The scene, amid a sweeping reform drive, was a striking contrast to the days when religious police wielded unbridled powers and drove people out of malls and shops to enforce the Islamic world's only mandatory prayer-time shutdown. Last month Riyadh, keen to stimulate an economy hit by low...

Kuwait's 90-year-old emir Monday held his first public meetings since falling ill last week, sitting down with the crown prince, head of parliament and members of his cabinet, state news agency KUNA reported. KUNA published pictures of Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah seated...

Saudi Arabia is the one to decide on continuing the role of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Saudi-led coalition against Houthi rebels in Yemen, the UAE minister of state for foreign affairs said Sunday.   "The Saudi-UAE coalition is a strategic necessity in light of the...

A third British warship is heading to the Gulf, the Royal Navy announced Saturday, amid heightened tensions in the region. Britain has already sent the HMS Kent to cover for frigate HMS Montrose while it undergoes maintenance in nearby Bahrain, and is now redirecting the Type 45 destroyer...