Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they struck a Saudi oil facility in the port city of Jiddah on Monday with a new cruise missile, just hours after the kingdom finished hosting its virtual Group of 20 leaders summit.

The kingdom did not immediately acknowledge any attack as videos on social media suggested a fire at an Aramco oil facility.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday defended his tour of Gulf Arab states and the Trump administration’s continued efforts to squeeze Iran, even as a new U.S. administration led by Joe Biden prepares to enter the White House in January.

Although Pompeo has not taken questions from U.S.-based reporters traveling with him over the past 10 days, he sat down with the Saudi-owned broadcaster Al-Arabiya in Dubai for brief televised remarks Sunday.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Leaders of the world’s most powerful nations wrapped up the Group of 20 summit on Sunday, vowing to spare no effort to protect lives and ensure affordable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all people.

The two-day summit of heads of state was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed at least 1.38 million people globally, with the world’s highest death tolls recorded in seven of the G-20 countries. The virus has wiped out hundreds of millions of jobs globally and plunged millions into extreme poverty.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Group of 20 summit opened on Saturday with appeals by the world’s most powerful leaders to collectively chart a way forward as the coronavirus pandemic overshadows this year’s gathering, transforming it from in-person meetings to a virtual gathering of speeches and declarations.

The pandemic, which has claimed more than 1.37 million lives worldwide, has offered the G-20 an opportunity to prove how such bodies can facilitate international cooperation in crises — but has also underscored their shortcomings.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — This weekend’s summit of leaders from the Group of 20 stands out more for what it is not than for what it is.

Held online this year because of the coronavirus, the gathering of leaders of the world’s preeminent rich and developing nations will not be an opportunity for kings, presidents and prime ministers to conduct the intimate diplomacy of closed-door meetings or pose for memorable photo-ops. Without red carpet arrivals, it will not be an occasion for its Saudi hosts to dazzle the world’s media.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco said on Monday it had hired banks for a multi-tranche U.S. dollar-denominated bond issuance, as the world’s largest oil company seeks cash amid lower oil prices.

Gulf issuers show no sign of slowing this year’s blitz of issues on international debt markets as they work to plug finances hit by weaker oil prices and the coronavirus crisis.

Issuances from the region so far this year have already shot through 2019’s record, again surpassing $100 billion.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain’s veteran prime minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa quashed repeated opposition unrest in almost half a century in office and was a fierce critic of the Arab Spring, saying it had brought Arabs only “death, chaos and destruction”.

The world’s longest-serving prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa died on Wednesday in Mayo Clinic hospital in the United States, Bahrain’s state news agency said.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Etihad Airways told cabin crew on Wednesday there would be layoffs this week, an internal email seen by Reuters showed, and a company source said the airline will keep its Airbus AIR.PA A380 superjumbos parked "indefinitely" due to a slower than expected recovery in air travel demand.

In the internal email, cabin crew were told those affected would be notified within 24 hours, without saying how many would lose their jobs.

The warning was sent out two days after a similar notice was sent out to pilots at the Abu Dhabi state carrier.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain’s government approved on Monday a memorandum of understanding with Israel, covering air services, the state-run agency of the Gulf country said.

Bahrain and Israel signed in October a joint communique to formalise nascent ties, during a visit by an Israeli and U.S. delegation to the Gulf country.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates announced on Saturday a major overhaul of the country’s Islamic personal laws, allowing unmarried couples to cohabitate, loosening alcohol restrictions and criminalizing so-called “honor killings.”

The broadening of personal freedoms reflects the changing profile of a country that has sought to bill itself as a Westernized destination for tourists, fortune-seekers and businesses despite its Islamic legal code that has previously triggered court cases against foreigners and outrage in their home countries.