Official tells AP 5 prisoners sought by US in a swap have left Tehran; flight-tracking data show Qatari plane flying out

UAE police say they have seized $1 billion worth of Captagon amphetamines hidden in doors

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Police in Dubai seized 86 million tablets of the amphetamine known as Captagon hidden in a shipment of doors and decorative building panels, authorities said Thursday, estimating its street value at just over $1 billion. The bust comes as sales of...

A Tanzanian opposition leader was arrested briefly amid human rights concerns

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Tanzania’s opposition leader Tundu Lissu was arrested and later released on bail by the police who accused him of unlawful assembly and obstructing police officers. Lissu was barred from attending a human rights rally Sunday in Ngorongoro, in the north of...

Group of 20 countries agree to increase clean energy but reach no deal on phasing out fossil fuels

NEW DELHI (AP) — Group of 20 leaders agreed Saturday to triple renewable energy and try to increase the funds for climate change-related disasters but maintained the status quo with regards to phasing out carbon spewing coal. At a news conference shortly after the G20 leaders —...

A helicopter crashes off the United Arab Emirates coast, killing 1 pilot while another missing

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A helicopter crashed off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, killing one pilot while another remains missing, authorities said Friday. The crash happened offshore, though the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authorities did not specify where. It...

US federal court filings show Greek shipper pleads guilty to smuggling sanctioned Iranian oil, to pay $2.4 million fine

Dubai International Airport sees 41.6 million passengers in first half of year, more than in 2019

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international travel, announced Tuesday it served 41.6 million passengers in the first half of this year — exceeding figures for the same period in 2019 as travelers return to the air after the lockdowns of...

An abandoned desert village an hour from Dubai offers a glimpse at the UAE's hardscrabble past

AL-MADAM, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Nestled in sand dunes an hour’s drive from the skyscrapers of Dubai, a desert village abandoned in the 1990s stands as an eerie relic of the rapid urbanization of the United Arab Emirates. Built in the 1970s to house semi-nomadic Bedouin, the...

UAE's al-Jaber urges more financing to help Caribbean and other regions fight climate change

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The head of this year’s U.N. global climate summit urged more availability of funds to fight climate change in the Caribbean during a regional meeting Thursday in Barbados. Sultan al-Jaber, the United Arab Emirates’ minister of industry, noted that...

Iranian officials at UN confirm agreement to release 5 Americans to house arrest