World

Even as its legal dispute with the government of Djibouti escalates, DP World said it has a “very positive outlook” on its financial and operational performance, reiterating that Djibouti is a “very small part” of its network. Mohammed Al Muallem, CEO and managing director for the UAE region at DP …

The General Assembly on Tuesday voted by an overwhelming majority to temporarily grant the “State of Palestine” additional rights and privileges, allowing it to head the biggest bloc of developing countries at the United Nations. A whopping 146 states voted in favor of Resolution A/73/L.5, while only three countries — the …

A US Treasury Department worker has been charged with leaking secret government records to a reporter for stories about investigations of Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Russian diplomats and alleged Russian agent Maria Butina. Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards, 40, is accused of using a cellphone with an encryption app to send …

Dr Sultan Ahmad Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), met Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi at an invitation-only energy leaders’ roundtable, as the UAE seeks to expand partnership and investment opportunities, especially in the energy sector. The roundtable, …

A senior adviser to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has accused Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, of destroying the chances of Middle East peace in order to win a byelection, after Morrison said he might recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Nabil Shaath said on Tuesday that Palestinian officials were now …

A plan to avert an offensive by the Assad government against the last major rebel-held area in Syria stumbled Monday when the main extremist group failed to leave a proposed buffer zone as part of a deal to demilitarize the region. However, Russia may still prevent Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad from launching an …

North and South Korea held their first three-way talks with the United Nations Command (UNC) on Tuesday to discuss ways to demilitarize the border as the neighbors push for peace, Seoul’s defense ministry said. The two sides agreed this week to begin reconnecting rail and road links, in spite of …

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz on Monday ordered an internal probe into the unexplained disappearance of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi as a joint Turkish-Saudi team was set to search the Saudi consulate in Istanbul where he was last seen on October 2. A Turkish diplomatic source said investigators …

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, said on Monday it is committed to meeting India’s rising oil demand as the kingdom expects its oil production to rise next month from the current 10.7 million barrels per day, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al Falih said on Monday. India, the world’s …

Flash floods have killed at least 13 people in the Aude region of southwest France, according to multiple local news outlets. A resident in one village called it “the apocalypse” as intense rains overwhelmed roads and drainage systems overnight into Monday morning. Three months’ worth of rain fell in just …

Let me start by what Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid Al Falih recently said: “The markets are adequately supplied. I don’t know of any refiner in the world who is looking for oil and is not able to get it.” We have not heard of any refiner who is offering …

A capsule carrying the two crew members of a Russian Soyuz rocket that malfunctioned on lift-off has landed safely in Kazakhstan. Russian Cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and US astronaut Nick Hague are reported to be “in good condition”, both Nasa and Russian media said. Search and rescue teams are now en …

Italy is working finalising the details of its participation in Dubai’s Expo 2020, Italian Ambassador to UAE Liborio Stellino said. Speaking to Gulf News on the sidelines of a press gathering to announce the details of the Italian cuisine week to be held in UAE later this month, Ambassador Liborio …

Reports in the Arab and Iranian press suggest that Russian forces are amassing near a town along the Euphrates River in Der Ez Zor province, Syria. While those reports are hard to corroborate, there’s good reason to believe them. After all, the town in question, Al Mayadin sits on the …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has expressed “discontent” with an inter-Korean military pact reached during last month’s summit, South Korea’s foreign minister said on Wednesday, in a rare disclosure of signs of disagreement with its U.S. ally. The two Koreas agreed to halt military drills, set up a no-fly …

Nikki Haley has resigned as the US ambassador to the United Nations, and will leave her post at the end of the year, in a move that stunned allied diplomats and other senior officials. Haley and Donald Trump announced her departure in the Oval Office. The timing came as a …

Ahead of a meeting Tuesday with Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, US Defense Secretary James Mattis praised Greece as a “solid” and “excellent” ally and described Souda Bay base on the island of Crete as “one of our most important ports of call in the Mediterranean.” The meeting of the …

European carmakers are rolling out electric vehicles like the ones on view at the Paris Motor Show to burnish their reputations as technology leaders and to compete with Tesla. But also because EU regulations don’t leave them much choice.  New emission standards mean Europe will soon see an upsurge in …

If the international community takes a common stance against Israel, it cannot continue blatant killings in Palestine, a Palestinian academic said on Saturday, Anadolu reports. Speaking at the “Palestine: Facing New Challenges, Preparing for Future” session on the second day of Muslim Future Thinkers Forum at Ibn Haldun University in Istanbul, Sami …

It could be difficult for Saudi Arabia and its allies to fully replace lost Iranian barrels once oil-related US sanctions on the latter come into effect from November, analysts tell Gulf News. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman told Bloomberg in an interview during the weekend that the kingdom …

A veteran Republican operative and opposition researcher solicited and raised at least $100,000 from donors as part of an effort to obtain what he believed to be emails stolen from Hillary Clinton, activities that remain of intense interest to federal investigators working for special counsel Robert Mueller’s office and on …

President Johnson with Gen. William Westmoreland in South Vietnam in 1967.CreditCreditYoichi Okamoto/Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library By David E. Sanger Oct. 6, 2018 WASHINGTON — In one of the darkest moments of the Vietnam War, the top American military commander in Saigon activated a plan in 1968 to move nuclear …

Saudi Arabia is preparing to double-down on its bet that Masayoshi Son can pick the technology giants of the future. The country’s sovereign fund will make another $45 billion investment in Son’s massive Vision Fund. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) is set to make the investment as it looks for …

The EU has yet to collectively agree to seek restitution for European taxpayers from Israel when it demolishes EU-funded schools, shelters and other facilities in Palestine. Tánaiste Simon Coveney said Israel had demolished emergency shelters, schools and water and power supply facilities, including water tanks and solar panels, that had …

India will buy 9 million barrels of Iranian oil in November, two industry sources said, indicating that the world’s third-biggest oil importer is to continue purchasing crude from the Islamic republic despite US sanctions coming into force on November 4. “Refiners have placed November nominations to lift 1.25 million tonnes …

Bloomberg’s Senior Executive Editor for Economics, Stephanie Flanders, and five other Bloomberg journalists spoke to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud Wednesday night at a royal compound in Riyadh. In the wide-ranging interview, the prince spoke about his relationship with Donald Trump, his commitment to IPO Aramco, …

Russia has called on the United States to explain experiments with biological and chemical weapons in Georgia, with various Russian officials warning Washington that Moscow won’t tolerate such trials near its borders. Major General Igor Kirillov, chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, revealed during an interview with …

Russian spies have been accused of involvement in a series of cyber plots across the globe, leading the US to level charges against seven agents. The US Justice Department said targets included the global chemical weapons watchdog, anti-doping agencies and a US nuclear company. The allegations are part of an …

Mahatma Gandhi’s images beamed on Burj Khalifa this evening, marking the commencement of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of India’s Father of the Nation. The special LED show, jointly organised by the Indian Embassy, Abu Dhabi, Indian Consulate in Dubai and Emaar Properties, took place at 8:20pm and 8:40pm on Tuesday. Gandhi Jayanti …

The Enoc Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Enemed, the state-owned fuel distributor and supplier in Malta, to strengthen cooperation for capital projects in Malta and other international markets. As part of the agreement, the group will explore growth opportunities in Malta, and potential areas of cooperation between …

The World Council of Muslim Communities — an Abu Dhabi-based international organisation to address challenges faced by Muslim communities across the world and fulfil their ambitions — will present UAE’s model strategies including women empowerment and youth engagement to the Muslim communities across the world, a top official said on …

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday that rebel group Failaq al-Sham has started withdrawing its forces and heavy arms from a demilitarized zone in northwest Syria. The group is the first to comply with a requirement to leave a demilitarized buffer zone set up by Turkey and …

The second edition of the Palestine Circus Festival, entitled “United for Freedom”, opened in Ramallah on Thursday, with the participation of about 200 local and international artists, according to press release. Palestinian officials, a representative of the European Union, representatives of international and local cultural and artistic organizations, municipalities and …

Russia and North Korea were among the countries this week using speeches at the United Nations General Assembly to attack U.S. foreign policy and call on President Trump to change tactics on a host of issues. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, known for his fiery rhetoric, used his speech at …

Syria’s top diplomat told the world Saturday that his country’s “battle against terrorism is almost over” after more than seven years of civil war, as an envoy from another of the planet’s most troubled spots — North Korea — prepared to address the U.N. General Assembly. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid …

A tsunami swept away buildings and killed at least several hundred people on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, dumping victims caught in its relentless path across a devastated landscape that rescuers were struggling to reach Saturday, hindered by damaged roads and broken communications. Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said …

Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov took aim at President Trump in an address to the General Assembly on Friday, using quotes by former President Harry Truman. Lavrov did not mention Mr. Trump by name, but the attack was the most blistering in years. First in an address to the General Assembly and …

Russia is expected to sign a deal to supply advanced S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to India next week during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi, a Russian official said. The threat of US sanctions against buyers of Russian weapons — imposed most recently on China — won’t affect the …

The House Intelligence Committee voted Friday to release transcripts from more than 50 closed-door interviews from its Russia investigation, which will provide for the first time first-hand comments from some of President Donald Trump’s senior aides addressing questions about potential collusion. The committee took a bipartisan voice vote to release …

Imports of Iranian crude oil by major buyers in Asia hit a two-month low in August, hurt by a more than 80 per cent plunge in South Korean purchases ahead of upcoming US sanctions on Tehran, government and ship-tracking data showed. China, India, Japan and South Korea last month imported …

Air India has cancelled its discount on the cargo fare for transporting human remains from the UAE, and stopped the free repatriation of mortal remains for distressed Indians as well, drawing flak from social workers here. An official from India’s national carrier on Thursday confirmed that the airline cancelled the …

British defense minister Gavin Williamson said the “true identity” of one of the suspects in a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Salisbury had been revealed, apparently confirming media reports that the suspect was a Russian colonel. Earlier this month, British prosecutors charged two Russians – Alexander …

Pakistan ambassador to the UAE expects more investments to flow into Pakistan following the visit of the newly elected Prime Minister Imran Khan to the UAE last week. “We are very positive and hopeful that more investments will flow into Pakistan following the visit of Pakistan Prime Minister to the …

Japan has been announced as this year’s guest of honour at Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), which will run from October 31 to November 10 at Expo Centre Sharjah. SIBF’s organisers, the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), said the selection aligns with their goal of introducing Arab readers and intellectuals to …