Dubai budget airline flydubai said Wednesday it will start direct flights to Tel Aviv this month, the first regular commercial service between the cities, after the UAE and Israel agreed to normalise ties. "The carrier will operate 14 flights a week, offering a double daily service between...

Bahrain announced Tuesday it convicted 51 people, more than half of them abroad, on charges of belonging to a militant group. It was the latest mass trial conducted in this island kingdom amid a yearslong crackdown on all dissent. Bahrain described those convicted as belonging to an unnamed...

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum said Tuesday he had received an experimental coronavirus vaccine, becoming the latest United Arab Emirates official to take part in the trials. Two vaccines are undergoing third-phase trials in the UAE, one produced by Chinese drug giant...

The cabinet of the United Arab Emirates approved a smaller federal budget for 2021 in a sign that the country is curbing expenditure amid the coronavirus crisis and lower oil prices. The budget for next year was set at 58 billion dirhams ($15.8 billion), state news agency WAM reported...

Saudi Arabia has allowed international pilgrims to perform Umrah after a seven-month hiatus due to the coronavirus outbreak. The move was part of gradual Saudi measures to ease restrictions imposed to stem the spread of the virus in the kingdom. Under the new measure, 20,000 pilgrims...

The United States has agreed to sell top-of-the-line F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates in light of its recognition of Israel, potentially shifting the regional power balance, a lawmaker said Thursday. President Donald Trump's administration informally gave a required...

A Saudi man was arrested in Jeddah after attacking and injuring a guard with a “sharp tool” at the French consulate on Thursday, Saudi state TV reported. The French Embassy said the consulate was subject to an “attack by knife which targeted a guard”, adding the guard was taken to hospital...

Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam, on Tuesday condemned cartoons offending the Prophet Mohammad and any attempts to link Islam with terrorism but did not echo calls by other Muslim states for action against images being displayed in France of the Prophet. A foreign ministry official also...

Yemen’s Houthi rebel group on Sunday said it fired two drones on King Khalid airbase in southern Saudi Arabia. “This attack came in response to the enemy's [Saudi Arabia] air escalation and its continued siege on our people,” rebel spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement. On...

Kuwait's retail co-ops have pulled French products in boycott over the use of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a French school class on freedom of expression whose teacher was then beheaded by an Islamist. The non-governmental Union of Consumer Co-operative Societies, which groups more...

Dubai is introducing a facial recognition system on public transport to beef up security, officials said Sunday, as the emirate prepares to host the global Expo exhibition. "This technology has proven its effectiveness to identify suspicious and wanted people," said Obaid al-Hathboor,...

The glitzy emirate of Dubai broke the record for the world's largest fountain on Thursday, as the Gulf city seeks to boost its hard-hit tourism sector amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Palm Fountain, which covers an area of 14,366 square feet (1,335 square metres), is located at The Pointe...

Saudi Arabia's crown prince enjoyed a near free pass under his personal relationship with US President Donald Trump, but the kingdom's brazen young leader will have to tread more carefully should Democrats take the White House and reset strategic ties. Riyadh's human rights record, with the...

Saudi Arabia launched Wednesday a national artificial intelligence strategy aimed at making it a global leader in the field as it seeks to diversify its oil-based economy. The National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence (NSDAI) will seek to attract $20 billion in foreign and...

Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee to late Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, filed suit in US district court Tuesday against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the journalist's grisly murder.  Cengiz and a rights group founded by Khashoggi before his death filed the lawsuit in...

Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah called Tuesday for national unity to meet challenges facing the Gulf state, in a speech to lawmakers ahead of elections on Dec. 5. The parliamentary elections come at a time when the wealthy OPEC member is facing a liquidity crisis caused by low...

Brandishing a sword and dancing to traditional music on his first visit to Saudi Arabia soon after taking office, Donald Trump launched a dramatic relationship revamp that freed the hands of the Gulf monarchies. More than three years on, regional leaders are playing their diplomatic...

Israel and Bahrain on Sunday agreed to establish formal diplomatic relations, making the small Gulf country the fourth Arab state to normalize ties with Israel. The U.S.-brokered agreement capped a one-day visit by a high-level delegation of American and Israeli officials to Bahrain....

Saudi Arabia allowed its citizens and residents inside the kingdom to perform prayers in one of the most holy religious sites in Islam, Al-Haram mosque in Mecca, for the first time in seven months, state television reported early on Sunday. Earlier this month Saudi Arabia allowed...

A push to downgrade the EU's attendance at next month's G20 summit in Riyadh over human rights concerns marks another setback for Saudi plans to host a coming-out party on the world stage. The European Parliament passed a wide-ranging resolution on Thursday calling for the European Union...