United Arab Emirates

Arrests made in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Dubai, including one ‘extremely big fish’A “super-cartel” that controlled one-third of the cocaine trade in Europe has been taken down in six countries, police have said.The EU police agency, Europol, announced that 49 suspects were arrested during the investigation, after raids in Europe […]

New Delhi’s foreign policy won’t be insulated from its domestic politics, which demonise India’s 200 million MuslimsWhen the US state department recently told a court that the Saudi Arabian crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, should have immunity in a lawsuit over the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, it portrayed its argument as a legal and […]

Critics say former Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio lacks experience and has poor record in Gulf relationsA row has broken out over the appointment of the EU’s first ever special envoy to the Gulf, as internal critics allege the frontrunner, the former Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio, is poorly qualified for the job.Di Maio, a former leader […]

More than 630 fossil fuel lobbyists attended Cop27, and the Emirates, where Cop28 will be held, is a major oil and gas exporter Fears are growing among climate experts and campaigners over the influence of fossil fuel producers on global climate talks, as a key Gulf petro-state gears up to take control of the negotiations.The United Arab Emirates, one of […]

The creation of a loss and damage fund is a milestone, but a 1.5C limit to the global temperature rise looks even further out of reachThe Cop process often seems to encapsulate the broader global reaction to climate breakdown. Leaders make grand but vague pledges of action; fossil fuel lobbyists (600 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, this year) schmooze and press […]

Pacific Zircon, linked to Israeli billionaire, said to have been ‘hit by projectile’ but suffered only minor damageThe US and Israel have pointed the finger at Iran after an oil tanker associated with an Israeli billionaire was struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman.The drone attack on the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Pacific Zircon […]

Gulf petrostate hired PR firms to stress its part in next year’s climate summit before this year’s had begunThe United Arab Emirates has been using its role as the host of next year’s UN climate conference to launder its international reputation, long before this year’s event – Cop27 in Sharm el-Sheikh – began.The Emirates, which will host Cop28 […]

Classified material claims United Arab Emirates engaged in operations that ‘resemble espionage’A classified US intelligence report details efforts undertaken by the United Arab Emirates to influence American politics, offering a scrutinizing look at a close US ally, according to the Washington Post.Written by the National Intelligence Council, the […]

Reactions in Washington to slashing oil supply have not concerned Mohammed bin Salman; nor have the optics of indirectly boosting Putin’s warMohammed bin Salman had seen it coming. The groundswell of anger in Washington was clear and building since he helped lead an Opec+ decision to cut the world’s oil supply last week.But for the first time in the […]

The legal woes of investor Tom Barrack, accused of secretly lobbying for the Emirati regime, add to the image of a Trump circle beset by influence-peddling and corruption“Trump is the man,” Thomas “Tom” Barrack, a wealthy investor friend of Donald Trump’s, wrote to someone in a foreign government, in 2016, as Trump’s likelihood of being named […]

Reliance on desalination comes with a big environmental cost for the region’s marine environmentAs the World Cup approaches, Qatar is going to need at least 10,000 litres of water every day for each of its stadium pitches. Based in a region with virtually no access to fresh water, it is going to rely on desalination – the practice of debrining saltwater […]

Hanan Elatr also plans to sue Saudi and UAE governments over alleged surveillance attempts on herThe wife of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is preparing a lawsuit in the US against the spyware maker NSO Group, claiming she was targeted with the Israeli company’s Pegasus software.Hanan Elatr, 52, is also planning to sue the governments of Saudi […]

The monarchies are hopeful of stronger UK ties under King Charles, but plans for the ceremony have not gone down wellDeath of the Queen and King Charles’s accession - latest updatesFrom Oman in the east to Morocco in the west, Middle East and north African royalty have been closely monitoring plans for the Queen’s funeral, but with days to go until the […]

UAE scaled back ties with the Islamic republic after Iranian protests over Saudi Arabia’s execution of cleric Nimr al-NimrThe United Arab Emirates said on Sunday that its ambassador to Tehran would resume duties within days, six years after ties were downgraded in support of Saudi Arabia.Ambassador Saif Mohammed al-Zaabi “will resume his duties at the […]

US citizen released after paying fine as United Arab Emirates court confiscates $4.9m it says illegally moved through countryThe US citizen and civil rights attorney Asim Ghafoor, who had represented Jamal Khashoggi before the Saudi journalist was murdered, has been freed from custody in the UAE where he was convicted on money laundering charges.Ghafoor was […]

The withdrawal of allied troops from Afghanistan a year ago led to desperate scenes as refugees tried to escape the Taliban. One man tells his family’s story Continue reading...

The truce will bring some relief to a country exhausted by war and famine, but critics say the Houthis will use the peace to regroupThe UN has announced that the warring sides in Yemen have agreed to extend the current ceasefire for a further two months.Late on Tuesday the government and the Houthi rebels committed to intensify efforts on negotiations, said […]

Pentecostalism is quietly thriving, with pastors saying churches are helping low-paid workers in crisisEvangelical Christianity is quietly flourishing among migrant groups in the Gulf as churches provide low-paid workers facing horrific abuse with aid in times of crisis, according to pastors and parishioners across the region.About 30 million migrant […]

US citizen Asim Ghafoor detained in Dubai and convicted two days later of money laundering and tax evasionThe United Arab Emirates has sentenced the former lawyer of Jamal Khashoggi – the dissident Saudi journalist who was killed at Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018 – to three years in prison on charges of money laundering and tax […]

Rescue work carried out after 12 also injured in magnitude-6.1 quake followed by two others and more than dozen aftershocksAt least five people were killed by a magnitude-6.1 earthquake in southern Iran early on Saturday, state media reported, with the area also hit by two later strong quakes of up to 6.3 magnitude.“Five people have died in the earthquake […]