Middle East

Manama, Nov 24: Polling stations opened on Saturday at 8 am (0500 GMT) across Bahrain for 2018 parliamentary elections, Bahrain news agency reported. Polls will remain open until 8pm (1700 GMT). The government said 506 candidates are running in the election, including the highest number of female candidates. It expects a higher voter turnout than in 2014, which it put at 53 percent.

Jeddah, Nov 22: The commitment of the Kingdom and ally United Arab Emirates to the Yemeni people is historic and will endure, the Saudi ambassador to the US said Wednesday. “KSA and UAE have always been and will always be committed to our brothers in Yemen,” Prince Khalid bin Salman said in a Tweet. On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia and the UAE announced a $500 million package for Yemen in response to the

Dubai, Nov 21: As many as 85,000 infants under the age of five may have died from starvation or disease since 2015 in war-ravaged Yemen, humanitarian organisation Save the Children said on Wednesday. It said the estimate was based on data compiled by the United Nations, which has warned that up to 14 million people are at risk of famine in Yemen, where Saudi-backed forces are battling Iran-aligned

Riyadh, Nov 21: Saudi Arabia and the UAE on Tuesday announced a new initiative, “Imdaad,” in Yemen to address the humanitarian situation in the country, including an additional $500 million aid program. The two countries will each give $250 million in response to the food crisis to support more than 10 million people, said Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, general supervisor at King Salman Humanitarian Aid and

Dubai, Nov 20: A Dubai court on Monday ordered the extradition of British national and alleged middleman Christian Michel, who is wanted by Indian investigative agencies in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP choppers deal case, according to a media report. Michel, 54, is currently behind bars in Dubai since he was arrested and sent into custody pending the legal and judicial procedure in the

Manama, Nov 19: The Bahrain government is likely to sign an agreement with India early next year for cooperation in space technology, a Bahraini minister has said. In February next year, the Gulf nation, hopefully, will sign a pact with Indian space agency ISRO for training and research purposes, Kamal Bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister for Transportation and Telecommunications, Bahrain, said. "The

Dubai, Nov 18: Update: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Abu Dhabi earlier today on a one-day visit and held meetings with the UAE leaders. His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nayan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE’s Armed Forces received PM Imran upon his arrival in Abu Dhabi. Imran is accompanied by a high-level delegation including Foreign

Jeddah, Nov 17: Funeral prayers were performed for murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah Friday. The congregation prayed the absentee funeral prayers for Khashoggi at the Grand Mosque in Makkah after Friday prayers, and another service was held for him at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah after the dawn prayer earlier in the day

Riyadh, Nov 15: Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor said on Thursday he was seeking the death penalty for five out of 11 suspects charged in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was killed in the country’s Istanbul consulate on Oct. 2 after a struggle by a lethal injection dose and his body was dismembered and taken out of the building, he told reporters in Riyadh. The Prosecutor

Abu Dhabi, Nov 15: The UAE energy minister said on Wednesday Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its allies will need to reduce oil production next year to prevent a build up in supply and there is consensus building among its members to support a decision to balance the market. “We have seen the risk of an increase in inventories if we didn’t do anything and we will not