DUBAI, UAE - Authorities in Yemen have identified a suspect in the killing of a World Food Program official in the southern Taez province, a security official has told AFP. Moayad Hameidi, the head of the UN food agency's office in Taez, was killed in a shooting on Friday in the...

The sinking of the vessel, or an on-board explosion, would have unleashed a thin slick of oil across the Red Sea, imperilling wildlife, coastal fishing villages, lifeline ports and maritime traffic. Fixing leaks below deck was especially fraught given the intense heat and vapours coming off the crude, which can...

Aboard Nautica , Yemen - The United Nations on Monday handed over a vessel that will take on board oil from a decaying tanker in the Red Sea off war-torn Yemen, an operation aimed at averting an environmental catastrophe. The handover ceremony took place aboard the Nautica, which is being renamed...

According to Qatar's foreign ministry, Doha will reopen embassy in Abu Dhabi and its consulate in Dubai immediately. The UAE too will throw it embassy open in Doha. The UAE's Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, spoke to Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Qatar's Prime Minister and also its Foreign...

A Yemenia Airways plane carrying 277 travelers departed at around 8 pm, seven years after Sanaa's international airport was blockaded by the Saudi-led coalition. Two more flights will depart on Monday and Tuesday, officials said. The Houthis' Works Minister Ghaleb Mutlaq said about 200 flights would be needed to accommodate...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has stressed the need for coordination, integration and interdependence among GCC countries in all fields. At its 156th session on Sunday, the Council focused on strengthening joint Gulf action, with the Council reviewing the integration process among...

The strategic partnerships between the two sides seek to focus on peace, security, stability, integration, and economic prosperity in the Middle East.

In an unprecedented salvage plan, the UN has purchased a super-tanker to remove the oil from the vessel in the Red Sea. The actual pumping will start in about 10 days to two weeks, said Gressly. The 47-year-old Safer has not been serviced since Yemen's civil war broke out in...

The new envoy, Alireza Enayati, previously served as Iran's ambassador to Kuwait, assistant to the foreign minister and director general of Gulf affairs at the foreign ministry, the English-language Iran Daily said. There was no immediate confirmation of his appointment from the foreign ministry of the Islamic republic.

The Bahraini decision comes the day after the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia against a backdrop of unexpected rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran, brokered by Beijing. The warming of relations between the region's two great rivals has paved the way for a major diplomatic reshuffle in the Arab world.

He stresses on resolving the Palestinian issue, expressing concerns over escalating Israeli attacks and calling for a collective response to establish an independent Palestinian state. Taha also expresses the OIC's commitment to peace and stability in Yemen, Libya, and Syria, and urged increased solidarity with Somalia.

DUBAI, UAE - Conflict-plagued countries in the Middle East are among the most vulnerable to climate change but are almost entirely excluded from meaningful financing to mitigate its effects, aid groups warned on Thursday. In a joint report focusing on Iraq, Syria and Yemen, the International Committee of the Red Cross...

"Everybody is serious. Serious means everybody is looking for peace," Mohammed al-Jaber said in his first extensive comments after meeting with Houthi leaders in Sanaa last month. But he added: "It's not easy to be clear about next steps."

Tehran, Iran-- Oman is keen to improve the military and defense ties with Iran in order to ensure the security of the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman. This was stated by Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tarik in a meeting in Muscat on Tuesday with the visiting...

Jake Sullivan said that the meetings will help carry forward some very tangible initiatives that will be unlike anything they have seen in the region in recent years.

To prevent a damaging oil spill in the Red Sea, the UN Development Programme in March took the unprecedented step of purchasing its own supertanker to remove more than a million barrels of oil from the beleaguered FSO Safer. The 47-year-old ship has not been serviced since Yemen's civil war...

Previous attacks have been blamed on Somali pirates but they have fallen in recent years as a result of international security operations. Pirate attacks fell to their lowest level in nearly three decades in 2021, according to the International Maritime Bureau watchdog.

In one of the deadliest stampedes in a decade, more than 80 people died and hundreds were injured at a charity distribution event in Yemen, according to Houthi officials. The tragedy struck the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country a few days before Eid al-Fitr. A Houthi official said many women and...

"The technical committees are now doing their work in this context, and it is expected that there will be exchange visits to consider the procedures we need to reopen embassies." foreign ministry spokesperson Majid Al-Ansari told a briefing. A UAE official confirmed that the reopening of embassies is "under process".

Recent months have seen increasing Arab engagement with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has been politically isolated in the region since the war broke out. A flurry of regional diplomatic activity has been underway in the past week as regional relations shift following a decision by Saudi Arabia and Iran...

Yemen faces its best chance to strike a peace deal since the country's civil war started over eight years ago, although much work remains to be done, UN envoy Hans Grundberg said. "The truce has continued to deliver well beyond its expiration six months ago. The parties are engaging on...

The two countries had severed ties seven years ago after Saudi Arabia executed a revered Saudi shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. They have pledged to work for stabilizing the situation in the Middle East, where they have been supporting opposite sides in the conflicts of Syria and Yemen.

A day after a major prisoner exchange, more than 100 prisoners of war were flown from Saudi Arabia to Yemen on Monday, raising hopes for peace in the future. Two ICRC planes carrying 48 prisoners each flew to Sanaa, Yemen's rebel-held capital, while a third with eight captives took off...

The delicacy of saltwater fish, buried in salt for weeks at a time, remains a staple as Egyptians celebrate on Monday the ancient spring festival of Sham al-Nessim. But it is as acclaimed as it is divisive, pitting those who complain of the pungent odour against others gleefully marrying feseekh...

Sanaa, Yemen-- Yemeni rebels and government forces freed scores of prisoners Sunday on the last of a three day exchange of nearly 900 detainees, boosting hopes of ending their protracted civil war. Planes carrying detainees took off at the same time from the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa and the government-controlled...

The first flight of the day took off from the southern Saudi city of Abha before 9:00 am (0600 GMT), headed for Yemen's Houthi-held capital Sanaa with 120 Houthi rebel prisoners, ICRC public affairs and media adviser Jessica Moussan said. It was followed by a flight from Sanaa to Riyadh...

Arab countries gathered in Jeddah on Friday to discuss ending Syria's long spell in the diplomatic wilderness as regional relations shift following Saudi Arabia and Iran's decision to resume ties.

The first plane departed Sanaa, the rebel-held capital, for government-controlled Aden hours after a Saudi delegation departed without a fresh truce but with plans to meet again. Both initiatives come a month after Gulf heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran, who back opposing sides in the Yemeni conflict, agreed to re-establish...

Houthi political leader Mohamed Ali al-Houthi said the talks were conducted in a "positive atmosphere", with plans for another round. On Saturday, before the Saudi visit, a Yemeni government source said the Saudis and Houthis had agreed in principle on a six-month truce to pave the way for three months...

The two leaders talked about de-escalation in the region and maintaining deterrence against threats from Iran and elsewhere.

Nearly 900 prisoners, most of whom were fighting with Houthi rebels, will be flown between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, which leads the military coalition fighting on behalf of the ousted government, the official said on Tuesday.

The Saudi ambassador's visit seeks to support the prisoner exchange and also to explore venues of dialogue to reach "a sustainable, comprehensive political solution."

The delegation's arrival comes roughly a month after China helped broker a surprise rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, fuelling hopes for progress on ending the Yemen conflict that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. Omani mediators arrived in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on Saturday.

In a telephonic conversation with UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Blinken urged calm during the coming holiday seasons across the Middle East region. They discussed bilateral and regional issues, including “our shared commitment to peace in Yemen”, Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant...

Saturday's visit is part of "implementing the tripartite agreement" reached on March 10 between the two regional powers, brokered by China, to restore relations ruptured in 2016, the Saudi foreign ministry said. The two longtime Middle East rivals have now pledged to work together.

Nearly a decade of war in Yemen has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, both directly and indirectly, and triggered what the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The Huthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, triggering the conflict with the government backed for eight years by...

The two regional powers have cut ties twice since the 1987 crackdown on protesting Iranian pilgrims in Makkah. They have now pledged to work together for regional stability.

TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran on Wednesday welcomed a US call to help end the long-running conflict in Yemen by backing a peace process, one year after a United Nations-brokered truce dramatically reduced fighting. Diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict have multiplied since the Yemeni government's main foreign backer Saudi Arabia signed a...

Sheikh Thani Bin Abdullah Bin Thani Al-Thani of Qatar, who serves as a UNHCR advocate, has been the biggest contributor to the fund, providing more than $110 million to date, or more than half of total contributions.

Mohammed bin Salman has also worked to mend rifts with regional rivals like Qatar and Turkey, and even offered up the Gulf kingdom as a possible mediator for the war in Ukraine.

Warning that it could be left with no option but to cut support for children in Yemen without a funding boost, the UN said that more than 540,000 children under the age of five are suffering life-threatening severe acute malnutrition with one child continuing to die every 10 minutes from...

The UN has confirmed that Yemen's Houthi rebels and its internationally recognized government have reached an agreement to exchange more than 880 prisoners. This comes in the wake of the China-brokered deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran to restore diplomatic ties between the two countries. The two regional powers back...

In order to reinstate full food rations for millions in Yemen, the WFP has said that it requires more than double the money raised for all United Nations agencies in Yemen this year. The UN was able to raise only $1.2 billion for all its agencies in Yemen at a...

The initial conversation between Xi and Mohammed bin Salman took place during bilateral talks at a summit in Riyadh in December, an official told AFP. Several other meetings also laid the groundwork for last week's talks in Beijing, the official said.

It posted $161bn profits last year on high oil prices.

Negotiations overseen in Switzerland by the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross will see Yemen's warring parties holding talks in Geneva starting Saturday to discuss a prisoner exchange, according to rebels and government officials. Hostilities have largely stopped since a UN-brokered ceasefire took effect in April last...

The 47-year-old ship has not been serviced since Yemen's devastating civil war broke out in 2015 and was left abandoned off the rebel-held port of Hodeida, a critical gateway for shipments into the country heavily dependent on emergency foreign aid. UN officials have voiced fears that the ship would crumble,...

The UN says more than 21.7 million people - two-thirds of Yemen's population -- need humanitarian assistance this year. Its appeal aims to reach the 17.3 million most vulnerable among them. Erin Hutchinson, the Norwegian Refugee Council's Yemen chief, said the world had "abandoned Yemen at this crucial crossroads" by...

The World Health Organization on Sunday appealed for $392 million ahead of a UN-led donor conference in Geneva to avert the "potential collapse" of the health sector in war-torn Yemen. The call came with the Arabian Peninsula country in the throes of one of the world's worst humanitarian tragedies after...

A more than eight-year-long war between Saudi-backed government forces and pro-Iran Houthi rebels has devastated Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula. The war has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths both directly and indirectly, and pushed the nation to the brink of famine.