United Arab Emirates

Missile fire, claimed by Yemeni Houthi rebels in retaliation for airstrikes, further escalates tensionsThe United Arab Emirates intercepted two ballistic missiles claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels over the skies of Abu Dhabi early on Monday, authorities said, the second attack in a week that targeted the Emirati capital.The missile fire further escalates […]

Hundreds also wounded as Saudi-led coalition denies reports it bombed detention centre in Sa’adaThe UN has condemned an airstrike on a detention centre in northern Yemen as the death toll rose to more than 80.The airstrike in the rebel-held Sa’ada province on Friday morning followed a Houthi drone attack on the United Arab Emirates on Monday that killed […]

Hospitals overwhelmed in Sa’ada after attack levels buildings in Houthi northern heartlandAn airstrike on a prison in northern Yemen killed at least 60 people and wounded 200 more, while a separate attack shut down the country’s internet, as Saudi-led reprisals to a Houthi drone attack on the United Arab Emirates intensified.The violence marked an […]

Move against Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi made by lawyer for human rights defender jailed in UAEA lawyer representing a jailed human rights defender in the United Arab Emirates has filed a torture complaint against the new president of Interpol, Maj Gen Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi, as the official made his first visit to the international police agency’s headquarters […]

Coalition announces strikes on Houthi strongholds as global leaders rally round Abu DhabiHouthi forces who control much of northern Yemen say about 20 people have died in Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on the capital, Sana’a, a day after a Houthi drone attack killed three people in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia’s coalition partner.Neighbours […]

With petrol and diesel already close to record highs, driving costs look likely to increase againBritain’s hard-pressed households face a fresh threat to their living standards after fears of Middle East supply disruption sent the price of oil to its highest level in seven years.With the cost of petrol and diesel already close to their highest-ever level […]

Yemen’s Houthi forces claim strikes, which follow pressure on Iran to kickstart nuclear talks with USHouthi forces in Yemen have claimed responsibility for an apparent drone attack in Abu Dhabi that killed three people and is likely to raise regional tensions as a crucial phase nears in nuclear discussions with Iran.The strikes, which also injured six […]

People juggle work and Friday prayer as country switches to Saturday-Sunday weekend Employees and schoolchildren juggled work and studies with weekly Muslim prayers on the first ever working Friday in the United Arab Emirates, as the Gulf country formally switched to a Saturday-Sunday weekend.Some grumbled at the change and businesses were split, with many […]

Barak Ravid has written a fascinating account of four chaotic years in which some progress was nonetheless madeTrump’s Peace is a blockbuster of a book. Barak Ravid captures the 45th president saying “Fuck him” to Benjamin Netanyahu and reducing American Jews to antisemitic caricatures. Imagine the Republican reaction if Barack Obama had done that. […]

Talks between PM and crown prince of Abu Dhabi come after full diplomatic links brokered last yearNaftali Bennett is to make the first official visit by an Israeli prime minister to the United Arab Emirates since the two countries established diplomatic ties last year.Bennett will meet Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, on […]

Loujain al-Hathloul says actions of men on behalf of the UAE led to her iPhone being hacked and to her imprisonment and tortureLoujain al-Hathloul, the prominent Saudi women’s rights activist, has filed a lawsuit against three former US intelligence and military officers who have admitted in a US court to helping carry out hacking operations on behalf of […]

‘National working week’ aimed at improving work-life balance and economic competitivenessThe United Arab Emirates is cutting its working week to four-and-a-half days and moving its weekend from Friday-Saturday to Saturday-Sunday in a major shift aimed at improving the country’s competitiveness, officials have said.The “national working week” will […]

Iran’s natural allies are said to have been surprised by how much it had gone back on its own compromisesThe US is hoping pressure from Russia, China and some Arab Gulf states may yet persuade Iran to moderate its negotiating stance in regards to the steps the Biden administration must take before both sides return to the 2015 nuclear deal.Talks in Vienna […]

Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi’s election has raised concerns about human rights and the surveillance stateMaj Gen Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi’s ascent through the ranks of the interior ministry in Abu Dhabi is associated with the United Arab Emirates’ transformation into a hi-tech surveillance state.His personal achievements include a diploma in police management […]

Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi of United Arab Emirates elected despite concerns of human rights groups and MEPsA general from the United Arab Emirates accused of complicity in torture has been elected as president of the international policing agency Interpol in the teeth of fierce objections from human rights groups.Maj Gen Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi’s victory […]

An academic and a football fan who were held in the United Arab Emirates claim Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi oversaw physical abuseTwo British men formerly detained in United Arab Emirates are campaigning to prevent a senior Emirati official from becoming the next president of Interpol, accusing him of personal involvement in their arrests and torture.Academic […]

Satellite images reportedly detected construction of secret facility at Khalifa port amid growing US-China rivalryUS intelligence agencies found evidence this year of construction work on what they believed was a secret Chinese military facility in the United Arab Emirates, which was stopped after Washington’s intervention, according to a report on […]

Can the Middle East wean itself off oil? Plus: the return of AbbaGet the Guardian Weekly magazine delivered to your doorFew regions on Earth are more central to hopes of reining in global temperature increases than the Middle East. Financed by the west’s insatiable demand for fossil fuels, cities filled with air-conditioned skyscrapers and shopping malls […]

With the region warming twice as fast as the rest of the world but oil spoils keeping regimes in power, leaders are in a bindNorthern Oman has just been battered by Cyclone Shaheen, the first tropical cyclone to make it that far west into the Gulf. Around Basra in southern Iraq this summer, pressure on the grid owing to 50C heat led to constant blackouts, […]

Key figures in Saudi Arabia and UAE accused of crimes against humanity include investors in Britain A group of human rights lawyers will on Wednesday file a legal complaint in the UK accusing key figures in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates of being involved in war crimes relating to the war in Yemen.They plan to submit a dossier to British police […]