• Russia working to establish visa-free travel with Gulf nations: Bogdanov

    Moscow, Russia -- Russia is working to establish a visa-free regime with all Gulf countries, said Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia's deputy foreign minister and special presidential representative for the Middle East and African countries. "In principle, such work is going on systematically. Because, of course, I think it is in the...
  • Ireland wants to be a gateway for UAE, Gulf states to EU market: Irish minister

    Abu Dhabi, UAE--Ireland wants to become a gateway for the UAE and other Gulf states to the European Union (EU) market, Simon Coveney, Ireland’s Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, told the Emirates News Agency (WAM). As evidence of thriving relations, he highlighted the growing Irish diaspora in Gulf Cooperation...
  • Qatar says hopeful for Gaza truce before month of Ramadan

    Doha, Qatar - Qatar is "hopeful" of a Gaza war ceasefire and is pushing for an agreement before Ramadan, its foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday. The gas-rich Gulf state, which hosts Hamas's political bureau, has been a key mediator in negotiations involving the Palestinian fighters, Israel, the United States and...
  • Gulf economies to outpace global forecast for 2024: FAB report

    Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The economies of the UAE and Gulf countries will outpace the global forecast for 2024, helped by the domestic multi-year investment cycle in the region, a report says. Despite recent geopolitical headwinds and muted global recovery, national and regional growth is expected to be driven by...
  • Indian PM Modi seeks enhancing of ties in Qatar visit

    Doha, Qatar - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday committed to strengthening ties with Qatar during his first visit to the gas-rich Gulf emirate since 2016. During a meeting with Qatar's ruler, Modi gave a "commitment to further expanding and deepening bilateral cooperation with Qatar", a statement from India's foreign...
  • Riyadh to host Saudi’s first snooker event in 2024

    London, UK - Saudi Arabia will stage its first ranking snooker event in 2024, with a prize pool of more than £2 million ($2.5 million) for the "fourth major". The inaugural Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters will trail only the World Championship in terms of prize money. The World Snooker Tour has...
  • India says Qatar freed eight ex-navy personnel

    "The Government of India welcomes the release of eight Indian nationals working for the Dahra Global company who were detained in Qatar," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "Seven out of the eight of them have returned to India," it added, thanking Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al...
  • Saudi more than doubles tourism target by 2030, says minister

    Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia drew 27 million foreign tourists in 2023 and has more than doubled its goal for the end of the decade, an official said on Tuesday. The announcement came less than five years after the Gulf kingdom fully opened up to tourism and as fears persist...
  • Iran’s navy seizes oil tanker off Oman in dispute with US

    The announcement came hours after a British-navy maritime security agency said armed men boarded the Greek-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged St Nikolas off Oman and changed course towards Bandar-e-Jask in Iran. Four or five "unauthorized boarders are reported to be wearing military-style black uniforms with black masks", the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations...
  • UAE orders trial of 84 on terrorism charges, says media

    Dubai, UAE - The Emirates is to put 84 people on trial for terror-related offenses, state media said on Saturday. The Gulf state's attorney general ordered the trial of "mostly members of the terrorist organization of (the) Muslim Brotherhood", official news agency WAM said. In 2013, the UAE tried 94 activists,...
  • Hamas urges US diplomat to end Israeli aggression in Gaza

    ISTANBUL, TURKEY - Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to use his current Middle East tour to end Israel's "aggression" as war rages in Gaza. The top US diplomat arrived in Turkey on Friday at the start of a trip that includes planned...
  • Saudi Arabia, Qatar denounce Gaza’s residents emigration plan

    Saudi Arabia and Qatar condemned comments by two Israeli ministers calling for Palestinians to emigrate from the Gaza Strip. Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Monday called for promoting "a solution to encourage the emigration of Gaza's residents" and the re-establishment of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip.
  • New PM announced by Kuwaiti ruler to end political stalemate

    Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, who was sworn in as emir last month, named Sheikh Mohammed Sabah al-Salem Al-Sabah, a popular ex-foreign minister, as the new premier. He replaces Sheikh Ahmed Nawaf al-Ahmed al-Sabah, son of the late emir whose death has raised hopes of a political shift in the country.
  • India says Qatar reduced death sentence of 8 navy personnel

    Indian media have reported that the eight Indian nationals -- among them former high-ranking and decorated officers, including captains who once commanded warships -- were arrested in Doha in August 2022.
  • Norway fund drops Aramco, 11 other Gulf firms over ’rights concerns’ 

    KLP, which manages over 700 billion kroner ($70 billion), said the exclusion amounted to $15 million. The fund dropped 11 companies in the telecommunications and real estate sectors from Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates "over unacceptably high human rights violations' risks".
  • Turkmenistan worried as Caspian Sea continues to shrink

    Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan - On the Caspian Sea coast in Turkmenistan, Batyr Yusupov can no longer ferry his passengers between two ports. There is not enough water. "I used to go between Turkmenbashi and Hazar," the 36-year-old ferry worker said of the ports separated by a small gulf on Turkmenistan's coast. "But...
  • New Kuwaiti emir rebukes parliament and cabinet in inaugural speech

    Officially taking over from his half-brother Sheikh Nawaf, who passed away on Saturday, Sheikh Meshal is faced with the task of pulling the country out of longstanding political paralysis and reforming a bloated public sector that have turned Kuwait into one of the Gulf's most laggard states.
  • UK shoots down ‘suspected’ drone attack in Red Sea

    London, UK - A UK destroyer has brought down a suspected attack drone in the Red Sea, defense minister Grant Shapps said on Saturday, amid rising maritime tensions in the region. Britain announced last month that it was sending HMS Diamond, one of its most advanced naval vessels, to the Gulf to...
  • Kuwait emir Sheikh Al-Sabah dead at 86, says royal court

    "With great sadness and sorrow, we mourn... the death of Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait," said a statement aired on Kuwaiti state television. In November, Sheikh Nawaf was admitted to the hospital "due to an emergency health problem", according to the official KUNA news agency.
  • Gulf expects no change in oil export despite deal at COP28

    Dubai, UAE - An agreement to "transition away" from fossil fuels may be a landmark moment but don't expect quick changes among the major producers of the Gulf, where the deal was hammered out. After the UN's COP28 climate talks in Dubai, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman immediately played...
  • US, Israel intel chiefs in Qatar to explore ‘next phase’ of Gaza truce

    The leaders of the US Central Intelligence Agency and Israel's Mossad were scheduled to meet Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the source said, adding that Egyptian officials were also taking part. The informed source said CIA director Bill Burns and Mossad head David Barnea would hold a...
  • COP28 host UAE braces for rising heat risk, targets carbon neutrality

    As global temperatures tick higher, with this year on course to be the hottest on record, the UAE is changing its building designs and urban planning to create cooler living environments, even outdoors, Almheiri said.
  • Arab and Iranian leaders likely to attend Saudi’s dual event on Gaza

    The emergency meetings of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation come after over one month of Israeli bombardment has killed more than 10,000 people in Gaza, many of them children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. With Israel's leaders rebuffing talk of a ceasefire until the captives...
  • Batelco launches mobile peering service in MENA region

    Manama, Bahrain - Batelco, part of the Beyon Group, announces its latest service “Mobile Peering” for members of the platform. Batelco is the first in the MENA region to offer a Mobile Peering service, which is an open interconnecting solution, enabling mobile operators and Internet Packet Exchange (IPX) providers to...
  • Israel Foreign Ministry denies relations with Bahrain cut off

    Dubai, UAE-- A day after Bahrain's parliament announced that its ambassador to Israel is being recalled, the Jewish state said it had not been informed about such a move, adding that relations with the Gulf state were “stable”. According to Israel's Foreign Ministry, the country has not received any “announcement...
  • India pledges to free its ex-navy men on death row in Qatar

    India's navy chief, Admiral R. Hari Kumar, told reporters on Monday that "every effort" was being made by the government to "get relief for our personnel".
  • Eni Q3 profit drops

    This drop is smaller than the 31 percent fall in Q2.
  • Turkey and Qatar reject ‘double standards’ in Gaza response

    Qatar's top diplomat Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said the two governments -- both Western allies -- "reaffirm our complete rejection of responding to the crisis with double standards when it comes to human life". "It is not permissible to condemn the killing of civilians in one context and justify it...
  • GCC unified tourist visa to be introduced within 2 years, says UAE minister

    ABU DHABI, UAE – Emirati Minister of Economy Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri has announced that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will roll out a unified Gulf tourist visa within the next two years which will grant travelers, access to six countries. Al Marri said the seventh meeting of...
  • GCC and ASEAN denounce Gaza attack, urge permanent ceasefire

    The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) also called for the release of some 200 hostages held by Hamas, as well as the restoration of basic services for Palestinians and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
  • ‘Act of cruelty’: 150 cats dumped in UAE desert, dozens die

    Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Some 150 cats have been found left for dead in the desert in the United Arab Emirates, the animal rights group PETA said on Friday. Activists in the oil-rich Gulf state said dozens of the cats had died, while some were rescued alive. PETA called on...
  • Fourth soldier dead due to Houthi attack, says Bahrain

    Manama, Bahrain - A fourth Bahraini soldier has died after an attack this week on his country's contingent in the Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen's Houthi rebels, the Gulf archipelago's army said. Bahrain had previously announced the deaths of three of its soldiers in Monday's attack near the Saudi border with Yemen....
  • Iran does not intend to build nuclear weapons: Raisi

    Defending his country's enrichment of uranium to 60 percent purity level, noting that it was a response to European states failing to live up to the 2015 nuclear agreement, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has categorically rejected the Western states' claim that Tehran intends to build nuclear weapons, in an interview...
  • Houthis display military strength two days after Saudi talk

    Armored cars, missiles and thousands of uniformed fighters filed past Houthi dignitaries in a show of strength from the Iran-backed group, as a military jet buzzed overhead. The parade took place two days after a Houthi delegation left Riyadh following "positive" but inconclusive talks aimed at ending a war that has ravaged...
  • Erdogan, Netanyahu meet as Turkey, Israel seek to improve ties

    Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in New York with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said "ties between the two countries were improving". After more than a decade of tensions, relations have improved with recent high-level visits, including that of Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Ankara last year.
  • Iran seizes two oil tankers and arrests crews for alleged fuel smuggling

    Tehran, Iran - Iran has seized two oil tankers allegedly carrying smuggled fuel in the Gulf and arrested their crews, state television announced on Friday. "The Revolutionary Guards naval forces seized two ships over the course of the last two days," state television said, citing Mohammad-Sharif Shirali, a Guards commander. "The...
  • Gulf banks to maintain resilience despite challenges, says S&P Global

    According to the credit rating agency, a combination of higher interest rates and production cuts by the OPEC is expected to restrain near-term growth prospects for major GCC economies. However, non-oil growth is anticipated to bolster the region's economies, particularly in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
  • Bahrain prison inmates suspend strike after 36 days

    According to some activists at least 800 inmates joined the strike, the biggest in Bahrain's history. But Bahraini authorities said only 121 inmates took part. The mass hunger strike was suspended after 36 days in the wake of assurances from the authorities to improve conditions. Activists said some prisoner's health...
  • GCC chief highlights private sector’s role in sustainable Gulf economy

    Manama, Bahrain--GCC Secretary-General Jassim Al-Budaiwi has emphasized the crucial role of the private sector in ensuring a sustainable and resilient Gulf economy. Al-Budaiwi made these remarks during his speech at the 62nd meeting of the Board of Directors of the Gulf Chambers, hosted by Bahrain. The meeting was chaired by...
  • US, Saudi, India, UAE eye railway accord at G20 summit: report

    New Delhi, India - President Biden, along with the leaders of India, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is likely to ink a railway deal to connect the Middle East during the G20 Summit in New Delhi, a report published in Axios.com said.  The initiative aims to establish...
  • Demarai Gray quits Everton to join Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ettifaq

    London, United Kingdom - Demarai Gray has left Everton for Al-Ettifaq ahead of Thursday's transfer deadline in the Saudi Pro League. The 27-year-old forward is the latest Premier League player to head to the Gulf nation, joining former Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson at the club managed by Steven Gerrard. Gray's departure...
  • Smart factories transform manufacturing across GCC

    Saudi Arabia and UAE lead the region in rapidly embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution, shifting from traditional factories to smart ones.
  • Liverpool turns down Al-Ittihad $190m offer for Mohamed Salah

    LONDON, UK - Liverpool have rejected a blockbuster £150 million ($190 million) offer for Mohamed Salah from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad, according to reports on Friday Egypt star Salah has been linked with a move to the Gulf State for several weeks and it is believed a verbal offer was made...
  • Gulf Federation for Electronic Sports formed, will develop regional talent

    Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The Gulf Federation for Electronic Sports was established Thursday on the sidelines of the Next World Forum, to support, nurture, and develop Gulf talents through annual tournaments hosted by all countries. The launch was attended by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi...
  • Abu Dhabi to unveil one of world’s biggest airport terminal

    Dubai, UAE - An airport terminal able to handle up to 45 million passengers a year will open in Abu Dhabi in November, state media said Thursday, accelerating competition in the crowded Gulf market. Terminal A in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates capital, touted as one of the world's biggest, will...
  • Iraqi security forces seize 15 tons of illegal drugs and precursor chemicals

    War-scarred Iraq, originally mainly a drug transit country, has faced an explosion in narcotics use in recent years, mainly of captagon and crystal meth.
  • Another Saudi sports push: PIF buys stake in US mixed martial arts league

    Combining elements of everything from boxing to judo and Muay Thai, mixed martial arts (MMA) had a limited following in Saudi Arabia just a decade ago, but that started to change when the kingdom hosted the popular regional Desert Force competition in 2014.
  • Sharjah to host Gulf-Iraq business forum to ramp up economic ties

    Sharjah, UAE--Sharjah will host the first-ever Gulf-Iraq Business Forum on 26th and 27th September to boost economic ties between the GCC and Iraq. The event is an initiative of the Federation of GCC Chambers and is being organized in partnership with the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry...
  • Iran inaugurates final phase of country’s largest gas field

    The South Pars gas field is one of the world's largest natural gas condensate fields. Iran shares the gas field with energy giant Qatar and there are 24 platforms on the side of the Islamic republic which has been developing it in the Gulf since the 1990s.
  • Spanish footballer Veiga to play for Saudi club Al Ahli

    Gabri Veiga, one of Spain's most promising young players, signed for Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli from Celta Vigo in a move greeted with disquiet in Spain. Clubs in the Gulf state have signed several of football's top veteran stars this summer on huge deals, including Ballon d'Or holder Karim Benzema...
  • GCC chief stresses importance of strategic partnership with US

    Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--GCC Secretary General Jasem Albudaiwi has emphasized the importance of Gulf-US strategic relations that support joint cooperation and coordination across all fields. In a statement today, he highlighted the outcome of the joint meeting which was held last June between the GCC foreign ministers and the USA. The...