In a statement, the Israeli army cited Palestinian reports and witnesses as saying clashes broke out between Palestinians and Israeli civilians who were herding sheep near Burqa village. Both sides threw rocks, the Palestinians let off fireworks and "Israeli civilians shot towards the Palestinians," the army said.

NEW YORK, US - Two senior UN humanitarian officials have called for more funding and fewer bureaucratic impediments to support civilians affected by the crisis in Sudan, including roughly 14 million children. Ted Chaiban, Deputy Executive Director for Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations at the UN children’s agency (UNICEF), and...

New Delhi, India--The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed with the UAE and operationalized last year is a “special achievement for India’s foreign and trade policy,” India's Minister of State for External Affairs, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, told Lok Sabha, the lower House of India’s Parliament yesterday. He was answering...

The dispute over the field -- known as Arash in Iran and Dorra in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia -- dates back to the 1960s when Iran and Kuwait awarded overlapping offshore concessions. Last year Kuwait and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to develop the field, despite objections from Iran which...

Life in Bahrain largely moves indoors during the summer months, with the ever-present Arctic blast of air-conditioning systems.

Lower oil production, high inflation, tighter monetary policies, increased borrowing costs, and the rising cost of servicing debt continue to strain the region's finances, data and analytics company GlobalData said in its Global Risk Report Quarterly Update -- Q1 2023. The region's risk score went up from 54.3 out of...

Crude oil is the main revenue source for Libya, which has been torn by more than a decade of stop-start conflict, involving foreign powers and a myriad of militias, since a NATO-backed revolt toppled strongman Moamer Kadhafi in 2011. Over the past decade, Libya has been regularly plagued by clashes...

The US military says Iran has either seized or attempted to take control of nearly 20 internationally flagged ships in the region over the past two years. Washington said its forces blocked two attempts by Iran to seize commercial tankers in international waters off Oman on July 5, while Tehran...

BEIRUT, LEBANON - Lebanon on Thursday handed over to Italian authorities an alleged member of Italy's notorious 'Ndrangheta mafia wanted for involvement in the international drug trade, a judicial official said. Lebanese authorities "handed over Bartolo Bruzzaniti, 48 ... to an Italian security delegation which put him on a private plane...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia will extend the voluntary 1 million barrels per day cut, announced in July, to the month of September, with the possibility of further extension. Saudi Press Agency, quoting an official source from the Kingdom's Ministry of Energy, said the country's production for the month...

The mechanism, a price ceiling of $60 per barrel on Russian oil, was agreed and introduced by the European Union, G7 and Australia, in early December. Companies based in EU and G7 member states and Australia are banned from providing services enabling maritime transport, such as insurance, of oil above...

Both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait renewed "their previous and repeated calls to the Islamic Republic of Iran to negotiate" the demarcation of their maritime borders to settle the issue, according to the statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA). Recent attempts to revive negotiations have failed.

Amnesty said scores of women and girls, some as young as 12, have been subjected to sexual violence, including rape, with some held for days in conditions of sexual slavery. For its report, Amnesty said it had interviewed more than 180 people, primarily in eastern Chad where refugees from Darfur...

Dubai, UAE - Human rights groups have accused Saudi Arabia of detaining five relatives of a US citizen who pursued a commercial lawsuit in Pennsylvania against royals including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The five detainees appeared briefly on Monday at the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh, which was established in...

Tehran, Iran - Iran's Revolutionary Guards launched naval drills on Wednesday near strategic Gulf islands controlled by Iran but claimed by the United Arab Emirates, state media said. The manoeuvres, which were being held mainly near Abu Musa island but also around Greater and Lesser Tunb, came two weeks after the...

Washington, United States - They are ubiquitous in the United States, controversial in Europe and coveted in South Asia. As heatwaves intensify across the world, air conditioning has taken center stage. For better or for worse, these power-hungry appliances are among the most common adaptations to a warming world. They have...

Kuwait City, Kuwait -- As the blazing summer sun beats down on Kuwait, shoppers stroll down a promenade lined with palm trees and European-style boutiques, all without breaking a sweat. In one of the world's hottest desert countries, it's all made possible by architecture and technology: the entire street is located...

The Safer, a floating storage and offloading facility, has been moored around 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the port of Hodeida since the 1980s. It has not been serviced since war broke out eight years ago between rebels, who control the capital Sanaa and the waters where the Safer is...

She was appointed by the president on October 11, 2021, two and a half months after the president granted himself sweeping powers on July 25 by dismissing his then-prime minister and suspending parliament. The constitution, which Tunisian president had amended by referendum in the summer of 2022, granted the president's...

Jakarta, Indonesia-- Saudi Arabia and Indonesia have discussed defense and military cooperation in a meeting between Indonesian Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.  According to SPA, the two officials discussed bilateral relations and military and defense cooperation, as well as other...

On July 11, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced that Iraq would start paying for Iranian gas with oil, as a way of circumventing the complicated mechanism. "Work is continuing with the American side concerning unpaid bills, which have fallen to 9.2 billion" euros ($10 billion), Sudani told reporters at...

Amman, Jordan-- Jordan and Cyprus are looking to boost cooperation in energy, trade, industry and tourism sectors in order to deepen the overall partnership between the two countries. In this regard, King Abdullah and Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides met on Tuesday at Al Husseiniya Palace, and discussed enhancing cooperation in...

The former US president now faces the most serious legal threat yet as he campaigns to return to the White House. Since March it is his third criminal indictment and charges him with three counts of conspiracy and one count of obstruction and he is already scheduled to go on...

The UAE, set to host COP28 from November to December in the business hub of Dubai, requires official permission for protests but effectively bans demonstrations it deems disruptive. At the upcoming UN climate talks "there will be space available for climate activists to assemble peacefully and make their voices heard", it...

SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) Board of Directors Chairman Ahmed Al-Khateeb, laid the foundation stone for the construction of a new library in the University of Sarajevo here. The funding for construction and equipping of the library has been through a generous US$22 million grant...

DUBAI, UAE – UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei launched the National Program for Infrastructure Development (Salamah 365). This is a transformational project under the performance agreements signed by federal authorities in 2022 in the presence of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President,...

Yemen's finance minister and central bank governor as well as the Saudi ambassador were expected to disclose details of the grant at a signing ceremony in Riyadh. Since 2015, Riyadh has led an international coalition backing the Aden-based government in its war against Houthi rebels, who seized the capital Sanaa...

"It is unfortunate that the concerned authorities claiming freedom of expression continue to provide licenses to repeat these acts contrary to international law, and this leads to a lack of respect for religions," OIC Secretary-general Hissein Brahim Taha said. Around the time Taha was speaking, two men set the Quran...

The announcement has angered environmental groups and comes amid an internal debate within the ruling Conservative party on green policies. (AFP) The main opposition Labour party has said it will not issue any new North Sea drilling licenses if it regains power in a general election due next year.

ADNOC "is accelerating its decarbonization plan to advance its net-zero ambition to 2045, compared to its previous target of 2050," the company said in a statement. It said it intends to "increase its investments and redouble efforts in decarbonization," relying on an initial financing of $15 billion for "low-carbon solutions"...

Two men set the Quran alight outside parliament in Stockholm at a protest similar to previous ones that have sparked tensions between Sweden and Middle Eastern countries. Salwan Momika and Salwan Najem kicked and stomped on the Muslim holy book, then set its pages on fire before slamming it shut.

The reconciliation effort is designed to bridge the gap between the parallel governments of Hamas in the blockaded Gaza Strip and of the Palestinian Authority -- controlled by Abbas's secularist Fatah movement -- which administers Palestinian-run areas of the occupied West Bank.

The fighting between Fatah and Islamists in the camp, which erupted overnight and subsided by the evening, killed a Fatah military leader and four of his colleagues, the secularist movement said. A ceasefire was agreed from 6:00 pm (1500 GMT) during a meeting of Palestinian factions including Fatah, also attended...

The de facto land and maritime borders between the neighbouring states were established by the United Nations in 1993, three years after Iraq under Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. While Iraqi officials have previously expressed a readiness to recognise Kuwait's land border, the maritime border remains a point of contention.

DUBAI, UAE - Dubai Customs has, to date, processed 214 customs transactions worth US$38.7 million (AED142.2 million) under cover of the International Road Transport (TIR Carnet) system, the global customs transit procedure. Dubai Customs cleared the first transit consignment under the TIR carnet in 2020. Dubai Customs is a signatory...

RABAT, MOROCCO -  Morocco's King Mohammed VI has expressed hope for a return to normality and reopening of borders with North African neighbor Algeria, which cut diplomatic ties nearly two years ago. "We pray to the Almighty for a return to normality and a reopening of the borders between our two...

Ahead of unity talks between various Palestinian factions boycotted by the militant group Islamic Jihad, President Mahmud Abbas arrived in Egypt on Saturday. Apart from chairing meeting of the heads of factions, the president is also scheduled to meet with the Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the Palestinian news agency...

The talks to be hosted in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah next weekend will discuss a path toward peace in Ukraine, convening representatives from Kyiv, Western powers and developing countries. Russia is likely to miss the meeting just as it did not participate in a similar gathering last...

ABU DHABI, UAE - The UAE Ministry of Finance (MoF) on Saturday announced administrative penalties for violations related to the Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses. The penalties will be imposed on Taxable Persons, whether an individual or a legal entity, who do...

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said on Saturday that the Saudi Pro League had "completely changed the market" and he expects more and more high-profile players to move there. City winger Riyad Mahrez this week became just the latest big name to move to Saudi football, following...

The African Union demanded Niger's military "return to their barracks and restore constitutional authority" within 15 days as the EU intensified pressure on the coup leaders by suspending security cooperation with the country. General Abdourahamane Tiani, head of the Presidential Guard since 2011, appeared on state television to declare himself...

Tehran, Iran--Iranian authorities have banned the editor-in-chief of reformist daily Etemad "from any press activity for a year" over coverage of last year's nationwide protests, the newspaper reported on Saturday. The journalist, Behrooz Behzadi, was "accused of publishing false content", Etemad said, citing a decision by the prosecutor's office following a...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA -  Egypt's president on Friday called on Russia and Ukraine to find "urgent solutions" to allow the resumption of Ukraine grain exports to Africa, after Moscow's withdrawal led to the collapse of a Black Sea pact. The Ukraine grain deal was agreed last year and allowed around 33 million...

Paris, France - Italy and Turkey have asked to jointly host the 2032 European Championship, UEFA announced on Friday. European football's governing body said it had "received a request" from the Italian (FIGC) and Turkish (TFF) football federations "to merge their individual bids into one joint bid". In 2021, UEFA initiated...

Most delegations were led by their environment and climate change ministers, while the US delegation was headed by Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. Emirati oil boss Sultan Al Jaber was also at the Chennai meeting, ahead of leading the upcoming COP28 talks.

During the meeting on Thursday with the Danish charge d'affaires, foreign ministry officials delivered a protest note urging an end to "these disgraceful acts, which violate all religious teachings (and) international laws and norms" and can "fuel hatred between religions", the official Saudi Press Agency said. Saudi Arabia and Iraq...

The bill must also be approved by the senate before being ratified by King Abdullah II and published in the official gazette.

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- Sheikh Saeed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, brother of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Abu Dhabi Ruler's Representative, passed away on Thursday. An obituary issued by the Presidential Court said: “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful... With hearts...

The air force jet was on a training exercise when it crashed on Wednesday in the south of the country, killing its crew, according to the kingdom's defense ministry. The statement from the ministry said that the accident resulted in the "martyrdom of the aircrew" without specifying exactly how many...

Niamey, Niger -- An attempted coup was underway Wednesday in the fragile state of Niger, where members of the Presidential Guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum, triggering a standoff with the army, sources said. The head of the West African bloc ECOWAS said Benin President Patrick Talon was heading to Niger on...