Dubai

DUBAI, July 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The oil-rich United Arab Emirates has built a nuclear power programme and sent a man to space, and now plans to join another elite club by sending a probe to Mars.

Only the United States, India, the former Soviet Union, and the European Space Agency have successfully sent missions to orbit the Red Planet, while China is preparing to launch its first Mars rover later this month.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran on Thursday denied that U.S. forces had seized a boat carrying Iranian weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen, saying the charge was aimed at extending a U.N. arms embargo on Tehran.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in Washington on Wednesday that U.S. and unidentified allied forces had interdicted a vessel off Yemen’s coast on June 28 that was carrying Iranian arms to the Houthis.

DUBAI/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria could face severe bread shortages for the first time since the start of the war, another challenge for President Bashar al-Assad as he grapples with an economic meltdown and fresh U.S. sanctions, a U.N. official, activists and farmers said.

Any major disruptions to Syria’s bread subsidy system could undermine the government and threaten a population highly dependent on wheat as rampant inflation drives up food prices.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s hardline lawmakers plan to summon the president for questioning, a move that could ultimately lead to impeachment, media reported on Monday, amid growing discontent over the government’s economic policies.

Iranians’ daily struggle to make ends meet has become harder since the reimposition of U.S. sanctions in 2018, and the economy has been further damaged by rising inflation, growing unemployment, a slump in the rial and the coronavirus crisis.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran will retaliate against any country that carries out cyber attacks on its nuclear sites, the head of civilian defence said, after a fire at its Natanz plant which some Iranian officials said may have been caused by cyber sabotage.

The Natanz uranium-enrichment site, much of which is underground, is one of several Iranian facilities monitored by inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An online video and messages purportedly claiming responsibility for a fire that analysts say damaged a centrifuge assembly plant at Iran’s underground Natanz nuclear site deepened the mystery Friday around the incident — even as Tehran insisted it knew the cause but would not make it public due to “security reasons.”

DUBAI (Reuters) - A fire broke out at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility but there were no casualties and the site is operating as usual, Iranian officials said on Thursday.

The Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP), covering 100,000 square meters and built eight meters underground, is one of several Iranian facilities monitored by the United Nations nuclear watchdog.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation initially reported that “an incident” had ocurred at the facility.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia extended for an additional period several government initiatives to support the private sector and investors in mitigating the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, state news agency SPA reported on Thursday, citing a decision by King Salman.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An explosion that rattled Iran’s capital came from an area in its eastern mountains that analysts believe hides an underground tunnel system and missile production sites, satellite photographs showed Saturday.

What exploded in the incident early Friday that sent a massive fireball into the sky near Tehran remains unclear, as does the cause of the blast.

DUBAI, June 24 (NNN-WAM) – The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), announced on Tuesday that, it signed an agreement worth 20.7 billion U.S. dollars, with a consortium of investors and funds.

The consortium consists of some of the world’s leading infrastructure investors and operators, as well as, sovereign wealth and pension funds, including Global Infrastructure Partners, GIP; Brookfield Asset Management, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC; Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Ontario Teachers; NH Investment & Securities and Snam.