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Middle East News | Get The Latest Breaking News, Headlines And Top News Stories From Middle East Latest News News Today

The Jewish state has also ordered millions of doses of the vaccine developed by fellow US firm Moderna, the least ordered vaccine in the region so far. (Photo:AFP)

Pfizer or Sinopharm? 'Vaccine diplomacy' in Middle East

The Israeli government made documents public that showed the extent of its collaboration with Pfizer in its vaccination campaign

26 Jan 2021 12:38 PM

In this May 5, 2018 photo, a giant image of the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, adorns a tower in Doha, Qatar. Saudi Arabia will open its airspace and land border to Qatar in the first step toward ending a years-long diplomatic crisis that deeply divided US defense partners. (AP/Kamran Jebreili)

Saudi Arabia to lift Qatar embargo, easing the Gulf crisis

Kuwait, which had been mediating throughout the dispute, was first to announce the diplomatic breakthrough through its foreign minister

05 Jan 2021 11:27 AM

Police officers stop motorcyclists from entering a restricted area that is sealed off to control the spread of the coronavirus, in Lahore, Pakistan. (AP)

UAE suspends issuance of visiting visas to Pakistan, 11 other countries

Infections has been rising in Pakistan and authorities have declared that the country was witnessing the second wave of COVID-19

19 Nov 2020 1:09 PM

US President Donald Trump speaks to the troops during a surprise Thanksgiving day visit at Bagram Air Field, on November 28, 2019 in Afghanistan. - The US will cut its troops in Afghanistan to 2,500 in January, the lowest level in nearly two decades of war, as outgoing President Donald Trump follows through on a pledge to end conflicts abroad, the Pentagon announced on November 17, 2020. (AFP)

US announces troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq

The House Armed Services Committee has announced a hearing on Afghanistan on November 20

18 Nov 2020 10:38 AM

The golden visa will also be granted to holders of specialised degrees in artificial intelligence, big data, or epidemiology and virology in addition to the UAE high school top graduates along with their families, the Gulf News reported.

UAE grants 10-year golden residency visa to more professionals

The decision aims to attract and retain experts and talented professionals from various fields and scientific disciplines, the report said

15 Nov 2020 11:03 PM

Little Amal, a puppet, is all set to traverse the world in support of refugees

Little Amal will travel 8,000km, starting from April 2021, crossing many contrasting terrains

08 Nov 2020 3:59 PM

Sudanese Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the military council, speaks during a military-backed rally, in Omdurman district, west of Khartoum, Sudan. Officials in Sudan confirmed that a senior U.S.-Israeli delegation flew to Sudan on a private jet Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, and met with Burhan and others to wrap up a deal that would make Sudan the third Arab country to normalize ties with Israel this year. (AP)

Sudan to join UAE, Bahrain in recognising Israel

Trump said at least five other countries want to come into the deal, which is collectively called the Abraham Accords

24 Oct 2020 12:31 PM

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) offering his condolences on October 7, 2020 in Kuwait to the Gulf emirate's Crown Prince, Sheikh Mishaal al-Ahmad al-Jabaer al-Sabah, following the death of the emir of Kuwait last week. (AFP)

Kuwait's emir names security czar Sheikh Meshal as crown prince

The new emir, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, assumed power following the death of his brother Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad last week

07 Oct 2020 5:47 PM

Both the incidents of passengers flying with COVID-positive certificates to Dubai from India on Air India Express flights happened during the last couple of weeks, the officials noted.(Representational Image: PTI)

Dubai suspends AI Express flights for bringing passengers with COVID-positive certificates

UAE requires Indian travellers to bring original COVID-negative certificate from RT-PCR test done 96 hours prior to the journey

18 Sep 2020 12:19 PM

Smoke and flames are seen following an Israeli air strike in the Khan Yunis town of the southern Gaza Strip on September 16, 2020. - Israel bombed sites in the Gaza Strip early Wednesday, Palestinian security sources said, after rocket fire from the Hamas-controlled territory into Israel the previous evening. The retaliatory attack came the morning after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed a landmark accord in Washington establishing diplomatic relations with the Jewish state. (AFP)

Israeli jets bomb Gaza, 'coinciding' with Netanyahu's signing of normalisation deals

At least two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip the previous evening, one of which was intercepted by Israel's anti-missile system

16 Sep 2020 12:11 PM

(L-R)Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump, and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan hold up documents after participating in the signing of the Abraham Accords where the countries of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recognize Israel, at the White House in Washington, DC, September 15, 2020. - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the foreign ministers of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates arrived September 15, 2020 at the White House to sign historic accords normalizing ties between the Jewish and Arab states. (AFP)

Israel signs pacts with UAE, Bahrain in White House ceremony

The agreements do not address the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, who view the pacts as a stab in the back

16 Sep 2020 9:00 AM

Israeli protesters hold a poster of their prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu gagged by a surgical protection mask during an anti-government demonstration in front of Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem on September 12, 2020, demanding his resignation over several corruption indictments and his handling of the coronavirus crisis. (AFP)

Israel to set new nationwide lockdown as virus cases surge

Lockdown is credited with having brought down what were much lower infection numbers, but it wreaked havoc on Israel's economy

14 Sep 2020 8:43 AM

Navid Afkari had been found guilty of "voluntary homicide" for stabbing to death Hossein Torkman, a water department employee, on August 2, 2018, the judiciary said. (Twitter/Navid Afkari)

Iran executes young wrestler, evoking shock and condemnation

Donald Trump had pleaded for Afkari's life earlier this month, saying his 'sole act was an anti-government demonstration on the streets'

13 Sep 2020 12:20 PM

Four Afghan women who endured the Taliban's oppressive rule and have fought for fragile gains since the militants were ousted are facing the hardline group in peace talks. (Image: Twitter@Zarifa_Ghafari)

Afghan's women negotiators face hardline Taliban in peace talks

Their presence at the negotiating table is significant in patriarchal Afghanistan, though they are outnumbered by the rest of the team

13 Sep 2020 11:46 AM

U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, left, and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban group's top political leader sign a peace agreement between Taliban and U.S. officials in Doha, Qatar. The Taliban say the long-awaited peace talks with the negotiating team selected by the Afghan government are to begin on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020, in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar. The announcement on Sept. 10, came in a statement from the Taliban in Qatar, where the insurgents maintain a political office, and also as an announcement from Qatar's foreign ministry. (AP File)

Peace talks to begin between Taliban, Afghan government 19 years after 9/11 triggered war

The US-backed negotiations come six months later than planned owing to bitter disagreements over a controversial prisoner swap

12 Sep 2020 10:47 AM

US President Donald Trump at the Oval Office on Friday. (AFP)

Donald Trump announces peace between Israel and Bahrain

In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the agreement.

12 Sep 2020 2:56 AM

Fire burns in the port in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Sept. 10. 2020. A huge fire broke out Thursday at the Port of Beirut, triggering panic among residents traumatized by last month's massive explosion that killed and injured thousands of people. (AP)

Large fire erupts in Beirut port area, a month after massive blast

The fire erupted in the duty free zone of the port, sending a huge column of smoke above the city

10 Sep 2020 5:00 PM

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki told the Arab League in Wednesday's meeting that the Palestinian Authority called for an emergency meeting following the announcement of the UAE-Israeli deal. (AP)

Palestinian FM urges Arab states to dismiss Israel-UAE deal

Most of the Arab world has long rejected diplomatic ties with Israel in the absence of a peace deal establishing a Palestinian state

10 Sep 2020 10:48 AM

Afghan first Vice President Amrullah Saleh (right). Afghan officials claimed a failed assassination attempt against Afghanistan's first vice president Saleh. Razwan Murad, a spokesman for the first vice president said Wednesday, Sept. 9, that the enemies of Afghanistan again tried to harm Saleh, but the vicious and terrorist attempt has failed and Saleh has survived. (AP)

Afghanistan VP lightly wounded in deadly Kabul blast

The explosion killed at least 10 civilians and wounded more than a dozen, officials said

09 Sep 2020 3:57 PM

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) welcoming his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the ministry headquarters in the capital Tehran. (Photo: Iranian Foreign Ministry / AFP)

Jaishankar discusses Chabahar with Zarif in Iran

Two back-to-back high-level visits could mean New Delhi is concerned over reports of massive Chinese financial assistance to Iran

09 Sep 2020 12:10 PM

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Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr