World

Former Chief of Army Staff General (r) Raheel Sharif has said that it was an honour for him to be part of Saudi-led Islamic Military Alliance as a commander. Addressing the Middle East Military Alliance and Coordination Conference, General (r) Raheel Sharif on Tuesday said that Muslim countries were facing …

Dubai-based Emirates airline, in a special offer, is offering a complimentary 96-hour UAE visa to all economy-class passengers travelling from Dhaka to destinations in Africa, Canada, Europe or US. Passengers booking a business- or first-class service will also get a two-night stay at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, along with …

A light seen in the night sky over the United Arab Emirates likely was a discarded Russian spaceship breaking up after re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Those in Abu Dhabi and Dubai shared online videos and pictures of the light seen in the sky Monday night. Aerospace websites and the Dubai Astronomy Group …

Spain cut its economic growth forecast for 2018, acknowledging the impact of an escalating political crisis that led the National Court in Madrid to jail two leading Catalan separatists. The Spanish economy will grow 2.3 percent next year instead of the 2.6 percent previously projected, the economy ministry said in …

A journalist who exposed her country’s links to the shady world of offshore banking has been killed in a fiery car bombing. Daphne Caruana Galizia was driving near her home on the island of Malta around 3 p.m. on Monday when her vehicle exploded, with the charred remnants of the …

Shaikh Nahyan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, and Barbara Eibinger-Miedl, Austrian Regional Minister for Economy, Tourism, Europe, Science and Research, attended the official signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two local organising committees for Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 …

Venezuela’s opposition refused on Monday to recognize a surprise win for the ruling socialists in a weekend regional election, potentially rekindling protests and fresh foreign sanctions on the oil-rich country’s moribund economy. Venezuela’s pro-government electoral board said President Nicolas Maduro’s candidates took 17 governorships, versus six for the opposition, in …

It was, says the Canadian Minster of Transport, the first time it’s happened in Canada. In a statement issued on Sunday, Marc Garneau revealed that on Thursday, a Skyjet flight was struck by a drone as it approached Jean Lesage International Airport in Québec City. “I am extremely relieved that …

A cargo plane chartered by the French military crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on its approach to the international airport in Abidjan, killing four crew members from Moldova and injuring six others from Moldova and France, officials said Saturday. Ten people were aboard the plane arriving from the capital of …

Two car bombs in separate parts of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu killed at least 22 people on Saturday and injured several others, police said. The first explosion – in the city’s K5 Junction area which is lined with government offices, hotels, and restaurants – destroyed several buildings and set dozens of …

The next time you see famous UAE businessman Majid Al Futtaim’s photo or any of the country’s billionaires on Facebook with a fishy caption, “Majid: We will make everyone rich!”, beware and don’t fall for it. Scammers are no longer content with just creating fake Facebook pages. They are now …

North Korea has renewed its threat to attack the U.S. island territory of Guam with missiles, warning that President Donald Trump’s social media antics and military moves are pushing Pyongyang over the edge. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published Friday a new article attributed to Kim Kwang Hak, …

A day after the United States and Israel pulled out of the U.N. culture and education body citing anti-Israel bias, UNESCO elected its first ever Jewish director general. Audrey Azoulay, France’s former culture minister, eked out a win over Qatar’s candidate and frontrunner Hamad bin Abdoulaziz Al-Kawari. UNESCO’s executive body …

US President Donald Trump will accuse Iran of failing to comply with an international nuclear deal, according to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Mr Trump will refuse to certify the deal and refer it to Congress, he told reporters. Such a move would not mean a US withdrawal from the …

By Farhana Qazi Who has the right to issue a fatwa, an Islamic ruling, is an important question that is confused by born-again scholars and unlearned authority figures. Today, there are thousands, if not millions, of Muslim scholars issuing legal edicts on wide-ranging subjects. What’s troubling is that hardliners as well …

The United States and Israel announced on Thursday they were quitting the U.N.’s cultural agency UNESCO, after Washington accused it of anti-Israeli bias. The withdrawal of the United States, which is meant to provide a fifth of UNESCO’s funding, is a major blow for the Paris-based organisation, founded after World …

The police in London and New York said Thursday that they were looking into complaints involving the disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein, the latest turn in a scandal that has consumed Hollywood over allegations of sexual abuse and harassment. The new reports are preliminary, but the fact that the police …

An American woman and her Canadian husband who were held hostage by militants in Afghanistan for five years have been freed along with their young children, President Trump said on Thursday, ending a case that has long frustrated diplomats and F.B.I. agents trying to secure their release. Pakistan’s military said …

Image copyrightUNKNOWN British IS recruiter Sally-Anne Jones was reportedly killed in a US drone strike in Syria, in June. Jones, from Chatham in Kent, joined so-called Islamic State after converting to Islam and travelling to Syria in 2013. Her death was first reported by The Sun. The BBC’s security correspondent Frank …

Russia accused the United States on Wednesday of allowing Islamic State to operate “under its nose” in Syria, saying Washington was letting the militant group move about freely in an area abutting a U.S. military base. The allegations, made by Russia’s Defense Ministry, center on a U.S. military base at …

European countries are scrambling to cobble together a package of measures they hope will keep the Iran nuclear deal on track if U.S. President Donald Trump ignores their pleas and decertifies the landmark 2015 agreement this week. The package would include a strong statement backing the deal by European powers, …

The government will spend whatever is necessary to make sure the UK is ready for Brexit, Downing Street has said. A No 10 spokesman said £250m of new money had been allocated this year to prepare for leaving the EU, “including the possibility of a no-deal scenario”. Speaking at Prime …

In 2015, Israeli government hackers saw something suspicious in the computers of a Moscow-based cybersecurity firm: hacking tools that could only have come from the National Security Agency. Israel notified the NSA, where alarmed officials immediately began a hunt for the breach, according to people familiar with the matter, who …

Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan will visit Seoul next week for strategic talks with First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam on Oct. 18, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. They will discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned trip to South Korea, slated for November, North Korea’s nuclear threats …

BRITAIN’S BROADCASTING REGULATOR on Monday concluded that Al Jazeera did not violate any rules in its controversial undercover investigation exposing the Israeli embassy’s campaign to target British citizens critical of Israel, a campaign that included attempts to destroy the careers of pro-Palestinian British politicians. The move by the communications regulator, known as …

President Trump proposed an “IQ tests” face-off with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson after the nation’s top diplomat reportedly called the president a “moron” and disparaged his grasp on foreign policy. In an interview with Forbes magazine published Tuesday, Trump fired a shot at Tillerson over the “moron” revelation, first reported by NBC News and …

Is there anything she can’t do? Angelina Jolie was reportedly tapped to aid in the capture of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, according to leaked International Criminal Court documents. A new report from The Sunday Times, based on 40,000 documents obtained by the French investigative website Mediapart, reveals the Oscar winner agreed to …

A trove of classified military documents, including the joint South Korea-US wartime operational plans for conflict with Pyongyang, were stolen by North Korean hackers, a lawmaker in Seoul said. Lee Cheol-hee, a member of the ruling Democratic party, on Tuesday said hackers had broken into a defence data centre in …

A top Emirati security official has said the only way for “Qatar’s crisis” to end is if Doha gave up hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup, his comments coming amid the ongoing diplomatic dispute between the energy-rich nation and four Arab countries. Dubai security Lt. Gen. Dhahi Khalfan, known for …

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant has “mega investment” plans for the world’s fastest growing oil market, according to Saudi Arabian Oil Company’s chief executive officer. The company, popularly known as Saudi Aramco, plans to create a fully integrated business in India and is interested in partnering with Indian companies, including …

Ethiopian maid Zenit Ali has post-traumatic stress disorder after being mistreated by her Saudi Arabian employer and deported in a government crackdown, but she still hopes to return to the Middle East. The 27-year-old is among some 70,000 illegal Ethiopian migrants expelled from the Gulf kingdom since March, as it …

A dual national member of Iran’s nuclear negotiating team has been jailed for five years for spying, news agency Tasnim said on Sunday, citing a spokesman for the judiciary. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei named the convicted man as Abdolrasul Dori Esfahani, without identifying his second nationality. Tasnim reported the sentence on …

By Graham E. Fuller The past two weeks have seen two referendums vote for national self-determination. The Iraqi Kurds voted for independence but the referendum was rejected by the central government in Baghdad. Then Catalans in Spain voted for their own independent state in a referendum similarly rejected by Madrid. …

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his nuclear weapons are a “powerful deterrent” which guarantee North Korea’s sovereignty, state media reported on Sunday, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said “only one thing will work” in dealing with the isolated country. Trump did not make clear to what he …

Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed Belhaif Al Nuaimi, UAE’s Minister of Infrastructure Development and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Transport Authority – Land and Maritime (FTA) has discussed with directors of ports methods of rallying support for the UAE’s nomination for membership of the International Maritime Organisation …

North Korea is preparing to test a long-range missile which it believes can reach the west coast of the United States, a Russian lawmaker just returned from a visit to Pyongyang was quoted as saying on Friday. Anton Morozov, a member of the Russian lower house of parliament’s international affairs …

Rallies are expected in Spain against Catalonian independence, after Sunday’s disputed referendum. Demonstrations are planned in the capital Madrid and other cities, with supporters calling for a similar rally in Catalonia’s capital Barcelona. Meanwhile, Spain’s government representative in Catalonia earlier apologised to those hurt during police efforts to stop the …

Russia is set to close major arms deals with two nations, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, once vehemently opposed to Moscow’s presence in the Middle East. In a historic visit to Moscow, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday to discuss oil, Iran’s growing …

President Trump is expected to announce next week that he will “decertify” the international nuclear deal with Iran, saying it is not in the national interest of the United States and kicking the issue to a reluctant Congress, people briefed on the White House strategy said Thursday. The move would …

Russian government-backed hackers stole highly classified U.S. cyber secrets in 2015 from the National Security Agency after a contractor put information on his home computer, two newspapers reported on Thursday. As reported first by The Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified sources, the theft included information on penetrating foreign computer networks …

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is a rational politician and the US needs to understand that to deal with the nuclear-armed country, a top Central Intelligence Agency Korea expert said Wednesday. ‘Beyond the bluster, Kim Jong-Un is a rational actor,’ said Yong Suk Lee, the deputy assistant director of the …

The personal cellphone of White House Chief of Staff John Kelly was compromised, U.S. officials believe. Politico, citing three unnamed government sources, reported Thursday that the issue may potentially date to December, when Kelly was still head of the Department of Homeland Security. A White House official told Politico that …

The UAE has highlighted the importance of involving the youth in international efforts to address various global challenges, as well as enabling and involving them in the decision-making process. This came in a statement made on behalf of the UAE by its delegation at a general discussion on social development …

The 2017 Gulf Crisis between Qatar and its GCC neighbors has developed into a clash of narratives that concerns not only the various regional interests in the Middle East, but also vital U.S. national interests. The Quartet (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt) has justified its embargo against Qatar due to its alleged political, ideological and financial support to non-state terror …