Latest Persian Gulf News

Mnuchin’s interest in TikTok and distressed NY bank echoes his pre-Trump investment playbook

Mar. 16, 2024 10:53 AM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — It seems like a bizarre mishmash: A former Trump cabinet official is saying he wants to buy TikTok just days after leading a group that pumped $1 billion into a beaten-down bank. But it all actually fits in with the complicated career of Steven Mnuchin. The man who...

Mideast Starbucks franchisee firing 2,000 workers after being targeted in Israel-Hamas war boycott

Mar. 05, 2024 11:30 AM EST

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Middle East franchisee of Starbucks said Tuesday it has begun firing around 2,000 workers at its coffee shops across the region after the brand found itself targeted by activists during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. The...

Hungary's Orban says Trump's comeback as president 'only serious chance' for end of Ukraine war

Mar. 01, 2024 13:02 PM EST

ANTALYA, Turkey (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán confirmed Friday that he will visit Donald Trump in Florida next week, and described a possible comeback by the former U.S. president as the “only serious chance” for an end to the war in Ukraine. Addressing a...

Long-stalled Geneva motor show revs again as Renault, MG, BYD electrics roll onto its smaller stage

Feb. 27, 2024 00:02 AM EST

GENEVA (AP) — The century-old Geneva motor show is back in action for the first time in five years, and organizers are desperately trying to rev up its fortunes. The show skidded off track in 2020 — canceled at the last minute because of the coronavirus outbreak — and had been...

Jordan kills 5 drug smugglers on the Syrian border. The area is known for an addictive amphetamine

Feb. 18, 2024 22:36 PM EST

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordanian soldiers have killed five smugglers who allegedly tried to bring drugs into the country from neighboring Syria, the country's military. The army said the incident occurred early Sunday. It said four other suspected smugglers were wounded and “large...

Interior ministers from 4 Arab countries agree in Jordan that illegal drug trade needs to be tackled

Feb. 17, 2024 12:27 PM EST

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — The interior ministers of four Arab countries held talks in Jordan on Saturday to discuss ways of combatting the illegal drug trade in the region and agreed to set up a joint telecommunications cell to exchange information. The meeting between the interior...

Qatar frees 8 retired Indian navy officers whose death sentences over alleged spying were commuted

Feb. 12, 2024 05:32 AM EST

NEW DELHI (AP) — Qatar has freed eight retired Indian navy officers whose death sentences for alleged spying were commuted last year, India’s Foreign Ministry said Monday. The eight men were accused of spying while working at Al Dahra, a consulting company in the oil-rich Gulf...

The UAE ambassador to Syria takes post in Damascus after nearly 13 years of cut ties

Jan. 30, 2024 20:24 PM EST

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The first United Arab Emirates ambassador to Damascus in nearly 13 years took up his post on Tuesday as Syria has been reintegrating into mainstream regional acceptance. Syrian state media said the country’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad received...

Biden calls regional partners ahead of CIA chief's meeting in push for another Gaza hostage deal

Jan. 26, 2024 15:38 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden spoke Friday with his Egyptian and Qatari counterparts ahead of a trip by his CIA director meant to press toward a deal to secure the release of more hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a pause to fighting with Israel in Gaza. U.S. National...

A new, smaller caravan of about 1,500 migrants sets out walking north from southern Mexico

Jan. 25, 2024 18:00 PM EST

TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — A new, smaller caravan of about 1,500 migrants started walking north from southern Mexico on Thursday, a week after a larger group that set out on Christmas Eve largely dissolved. The migrants, most from Central and South America, said they had grown tired...