Middle East

Occupied Jerusalem, Mar 20: A new ad with an elegantly dressed minister using "fascist" perfume drew online outrage on Tuesday, the latest in a social media war ahead of an Israeli election that has also featured a flatulent hippo. Israeli law prevents political ads from being aired on television until two weeks before the April 9 election, so parties have flooded social media with clips instead

Beirut, Mar 18: Eight years of war in Syria have left more than 370,000 people dead including 112,000 civilians, a monitor said on Friday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of sources across the country, said more than 21,000 children and 13,000 women were among the dead. The conflict flared after unprecedented anti-government protests in the southern city of Daraa on

Abu Dhabi, Mar 18: President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a cable of condolences to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, on the death of Princess Al Bandari bint Abdulrahman bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Sheikh Khalifa expressed his heartfelt grief and sympathy with King Salman and prayed to Allah Almighty to rest

Mumbai, Mar 18: Jet Airways has grounded its operations at Abu Dhabi Airport from Monday for an indefinite period, citing operational reasons. Abu Dhabi is one of the two international hubs of Jet Airways. Dutch capital Amsterdam is the European gateway for the airline for its operations to Europe and beyond. "Jet Airways has cancelled all their flights from Abu Dhabi with immediate effect from

Ramallah, Mar 17: The attacks occurred near the Ariel junction southwest of Nablus, and the Israeli regime said they were believed to have been carried out by a Palestinian. “One Israeli is dead,” Israeli army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said, adding that the assailant “appears to be Palestinian.” Israeli media earlier reported that an assailant stabbed a regime soldier and

Dubai, Mar 15: When Dubai resident Heba Adeeb woke up on Friday morning, she thought another deadly earthquake has struck Christchurch, New Zealand. She was stirred by hundreds of messages in her WhatsApp inbox but it was a more jolting news as her father was one of those shot by the lone gunman who attacked two mosques and left almost 50 people killed and scores more injured. Still shocked by the

Beirut, Mar 14: Russian air strikes killed at least 13 civilians, including six children, Wednesday in Idlib province, in the first such raids since a September truce deal, a monitor said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said around 60 people were also wounded in the air strikes that struck several areas in the northwestern province, which is Syria's last major rebel bastion

Cairo, Mar 13: The United Arab Emirates’ General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) banned the operation of all Boeing 737 MAX models in UAE airspace, Emirates News Agency (WAM) said on Tuesday. GCAA added in a statement that the ban was a precautionary measure following the Ethiopian Airways crash. GCAA will “continue monitoring and re-assessing the situation as more information is obtained about

Palestine, Mar 12: Israeli settlers have sealed a mosque in the Old City of the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds, a month after a United Nations report revealed that violence and vandalism committed by Israelis against Palestinians and their property have increased since the beginning of this year. According to a report by the Palestinian Ma’an news agency on Monday, Israeli settlers spread an adhesive

Dubai, Mar 11: Saudi Arabia plans to cut its crude oil exports in April to below 7 million barrels per day (bpd), while keeping its output "well below" 10 million bpd, a Saudi official said on Monday, as the kingdom seeks to drain a supply glut and support oil prices. State-owned Saudi Aramco's oil allocations for April are 635,000 bpd below customers' nominations -- requests made by refiners and