Dubai

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A court in Iran sentenced two female journalists to up to seven years in prison for “collaborating” with the United States government among other charges, local reports said. Both have been imprisoned for over a year following their coverage of the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody in Sept. 2022.

This is a preliminary sentencing that can be appealed in 20 days.

DUBAI, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has described Israel's assault on Gaza as a genocide of Palestinians and said it must stop immediately, state TV reported on Tuesday.

A senior commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) also warned of further action by Tehran-backed militant groups against Israel if it did not cease its attacks.

Israel has bombarded the Palestinian territory of Gaza with air strikes since Hamas fighters burst into Israel from the enclave on Oct. 7 and killed 1,300 people, most of them civilians.

DUBAI, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Iran warned Israel of escalation if it failed to end aggressions against Palestinians, with its foreign minister saying other parties in the region were ready to act, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Sunday.

"If the Zionist aggressions do not stop, the hands of all parties in the region are on the trigger," Hossein Amirabdollahian was quoted as saying.

DUBAI, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that countries seeking to normalise relations with Israel "are betting on a losing horse", state media reported on Tuesday.

Khamenei did not identify the countries, but expectations that Israel might normalize ties with Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia, the home of Islam's two holiest shrines, have been ratcheted up this month.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Emirati president-designate for the upcoming United Nations COP28 climate conference offered a full-throated defense Saturday of his nation hosting the talks, dismissing those who “just go on the attack without knowing anything, without knowing who we are.”

Climate activists roundly criticized Sultan al-Jaber’s appointment as the president-designate of the talks because he serves as the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., which is seeking to boost its production of carbon-emitting crude oil and natural gas.

DUBAI, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Authorities in Iran have neutralised 30 bombs meant to go off simultaneously in Tehran and detained 28 terrorists linked to Islamic State, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday, citing the intelligence ministry.

"Some of the members are of Islamic State (IS) and the perpetrators have a history of being affiliated with Takfiri groups in Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Kurdistan region of Iraq," Iran's intelligence ministry added in a statement.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran and the United States will exchange prisoners on Monday after nearly $6 billion in once-frozen Iranian assets reached Qatar, a key element of the planned swap, officials said.

Despite the deal, tensions are almost certain to remain high between the U.S. and Iran, which are locked in various disputes, including over Tehran’s nuclear program. Iran says the program is peaceful, but it now enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.

DUBAI, Aug 31 (NNN-WAM) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced yesterday, a 14.4 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase, in the country’s non-oil foreign trade in the first half (H1) of this year.

The country’s non-oil foreign trade reached a record 1.239 trillion UAE dirhams (about 337 billion U.S. dollars) in H1, and is projected to exceed 2.5 trillion dirhams this year, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum said, in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

DUBAI, Aug 31 (NNN-WAM) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will send 140 athletes to the 19th Asian Games, hosted by Hangzhou, China, from Sept 23 to Oct 8.

The UAE National Olympic Committee announced yesterday that, its delegation includes 102 male and 38 female athletes. They will compete in events such as shooting, equestrian, athletics, swimming, cycling, archery, judo, taekwondo, karate, jiu-jitsu, fencing, boxing, wrestling, basketball, rugby, sailing, rowing, chess, golf, esports, and triathlon.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Saudi court has sentenced a man to death over his posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, and his activity on YouTube, the latest in a widening crackdown on dissent in the kingdom that has drawn international criticism.

The judgement against Mohammed bin Nasser al-Ghamdi, seen Wednesday by The Associated Press, comes against the backdrop of doctoral student Salma al-Shehab and others facing decadeslong prison sentences over their comments online.