Dubai

DUBAI (Reuters) - Prominent Saudi Arabian rights activist Abdullah al-Hamid, imprisoned since 2013, died on Thursday, activists and a source close to him told Reuters.

Hamid, 69, died in the King Saud Medical City in Riyadh, having suffered a stroke on Apr. 9 in prison, London-based Saudi rights group ALQST told Reuters. The news was also confirmed by a close friend of Hamid’s who asked to remain anonymous owing to the sensitivity of the matter.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Long a lifeline for families back home, migrant workers in oil-rich Gulf Arab states now find themselves trapped by the coronavirus pandemic, losing jobs, running out of money and desperate to return to their home countries as COVID-19 stalks their labor camps.

Whether on the island of Bahrain, hidden in the industrial neighborhoods behind Dubai’s skyscrapers or in landlocked cities of Saudi Arabia, a growing number of workers have contracted the virus or been forced into mass quarantines. Many have been put on unpaid leave or fired.

DUBAI (Reuters) - The Iranian armed forces have acquired three bomb-carrying drones with a range of 1,500 kilometers (932 miles), Defense Minister Amir Hatami said on state television on Saturday.

The drones could monitor “enemy movements from a considerable distance” and were capable of combat missions, he said at the delivery ceremony in Tehran broadcast on TV.

The aircraft were equipped with bombs and missiles, and they can fly at an altitude of up to 45,000 feet (13,716 meters), he said, without indicating the name of the new drones.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways has the full support of its state shareholder as it plans a partial resumption of passenger flights from May 1, its chief executive Tony Douglas said on Thursday.

Several states have stepped in to assist airlines after the coronavirus outbreak virtually halted all international air travel, though the oil rich Abu Dhabi government has so far not said whether it would help the airline it owns.

DUBAI (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund is still assessing Iran’s request for $5 billion in emergency financing in a process which is taking time partly because of the IMF’s limited engagement with Tehran in recent times, a senior IMF official told Reuters.

Iran, the Middle East country worst affected by the new coronavirus outbreak, approached the IMF last month to request the $5 billion from its Rapid Financing Initiative, an emergency programme that aids countries faced with sudden shocks such as natural disasters.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai’s Emirates said on Monday it planned to operate limited passenger services to Algiers, Tunis, Jakarta, Manila, Taipei, Kabul and Chicago.

It did not say when the flights would operate.

The United Arab Emirates is permitting a limited number of outbound-only flights for those wishing to leave the country after suspending regular services last month.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — OPEC, Russia and other oil-producing nations on Sunday finalized an unprecedented production cut of nearly 10 million barrels, or a tenth of global supply, in hopes of boosting crashing prices amid the coronavirus pandemic and a price war, officials said.

DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Economy said on Sunday it was cutting fees for 94 of its services to reduce the cost of business and support the economy amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The decision includes fees related to management licenses, commercial agency registrations and trademarks.

The financial impact of the measures is estimated to have a value of 113 million dirhams ($31 million), the ministry said in a statement.

DUBAI (Reuters) - President Hassan Rouhani urged Iranians to respect health protocols to guard against the new coronavirus as “low-risk” economic activities resumed in most of the country on Saturday, state news agency IRNA reported.

So-called low-risk businesses will resume across the country from Saturday with the exception of the capital Tehran, where they will restart from April 18. Iran is the Middle Eastern country worst-affected by the highly infectious COVID-19 respiratory disease.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A proposed reduction in oil production by OPEC and other oil-producing countries including Russia involves a 10 million barrels per day cut until July, then an 8 million barrels per day cut through the end of the year, Saudi Arabia said Friday as the deal hung in the balance.