Latest United Arab Emirates News

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2019 file photo, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the tolerance minister of the United Arab Emirates, speaks to The Associated Press in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The chair of Britain's Hay literary festival said Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020, that the event will not return to Abu Dhabi after one of the festival's curators alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Sheikh Nahyan while working with him. When asked about the allegation by the AP, the UAE's Foreign Ministry said it does not comment on personal matters. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

UK festival curator accuses UAE minister of sex assault

Oct. 21, 2020 5:50 PM EDT

LONDON (AP) — The chair of Britain’s Hay literary festival said Sunday the event will not return to Abu Dhabi after one of the festival’s curators alleged that she was sexually assaulted by the tolerance minister of the United Arab Emirates while working with him. Lawyers for the minister...

In this photo released by Combined Maritime Forces, a boarding team from a British royal navy vessel, the HMS Montrose, transits towards a stateless dhow, a traditional cargo ship that plies the Persian Gulf and surrounding waters, in the northern Arabian Sea, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020. The British royal navy seized 450 kilograms 450 kilograms (990 pounds) of methamphetamine from the dhow in the largest-ever bust by a joint maritime operation in the region. (Combined Maritime Forces via AP)

UK warship seizes 450 kilograms of meth in Arabian Sea

Oct. 21, 2020 6:37 AM EDT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A British royal navy vessel seized 450 kilograms (990 pounds) of methamphetamine in the northern Arabian Sea in the largest-ever bust by a joint maritime operation in the region, officials said Wednesday. The HMS Montrose seized the drugs hidden aboard a stateless dhow, a...

This undated photo released by Emirates News Agency, WAM, shows Ibrahim al-Abed, the founder of the state-run news agency. Ibrahim al-Abed, a pioneering media figure as the oil-rich nation grew into a regional power, has died. He was 78. (WAM via AP)

Founder of UAE state-run WAM news agency dies at 78

Oct. 21, 2020 1:00 AM EDT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Ibrahim al-Abed, the founder of the United Arab Emirates' state-run WAM news agency and a pioneering media figure as the oil-rich nation grew into a regional power, died Tuesday. He was 78. Al-Abed long served as the head of the country's National Media Council, a...

Emirati officials pay first Israel visit after forging ties

Oct. 20, 2020 8:56 AM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — A delegation of senior Emirati officials visited Israel on Tuesday for the first time since the two countries agreed to normalize relations, where they signed a slew of bilateral agreements meant to solidify their new ties. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin accompanied Emirati Finance...

Toby Gregory's yard that is adorned with 1,006 white crosses to represent Oklahoma deaths due to COVID-19, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020, in Tulsa, Okla. Gregory was able to keep up with the state death toll until last week, and then it became too many. He says he doesn't have the room or supplies to keep up with the current death toll, but will do about 50 more crosses. (Mike Simons/Tulsa World via AP)

The Latest: Ireland sets new virus restrictions for 6 weeks

Oct. 19, 2020 8:12 PM EDT

LONDON — Ireland’s government is putting the country at its highest level of coronavirus restrictions for six weeks in a bid to combat a rise in infections. Premier Micheal Martin said Monday the measures take effect at midnight Wednesday and run until Dec. 1. People are being asked to stay at home,...

FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, file photo, an official stands at the door of an Israeli El Al airliner after it landed in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The first commercial passenger flight to Israel by a carrier from the United Arab Emirates landed near Tel Aviv on Monday, Oct. 19, 2020, further cementing a normalization deal between the two countries. (Nir Elias/Pool Photo via AP, File)

First commercial passenger flight from UAE lands in Israel

Oct. 19, 2020 11:53 AM EDT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The first commercial passenger flight to Israel by a carrier from the United Arab Emirates landed near Tel Aviv on Monday, further cementing a normalization deal between the two countries. Etihad Airways Flight No. 9607 landed at Israel's Ben-Gurion international airport just after...

FILE - In this Nov.13, 2018 file photo, Jihad Azour, the IMF's director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department reacts during his press conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The coronavirus pandemic is hitting countries in the Middle East in wildly different ways, but nearly all are in the throes of an economic recession this year and all but two, Lebanon and Oman are expected to see some level of economic growth next year, according to the latest report published by the International Monetary Fund on Monday, Oct. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

IMF: Nearly all Mideast economies hit by pandemic recession

Oct. 19, 2020 8:04 AM EDT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic has pushed nearly all Mideast nations into the throes of an economic recession this year, yet some rebound is expected as all but two — Lebanon and Oman — are anticipated to see some level of economic growth next year, according to a...

The national flags of Bahrain, Israel and America, flutter in near the Israeli flag carrier El Al plane that will fly an Israeli delegation, accompanied by U.S. aides, to Bahrain to formalise relations and broaden Gulf cooperation, at Ben Gurion airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP)

Israel, Bahrain sign deal establishing formal ties

Oct. 18, 2020 3:14 PM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and Bahrain on Sunday agreed to establish formal diplomatic relations, making the small Gulf country the fourth Arab state to normalize ties with Israel. The U.S.-brokered agreement capped a one-day visit by a high-level delegation of American and Israeli officials to Bahrain....

U. S. Army, Arizona National Guard Pvt. Ronald Aguilar, right, takes the temperature of a man at a drive-thru COVID-19 saliva test on the main campus at Arizona Western College, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020, in Yuma, Ariz. The testing, organized by the Yuma County Public Health Services District, lasted from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and saw 671 tests administered, according to Yuma County spokesperson Kevin Tunnell. The purpose of the testing, according to Yuma County, was to capitalize on the recent development of a saliva test for COVID-19 by Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute. (Randy Hoeft/The Yuma Sun via AP)

The Latest: Melbourne eases restrictions after cases drop

Oct. 17, 2020 11:54 PM EDT

MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia’s second-largest city, Melbourne, has loosened lockdown restrictions as new and active COVID-19 continue to decline. From midnight Sunday, Melbourne residents will no longer face limits on the time they can spend away from their homes for education or recreation....

In this Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020, photo provided by the Iranian Health Ministry, medics tend to a COVID-19 patient at the Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital in Tehran, Iran. Iran is confronting a new surge of infections that is filling hospitals and cemeteries alike. (Akbar Badrkhani/Iranian Health Ministry via AP)

Iran announces its virus death toll passes 30,000

Oct. 17, 2020 10:47 AM EDT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran announced Saturday that its death toll from the coronavirus has passed the milestone of 30,000, in what has been the Mideast region's worst outbreak. Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari announced that the total death toll from the outbreak had reached at least 30,123. She...

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