Efforts to defuse the crisis in Ukraine via a frenzy of telephone diplomacy failed to ease tensions on Saturday, with US President Joe Biden warning that Russia faces "swift and severe costs" if its troops carry out an invasion.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Saturday slammed Western claims of an imminent Moscow invasion of Ukraine as a "provocation" as he began new crisis talks with US President Joe Biden. Washington on Friday issued its most dire warning yet that Russia had assembled enough forces to launch a serious assault.

The decision was taken due to a feature that drowns out audible warnings.

The subject of the Iran nuclear deal has been somewhat on mute in Washington after 10 months of indirect talks failed to achieve the breakthrough that US President Joe Biden hoped for and a revival of the 2015 nuclear deal repudiated by his predecessor Donald Trump.

Signs of lower tensions between Russia-Ukraine have put investors at ease.

This comes amid recent attacks on the UAE by Houthi rebels from Yemen, which have prompted global condemnation.

Parties to the deal have been negotiating in Vienna since last year with indirect US participation. Talks were most recently halted at the end of last month, and the negotiators returned to their capitals for consultations.

This is a revision of an earlier proposal to divide into three companies.

With war clouds gathering over Ukraine, international diplomacy goes into overdrive on Monday with the French and Russian presidents to talk in Moscow and the German chancellor heading to the White House to meet with US leader Joe Biden.

Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Shamkhani said that despite "limited progress in the #ViennaTalks, we are still far from achieving the necessary balance in the commitments of the parties'. Talks on reviving the agreement were halted last week and the negotiators returned to their capitals for consultations.

Russia has now put in place 70 percent of the forces it would need for such an attack, US officials have said.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, who is also the deputy prime minister, praised the US for its support for his country.

US steps on lifting sanctions are "good but not enough", Iran said Saturday, following Washington's announcement it was waiving sanctions on Iran's civil nuclear program.

The resumption of the waiver, ended by the Donald Trump administration in 2020, ‘would be essential to ensuring Iran's swift compliance’ if a new deal on controlling Tehran's nuclear program can be reached in talks in Vienna, a US State Department official has said.

China's President Xi Jinping declared the Beijing Winter Olympics open Friday as China tried to turn the page on a build-up overshadowed by human rights concerns, Covid and a US-led diplomatic boycott. Fireworks exploded over the "Bird's Nest", making Beijing the first city to host both a Summer and Winter...

The deployment, to "assist the UAE against the current threat", follows a phone call between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. The UAE suffered its third missile attack in consecutive weeks on Monday.

Pfizer and BioNTech will soon ask US regulators for emergency authorization for a Covid-19 vaccine for children aged five and under, US media reported Tuesday. This is the last age group in the United States that is not yet eligible for coronavirus shots. As early as Tuesday, the companies could...

Qatar's energy minister told the European Union on Tuesday that his country could not rescue Europe alone if Russia turned off gas supplies amid spiking tensions over Ukraine. But the minister, Saad al-Kaabi, told EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson that Qatar was ready to help Europe "in times of need"....

The move underscores the Qatar’s strategic importance, including in a scramble to shield European allies from potential Russian energy cutoffs.

The United States has condemned the Houthi missile attack on the UAE. On Monday morning, the UAE air defense forces had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by Houthis.

US President Joe Biden will build on attempts to ensure energy back-up for European allies when he hosts Qatar's emir Monday in a White House meeting overshadowed by fears that Russia could cut exports over the Ukraine crisis.

The first location is scheduled to open in Dubai later this year.

Qatar ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani has the Ukraine crisis, efforts to engage the hardline Taliban administration in Afghanistan, and backroom talks on reviving a nuclear accord with Iran on the agenda for his White House meeting with US President Joe Biden.

In the United States, the 5G usage near airports have been opposed by many airlines, which claim that it may disrupt aircraft radar measurement devices, which inform pilots of the height of their aircraft above the ground. Several Arab countries, meanwhile, have already embraced 5G, and others are expected to...

A US judge on Thursday canceled the sale of oil and gas exploration leases of some 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico, after a coalition of environmentalist groups sued President Joe Biden’s administration to stop the drilling, citing major concerns.

Ras Al Khaimah is taking steps to further enhance its growing healthcare sector through the continuation of an alliance between Arabian Healthcare Group (AHG) and CommonSpirit Health.

Steve Griessel, the new CEO of the Paramount Group will be providing strategic, financial and operational leadership to the company and will work with the Board of Directors, shareholders and senior leadership team.

A number of US companies are willing to invest in basic infrastructure and logistics to support Tunisia's efforts in this field, US Ambassador in Tunisia Donald Blome stressed at his meeting on Monday with Transport Minister Rabii Majidi. The two parties underlined the considerable progress of Tunisia's millennium challenge program...

The investment is in Wisk, which looks to make autonomous air taxis.

It acquired properties worth $2.5 billion, and made sales of $1.5 billion.

The US navy said Sunday it had stopped a ship carrying 40 tons of a fertilizer that can be used to make explosives as it traveled from Iran along a route previously used to smuggle weapons to Yemen's Houthi rebels.

Qatar is in talks with the US and other gas exporters to prepare a contingency plan for a possible disruption in gas supplies should Russia decide to invade Ukraine.

The US Department of Energy put forward the observation in the third edition of the Solar Power in Your Community report, its guidebook to help local governments unlock environmental and economic benefits of increased solar deployment in their communities.

On Tuesday, both AT&T and Verizon agreed to scale back the launch of 5G near airports following an outcry from US airlines, who warned of mass disruptions. The White House, which has negotiated with both the aviation and telecommunications industries, praised the move.

The heads of the largest US airlines warned of a "catastrophic disruption" to travel and shipping if telecom firms rolled out their 5G technology as planned on Wednesday.

The exports of the Amman Chamber of Industry (ACI) increased last year in 2021 to "high" levels, compared to 2019, driven by the increase in exports of eight sub-sectors, according to official data. These figures indicate that Jordan's industry overcame hardships and enhanced its presence in important global markets, based...

The mother, 61, and her son, 39, were arrested on December 8 under a warrant issued by the Chinese authorities for alleged investment fraud in China between March 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014. The pair are due in court in the resort town of Paphos for the resumption of...

Top bosses of Google and Facebook were directly involved in approving an allegedly illegal 2018 deal to cement their dominance of the online advertising market, US court documents revealed Friday.

David Satterfield and Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee will travel to Riyadh, Khartoum, and Addis Ababa from January 17 to January 20.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Friday that a renewed deal with Iran on curtailing its nuclear program remained "possible" as talks in Vienna advance in a "better atmosphere". "We're arriving at the end of a long process... there's a better atmosphere since Christmas -- before Christmas I was...

The nine years spanning 2013-2021 all rank among the 10 hottest on record, according to an annual report by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published Thursday, the latest data underscoring the global climate crisis. For 2021, the average temperature across global surfaces was 1.51 degrees Fahrenheit (0.84...

As prices have surged, inflation has soared as a worry for global executives, overtaking concerns about Covid-19 disruptions in some regions, according to a survey released Thursday. In a "seismic shift," inflation now ranks second on the list of top external concerns after labor shortages, up from 22nd last year,...

Led by Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), a group of DEWA officials is on a visit to the United States to strengthen joint relations.

 Dubai Multi Commodities Centre has said it recorded its best year on record as it attracted 2, 485 companies in Dubai in 2021. The flagship free zone and Dubai government's authority on commodities trade and enterprise also saw its best June, August, September and November, reaching a total of over...

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America have welcomed the announcement that the UN Interim Transition Assistance Mission to Sudan is facilitating discussions to resolve Sudan’s political crisis.  "We strongly support this UN-facilitated, Sudanese-led dialogue initiative. We urge all Sudanese political actors...

Turkey Saturday warned against "provocative acts" ahead of talks between Russia and the United States next week to quell tensions over Russia's military buildup on the Ukrainian border.

The virus mutant has spurred the world to record 13.5 million cases in the last week alone -- 64 percent higher than the previous seven days -- the global average of deaths dropped three percent. France's public health authority said Friday that the risk of hospitalisation was about 70 percent...

Global stock markets wavered Friday as dealers awaited vital US jobs data and mulled the Federal Reserve's readiness to hike interest rates aggressively. London stocks edged higher in late morning deals, while Frankfurt nudged lower and Paris was flat nearing midday in the eurozone. The dollar was under pressure before...

Pierre Girgis was charged under a law that makes it illegal to act as a representative of a foreign government without registering with the US Justice Department.

None of the three attacks in less than 48 hours resulted in casualties but came as Iraq marked the second anniversary of the US assassination of Soleimani.