Dubai

UAE: Twitter suspends account of Al Masirah TV run by Yemen's Houthis

DUBAI (Reuters) - The Twitter account of Al Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement, was suspended on Wednesday.

Al Masirah on its Telegram channel on Wednesday night said: “Twitter took steps to suspend the accounts of al-Masirah without giving reasons”.

Twitter could not immediately be reached for comment, but the @MasirahTV Twitter page now says “Account suspended” for violating the rules of the social media platform, with no posts visible.

UAE, U.S., Israel to develop joint energy strategy

DUBAI, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United States and Israel on Thursday said they will develop a joint strategy for energy partnership, the official WAM news agency reported.

"The UAE, the U.S. and Israel agree to encourage greater coordination in the energy sector, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, oil, natural gas resources and related technologies, and water desalination technologies," according to a joint statement issued by the energy ministers of the three countries.

UAE Reports 1,100 New COVID-19 Cases, 94,190 In Total

DUBAI, Oct 1 (NNN-WAM) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday announced 1,100 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 94,190.

At the same time, 1,186 more patients have recovered from the virus, taking the tally of recoveries to 83,724, UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention said. It also confirmed three more deaths, pushing the country’s death toll to 419.

The UAE was the first among the Gulf countries to report COVID-19 cases. It has been showing solidarity with China in the fight against the virus.

Iran rejects Saudi accusation it trained a terrorist cell

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran rejected on Tuesday an accusation by Saudi Arabia that it had trained a terrorist cell, which Riyadh said it had taken down.

Saudi Arabia said on Monday it had arrested 10 people earlier this month and seized weapons and explosives from a terrorist cell that had received training from Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards.

Iran's new coronavirus cases exceed 450,000: Health Ministry

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s confirmed COVID-19 cases crossed the 450,000 threshold on Tuesday with 3,677 infections identified in the last 24 hours, a health ministry spokeswoman told state TV, as the Islamic Republic’s death toll spiked to 25,986.

Sima Sadat Lari said 207 people had died in the past 24 hours and the total number of infection cases reached 453,637.

Saudi king’s rare address to UN showcases monarch in charge

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s King Salman made a rare address to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, using the moment to highlight the foundational notions of his regime — his steadfast commitment to the Palestinians, his stature as custodian of Islam’s holiest sites and his assertion that Iran is responsible for much of the region’s instability.

UAE: Road to Saudi ties with Israel being paved, cautiously

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia, the most powerful Arab nation and home to Islam’s holiest sites, has made its official position on the region’s longest-running conflict clear: Full ties between the kingdom and Israel can only happen when peace is reached with the Palestinians.

Yet state-backed Saudi media and clerics are signaling change is already underway with Israel — something that can only happen under the directives of the country’s powerful heir, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

UAE: Warring Afghans meet to find peace after decades of war

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Afghanistan’s warring sides started negotiations on Saturday for the first time aimed at ending decades of war, bringing together delegates appointed by the Afghan government and the Taliban.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attended the opening ceremony, which was held in Qatar where the meetings will take place. It’s the latest in a flurry of diplomatic activity by the Trump administration ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.

Bahrain to allow Israel flights to UAE over its airspace

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Bahrain will allow “all flights coming to and departing from the United Arab Emirates” to cross through the island kingdom’s airspace — a statement apparently allowing Israeli flights after neighboring Saudi Arabia issued a similar announcement.

The state-run Bahrain News Agency made the announcement without directly naming Israel, just as Saudi Arabia had. However, the announcement late Thursday came just days after Saudi Arabia allowed the first direct Israeli commercial passenger flight to use its airspace to reach the UAE.

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