally -- without discriminating against Americans who are of Palestinian or other Arab heritage or who are Muslim. Visa-free travel marks "a critical...

Wednesday's launch was carried out by the aerospace wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological arm of the country's armed forces.

Sudairi's delegation, which crossed overland from Jordan, was the first from Riyadh to visit the West Bank since the 1993 Oslo Accords, which had aimed to pave the way for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. When asked whether there will be a Saudi embassy in Jerusalem, Sudairi recalled there...

French President Emmanuel Macron's special envoy urged Lebanese factions to find a "third way" for electing a new president, warning that France and its allies were losing patience after a year of deadlock. "The life of the Lebanese state itself is at risk," Jean-Yves Le Drian, a former foreign minister,...

New Delhi, India - Army chiefs and senior officers from 30 countries including the United States met in India on Tuesday to discuss threats facing the Asia-Pacific region, in the face of concern at an increasingly assertive China. US Army chief Randy George said the region was "critically important", speaking to reporters...

DUBAI, UAE - The Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) of the Government of Dubai's Department of Finance (DOF) announced a reduction of approximately US$7.8 billion (AED29 billion) in Dubai's public debt by the end of this year. The achievement has been realized within a year and a half since the...

QatarEnergy will supply naphtha to Marubeni for 10 years.

Israel's Tourism Minister Haim Katz is the first Israeli minister to head an official delegation in Saudi Arabia, where he would attend a United Nations World Tourism Organization event in Riyadh.

PARIS, FRANCE - Soaring demand for the raw materials needed for the transition towards renewable energy is creating dilemmas for investors weighing the economic, environmental and human rights risks of such projects. With demand for fossil fuels expected to peak by the end of the decade, the focus is shifting towards...

Washington last week slapped sanctions on "seven individuals and four entities" based in Iran, China, Russia and Turkey it said had facilitated shipments and financial transactions involving Tehran's military hardware program. The United States accuses Iran of supplying Russia with drones, which have become a major feature of Moscow's war...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--Saudi Arabia on Tuesday condemned an attack on its territory that killed two Bahraini military personnel near the border with war-torn Yemen. Bahrain's military said late Monday that one officer and one enlisted soldier had been killed in what it described as a drone attack perpetrated by Yemen's Houthi...

New York, US-- The UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed has held talks with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India, and pledged to further develop cooperation as part of the two countries' strategic partnership. The two ministers met on the sidelines of the 78th Session of the United...

The victims "were martyred while performing their sacred national duty to defend the southern borders of the sister Kingdom of Saudi Arabia", which has led a military coalition against Yemen's Houthi rebels since 2015, the military said in a statement. The incident occurred as Saudi Arabia is pushing for a...

Nearly a week after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of being responsible for the killing of a Sikh activist, hundreds of Sikh protesters rallied outside Indian diplomatic missions in Canada on Monday, trampling pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and burning flags. Many protestors said they don't feel...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-- Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA) has launched a new TV channel called Saudia Alaan (Saudi Now) to highlight the kingdom’s “rapid progress” towards the Saudi Vision 2030 and its recent advancements. The ceremony, held under the patronage of the Minister of Media and Chairman of the Board of...

MANAMA, BAHRAIN - This week’s BD 70 million (US$186 issue of Government Treasury Bills has been oversubscribed by 149 percent. The bills, carrying a maturity of 91 days, are issued by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain.  The issue date...

The officials are suspected of "bad management" and negligence, among other offences, a statement from the prosecutor general's office said, adding that seven of them served currently or previously in offices responsible for water resources and dam management. "The mistakes that they made" and their "negligence in the matter of...

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a former army chief, has ruled for nearly a decade in the Arab world's most populous country, which is now mired in a deep economic crisis. Experts had predicted Sisi would move forward the 2024 election, ahead of a possible switch to a flexible exchange rate...

ABU DHABI, UAE –  Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Monetary Fund Dr Abdul Rahman Bin Abdullah Al Humaidi said that Arab countries account for about 60 percent of the global Islamic financial industry, which amounted to US$3 trillion by the end of 2021. Al...

Messina Denaro was one of the most ruthless bosses in Cosa Nostra, the real-life Sicilian crime syndicate depicted in the Godfather movies. He was convicted by the courts of involvement in the murder of anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone in 1992 and in deadly bombings in Rome, Florence and Milan in...

Since 2020, a ceasefire deal brokered by Damascus ally Moscow and rebel-backer Ankara has largely held in the northwest, despite periodic clashes. Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, more than half a million people have been killed.

A government shutdown would put the finances of hundreds of thousands of workers at federal parks, museums, and other sites at risk, but it could also carry significant political costs for Biden, who is running for re-election. The White House wants any budget bill passed by lawmakers to include $24...

New York, US--Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, has stressed the importance of strengthening ties with the United Kingdom, including the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which is an essential element of the strategic partnership and will contribute to achieving common interests. This came during Albudaiwi’s meeting...

Many of the dead are believed to have been swept out to sea, from where their bodies are still washing ashore. Others are thought to be buried beneath the debris that carpets whole neighborhoods of Derna. More than 43,000 people have been displaced from the city and neighboring parts of...

A drone "struck a military post belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization, adjacent to the area where a violent riot was taking place", the army said. It added that "shots were fired toward" Israeli soldiers near the border during the strike, without reporting any casualties.

US President Joe Biden has repeatedly said he is seeking to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia, a fellow nuclear power, and will not send American troops. His administration has also distanced itself from Ukrainian attacks into Russia itself. But Lavrov pointed to the billions of dollars in Western military...

The massive $4.2-billion dam built by Ethiopia has stoked tensions with Egypt and Sudan as they fear the dam will severely reduce their share of Nile water. Both nations have repeatedly asked Addis Ababa to stop filling it until an agreement has been reached. The talks are expected to pave...

Benghazi, Libya - Libya's flood-devastated port city of Derna will host an international conference next month to aid reconstruction efforts, authorities in the east of the divided country said. There was no immediate reaction from the internationally recognized government in Tripoli nor any details on how the rival administration would accommodate...

JERUSALEM - Israel offered its congratulations to Saudi Arabia on the kingdom's national day on Saturday as the two countries move closer towards a possible normalization of ties. "We send our sincere congratulations to the king, government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the occasion of the...

Sharjah, UAE -- A cooperation agreement was signed between the Sharjah Academy of Astronomy, Space Sciences & Technology (SAASST), the Department of Town Planning and Survey, the Sharjah Electricity, Water and Gas Authority (SEWA), and the Sharjah Municipality, to work on implementing the Cube Satellite project, Sharjah Sat-2. Sheikh Sultan...

JERUSALEM - Israeli and Lebanese troops exchanged tear gas fire on Saturday on a disputed and highly militarised section of the demarcation line with the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, the two armies said. The Israeli army said its troops used "riot dispersal means" to turn around a Lebanese earthmover that had...

The navy, with support from the civil defense, "was able to rescue 27 illegal migrants aboard a rubber boat that was sinking off the Chekka coast"

Nairobi, Kenya - Ethiopia said Saturday that it has begun a second round of negotiations with Egypt and Sudan over a controversial mega-dam built by Addis Ababa on the Nile, the source of long-running tensions between the three nations. Ethiopia this month announced the completion of the fourth and final filling...

Migration is "a reality of our times, a process that involves three continents around the Mediterranean and that must be governed with wise foresight, including a European response," he added. Noting the risk to the lives of migrants if they are not taken to safety, he warned against turning "the...

Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the 19th Asian Games in a colourful ceremony in Hangzhou, launching a two-week sporting extravaganza that boasts more athletes than the Olympics. After being delayed by a year because of China's now-abandoned zero-Covid policy, over 12,000 competitors from 45 nations and territories will battle it...

Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq is working to complete the necessary preparations for the visit of Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani to Moscow in the next few weeks, said Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein. "Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein, met with Sergey Lavrov, on the...

NEW YORK, US - The United Kingdom will be holding a summit on artificial intelligence (AI) so that nations can come together to “understand it, govern it, harness its potential and contain its risks”, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden told the UN General Assembly. Dowden said the so-named AI Safety...

YEREVAN, ARMENIA  - Chairman of the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) Abdullah Mohamed Al Mazrouei and the host country’s Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan have together inaugurated the UAE-Armenia Business Forum here. The forum saw the signing of four Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs); with three of...

New York, US-- The GCC foreign ministers and the UK foreign minister have exhorted Iraq to uphold international agreements and United Nations resolutions on the demarcation of the Kuwaiti-Iraqi borders. Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Member States and the UK's Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and...

This comes after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hinted at the ongoing efforts to establish ties between the two nations during an interview with Fox News.

Looking to shore up ties between the two countries, Kuwait and China have signed cooperation agreements across a range of sectors, including renewable energy, infrastructure, low-carbon recycling. The agreements were signed in the Chinese city of Hangzhou and were presided over by Kuwait's crown prince and Chinese president.

Iran said it had called in the Swiss envoy to deliver a protest over a “provocative” US statement on its decades-old dispute with the UAE over three Gulf islands. The foreign ministry was reacting to a joint statement issued by the US and six Gulf Arab states backing UAE calls...

ABU DHABI, UAE - The volume of trade exchange between the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia grew by 28 percent in 2022, reaching US$37.4 billion (AED 137.51 billion), compared to US$29 billion (AED 107.41 billion) in 2018. The total non-oil trade between the UAE and Saudi Arabia rose...

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV also announced the launch of an "Economic Working Group" and "Financial Working Group," saying both will hold "regular and irregular meetings to strengthen communication and exchange on relevant issues."

China had discriminated against some of the Indian athletes "in a targeted and pre-meditated manner", India's foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a statement.

Netanyahu, who has repeatedly used the UN stage to issue dark warnings about Tehran, briefly gave pause at the General Assembly when he appeared to threaten nuclear attack if Tehran pursues its own atomic bomb. "Above all -- above all -- Iran must face a credible nuclear threat. As long...

The EU is to start releasing money to Tunisia under a pact aimed at stemming irregular migration from the country, the European Commission said. EU lawmakers, the bloc's ombudsman and migrant assistance charities have questioned whether the deal with Tunisia meets European rights standards. Tunisia is struggling with high debt...

Iran announced the restoring of diplomatic ties with Djibouti over seven years after it joined other regional nations in severing ties with Tehran in support of Saudi Arabia. The decision by the Horn of Africa nation came months after Shiite-dominated Iran and Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia resumed relations under a China-brokered...