World

More than one in three European Jews have considered emigrating over the past five years because they no longer feel safe amid a surge in anti-Semitism, a European Union study showed on Monday. The survey in 12 countries that are home to 96 percent of European Jews showed widespread malaise …

Yemen’s Saudi-backed government is willing to accept a U.N. role in Hodeidah’s seaport, a lifeline for millions of people during the country’s war, but not a long-term presence in the city itself, Foreign Minister Khalid al Yamani said on Monday. Mediator Martin Griffiths, who opened United Nations-sponsored peace talks between …

Tayseer Khaled, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), member of the Political Bureau of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, wrote in a blog on social networking sites on International Human Rights Day,  the 10th of December : Today is the tenth of …

A Dubai Cares delegation, led by Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer at Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, has visited Kenya to monitor and evaluate the implementation of its “Transforming Students Learning and Teacher Professional Development through ICT” programme, launched in 2014. The programme, …

Abu Dhabi has officially been selected to host the 2019 United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, UNIDO, General Conference, the organisation’s supreme policy-making organ which convenes every two years. The announcement was made following a vote by the 53 member states of the Industrial Development Board (IDB) at their 46th annual …

Kalimat Group, a leading global publisher of award-winning Arabic children’s and young adult books, and Gallucci Publishing, an Italian publisher known for books that help address challenges faced by the youth, have come together to establish the Gallucci-Kalimat publishing house. Kalimat Group was established to fill a gap for children’s …

The Ministry of Economy has organised a joint UAE-Finland Business Forum on the sidelines of the country’s economic and trade delegation participation in Slush 2018, world’s leading startup event, in the Finnish capital of Helsinki. Noura Mohammed Juma, UAE Ambassador to Finland, and a number of officials from the Ministry …

Dubai Land Department, DLD, has organised the 10th edition of its Dubai Property Show, DPS, in Mumbai with the participation of a number of leading developers. The premium real-estate exhibition, which is set to run from 7th – 9th December, was inaugurated by Mohamed Saleh Ahmed Al Jalah Al Teneji, …

Qatar Petroleum said on Saturday it had agreed to buy a 10 percent participating interest in three of ExxonMobil’s offshore exploration blocks in Mozambique’s Angoche and Zambezi basins. It will be part of a consortium made up of affiliates of ExxonMobil with a 50 percent stake, Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos …

Lana Nusseibeh, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the UAE to the UN, announced that the UAE will contribute US$5 million to the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) for the year 2019 at CERF’s annual High-Level Pledging Event on December 7th. “As a testament to CERF’s effectiveness and the UAE’s …

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that the detention of Chinese technology giant Huawei’s chief financial officer in Canada was an example of “arrogant” U.S. policy abroad. Speaking at a news conference in Milan, Lavrov said the detention showed how Washington imposes its laws beyond its jurisdiction. Huawei …

Global trade enabler DP World today announced the successful closing of the acquisition of 100% of the Unifeeder Group (Unifeeder), an integrated logistics company with the largest and best-connected feeder and growing shortsea network in Northern Europe with connectivity to approximately100 ports. Unifeeder operates the largest and most densely connected …

OPEC tentatively agreed an oil-output cut on Thursday but was waiting to hear from non-OPEC heavyweight Russia before deciding the exact volumes for a production reduction aimed at propping up crude prices, two sources from the group said. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak flew home from Vienna earlier for talks …

India will import crude oil from Iran using a rupee-based payment mechanism, an industry source involved in discussions told Reuters on Thursday, adding that 50 percent of those payments will be used for exporting items to Tehran. India’s state-owned UCO Bank is expected to announce the payment mechanism in the …

The government of South Korea has awarded the UAE Minister of State for Defence Affairs, Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Bowardi, the Order of National Security Merit, awarded for outstanding meritorious services in the interest of national security. Al Bowardi, who is currently on an official visit to Seoul, received the …

The UAE Ambassador to Maputo, Khalid Ibrahim Al Qahtani, has met with the Prime Minister of Mozambique, Carlos Agostinho do Rosário, where they reviewed trade and investment ties between the two countries. During the meeting, Prime Minister Rosário affirmed Mozambique’s participation in the upcoming Gavi – The Vaccine Alliance ‘Mid-Term …

Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, announced today at the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 Unified Summit that 22 new nations have signed up for the upcoming World Games, taking the total number of participating countries to 192, its highest-ever. As the UAE …

H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Smt Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister of the Republic of India co-chaired the Ministerial Meeting of the 12th session of the UAE-India Joint Commission Meeting, JCM, held on 3rd and 4th December, 2018 at the …

Dr. Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi, Speaker of the Federal National Council, FNC, and Roger Nkodo Dang, President of the Pan-African Parliament, signed a memorandum of cooperation and understanding at the FNC’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The memorandum with the parliament, which includes 55 African countries, aims to promote discussion, coordination …

The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, SCCI, held discussions with a delegation from Lombardy in Italy on opportunities to enhance economic and trade relations between the investment companies and institutions that operate in Sharjah and their counterparts in Italy, and reviewed ways to support partnerships between the two sides …

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived on Sunday in Mauritania, resuming a tour of Arab countries after attending the G20 summit in Argentina. Saudi state TV showed footage of the crown prince’s plane arriving in Nouakchott. Before attending the G20 summit, he visited the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt …

Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi, the Ambassador of UAE, has met with General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Army Staff, COAS, of the Pakistan Army at the General Headquarters of Pakistan Army in Rawalpindi. During the meeting, the UAE envoy said that the UAE’s wise leadership attaches great attention to …

Japan imported from the United Arab Emirates 23.579 million barrels of crude oil in October 2018, data released by the Agency of Energy and Natural Resource in Tokyo showed. This accounts for 24.6 percent of Japan’s total crude imports, the agency that belong to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and …

The Abu Dhabi Government and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) have added Wintershall Holding GmbH to the Ghasha ultra-sour gas mega-project with a 10 percent stake. The Ghasha concession consists of the Hail, Ghasha, Dalma and other offshore sour gas fields, including Nasr, SARB and Mubarraz. Wintershall will …

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt expressed gratitude to the UAE on Monday for pardoning a British academic sentenced to life in prison on spying charges, as the Briton’s wife expressed her joy at the news. “Fantastic news about Matthew Hedges. Although we didn’t agree with charges we are grateful to …

Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Yukiya Amano highlighted the good progress made in the delivery of technical cooperation projects with the Member States, and encouraged the “development of more focused technical projects in which Member States, the IAEA and other partners can work together to help countries …

A U.S. service member was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday, the NATO-led Resolute Support mission said in a statement, bringing the U.S. combat death toll this year to eight. The identity of the service member and details about the incident will be shared at a later stage, said Debra Richardson …

The UAE and France have re-affirmed their determination to further consolidate their strategic partnership and doubled on their keenness to ensure close coordination and continued consultations at a time the region is witnessing increased volatility and instability. This came in a joint statement issued by the two countries following the …

South Africa will invest $1 billion in South Sudan’s oil sector, including in the construction of a refinery, the South African minister for energy and his South Sudanese counterpart for petroleum said on Friday. South Sudan’s oil industry is dominated by Asian firms including China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Malaysia’s …

The United Arab Emirates signaled on Friday that a British academic jailed for life on spying charges could be freed after his family appealed for clemency. Matthew Hedges was sentenced on Wednesday on charges of spying for the British government, in a move described as deeply disappointing by Prime Minister …

Denmark has suspended future approvals of weapons and military equipment exports to Saudi Arabia in response to the killing of a dissident Saudi journalist and the kingdom’s role in the conflict in Yemen, the Danish Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. Germany has already suspended issuing future weapons export licenses and …

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, has emphasised that the UAE and France are partners in the fight against extremism and terrorism, support values of tolerance, promote dialogue, interaction and coexistence among peoples, civilisations …

Iran on Wednesday praised European efforts to maintain business with Tehran despite U.S. sanctions, citing “constructive meetings” with British and French officials in Tehran this week on setting up a way to conduct non-dollar trade. Iranian Foreign Ministry officials voiced more hope for the move a day after Foreign Minister …

A UAE court sentenced British academic Matthew Hedges to life in prison on charges of spying for the British government on Wednesday, his family and a state-run newspaper said, in a move described as deeply disappointing by Prime Minister Theresa May. The hearing lasted less than five minutes and his …

The United States has moved to disrupt an Iranian-Russian network that sent millions of barrels of oil to Syria and hundreds of millions of dollars to indirectly fund militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah. The complicated arrangement, described by the U.S. Treasury in a statement on Tuesday, involved a Syrian citizen allegedly using his Russia-based …

Russia, Turkey, and Iran will hold the next round of talks on Syria on Nov. 28-29 in Kazakhstan, Kazakh foreign minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said on Monday. Delegations of the Damascus government and the Syrian rebels are also set to attend, Abdrakhmanov told reporters. Source: Reuters

Refiners in Japan and South Korea are looking to resume Iranian oil imports from January after receiving waivers from U.S. sanctions on Tehran, sources familiar with the matter said. The unexpected resurgence in Iranian oil imports due to the waivers has helped push spot prices for Middle East crude and …

Germany has issued entry bans for 18 Saudi citizens suspected of involvement in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Riyadh’s Istanbul consulate, effectively banning them from the European Union’s passport-free Schengen zone. Monday’s move represents a sharpening of the position of Germany, which last month imposed a ban on …

By Sarah Safa*   During the latest visit of President Trump to the French Capital on November the 13th, two days after the commemoration ceremonies of the 1918 armistice, a controversy was raised over a Tweet that was posted by his French counterpart, Mr. Macron, in which he revealed that the …

The United States said it would oppose on Friday for the first time an annual resolution at the United Nations calling on Israel to rescind its authority in the occupied Golan Heights, drawing praise from Israeli officials. The Golan Heights form a buffer between Israel and Syria of about 1,200 …

UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Sudan, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, on enhancing bilateral relations. The MoU was signed by Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al Jarman, Assistant Minister for Human Rights and International Law at the ministry …

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy, have discussed the friendship and cooperation between the UAE and Italy. They also discussed the possibility of developing their relations in …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD     I made the mistake of reading, and the even bigger mistake of ‘buying’, M. M. Tawfik’s novel Candygirl: An Egyptian Novel, published in English by the AUC Press in 2013. (Mr. Tawfik did the translation himself, and he does a reasonably competent job …

Saudi Aramco has approached banks to finance its $5 billion Amiral petrochemical project that the state-owned oil producer plans to develop with France’s Total, five sources familiar with the matter said. Aramco, the world’s largest crude producer, plans to boost investment in refining and petrochemicals in a bid to cut …