The risk of nuclear weapons being used is at its highest since World War Two, a senior U.N. security expert said on Tuesday, calling it an “urgent” issue that the world should take more seriously. Renata Dwan, director of the U.N. Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), said all states with ... Read More »
Turkey insists on right to drill for energy reserves off Cyprus
Dispute likely to escalate after Nicosia said it would seek to arrest anyone caught drilling Tensions over energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean have risen sharply after Turkey said it would “exercise its sovereign rights” to drill off Cyprus in flagrant defiance of warnings from western allies. As the ... Read More »
Egypt explosion: Tourist bus hit by blast outside museum near Giza Pyramids
At least 16 people believed to be injured in blast A tourist bus was hit by an explosion near the Giza Pyramids in Egypt, according to security sources. At least 16 people were injured in the blast on the road outside the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo on Sunday. The bus ... Read More »
Hariri says laying foundation for serious financial reform, hopes budget will be sent next week to parliament
This is the speech delivered yesterday evening by the president of the Council of Ministers Saad Hariri during the iftar held by the Future movement at the Seaside Arena: Ramadan Kareem, from our beloved Beirut to our people in Akkar, Meniye, Denniye, Kalamun, Zgharta, Koura and Batroun. Ramadan Kareem to ... Read More »
Trump tells aides he does not want U.S. war with Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump has told his top advisers he does not want to get the United States involved in a war with Iran, three U.S. officials said on Thursday. “He doesn’t want to go to war. It’s not who he is,” one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. ... Read More »
Hariri condemns terrorist attacks against oil tankers
The President of the Council of Ministers Saad Hariri condemned the terrorist sabotage acts that targeted oil tankers off the territorial waters of the United Arab Emirates, considering them a dangerous threat to the safety of navigation in one of the most important waterways in the world. He said that ... Read More »
UAE says four vessels subjected to ‘sabotage’ near Fujairah port
Four commercial vessels were targeted by “sabotage operations” near the territorial waters of the United Arab Emirates without causing casualties, the foreign ministry said on Sunday, without giving details of the nature of the sabotage. The incident occurred near the UAE emirate of Fujairah, one of the world’s largest bunkering ... Read More »
US to move Patriot missile defence system to Middle East to counter ‘escalating’ threat from Iran
Pentagon officials suggest Tehran preparing attack on American forces The US is to install an air defence missile system in the Middle East to counter the “escalating” threat posed by Iran, the Pentagon has said. The Department of Defence confirmed it was sending the Patriot surface-to-air missile system to the region in ... Read More »
Iranian leader announces partial withdrawal from nuclear deal
Iran announced Wednesday it was partially withdrawing from a landmark nuclear deal, marking a serious escalation in Tehran’s faceoff with the United States.President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech that Iran would reduce its “commitments” to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, but would not fully withdraw, ... Read More »
U.S. deploying carrier, bombers to Middle East to deter Iran: Bolton
The Trump administration is deploying a carrier strike group and bombers to the Middle East in response to troubling “indications and warnings” from Iran and to show the United States will retaliate with “unrelenting force” to any attack, national security adviser John Bolton said on Sunday. With tensions already high ... Read More »