Category Archives: United Arab Emirates

Middle East crisis live: Trump says US should turn Gaza into ‘freedom zone’ as more than 100 killed in Israeli strikes

Posted on by

US president’s reported comments in Qatar come as scores killed in a second consecutive night of heavy bombing

Gaza’s civil defence agency has said that the death toll from Israeli strikes overnight into Thursday is up to 82 people, updating a previous toll.

“The number of martyrs from Israeli airstrikes on Gaza has risen to 82 after the occupation targeted several homes in northern Gaza,” civil defence spokesperson Mohammad al-Mughayir told AFP, after the agency earlier reported at least 50 dead (see 8.27am BST).

We’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this … there [are] two steps to doing this, there is a very, very nice step and there is the violent step, but I don’t want to do it the second way.

Continue reading...

Iran proposes partnership with UAE and Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium

Posted on by

A consortium would help Tehran deal with US objections and tie in Gulf states to its enrichment programme

Iran has floated the idea of a consortium of Middle Eastern countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to enrich uranium as a way of overcoming some US objections to Iran continuing to have its own enrichment programme.

The proposal would be one way of locking the Gulf states into supporting the Iranian position that it must be continued to be allowed to enrich.

Continue reading...

Sudan to cut ties with United Arab Emirates over alleged RSF support

Posted on by

UAE insists it does not provide arms to paramilitary group as Sudanese ambassador recalled

Sudan’s security and defence council has declared that it will break diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates over its alleged backing of the paramilitary Sudanese Rapid Support Forces.

During a televised speech on Tuesday, Sudan’s defence minister, Yassin Ibrahim, said Sudan was “severing diplomatic relations with the UAE” and recalling its ambassador, claiming the Gulf nation had breached Sudan’s sovereignty through its RSF “proxy”, which has been fighting the army in a bloody civil war since April 2023.

Continue reading...

Sudan fails in attempt to make UAE accountable for acts of genocide

Posted on by

Largely expected decision by international court of justice marks second diplomatic victory for Gulf state

An attempt by Sudan’s government to make the United Arab Emirates legally accountable for acts of genocide in West Darfur has been rejected by the international court of justice after the judges voted by 14 to 2 to declare they had no jurisdiction. By a narrower majority the judges voted 9 to 7 to strike the case entirely from the ICJ list.

There have been repeated allegations during the two-year civil war in Sudan that the UAE has been flying arms to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in an attempt to oust the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Continue reading...

ICJ hears Sudan case accusing UAE of ‘complicity in genocide’

Posted on by

United Arab Emirates says Sudan ‘misusing’ world court in proceedings relating to African nation’s civil war

The international court of justice will rule in the next few weeks on whether the United Arab Emirates can be plausibly found “complicit in the commission of genocide” by arming the Rapid Support Forces militia in Sudan’s civil war.

The case was brought by Sudan, whose acting justice minister, Muawia Osman, told the world court in The Hague last week that the country’s “ongoing genocide would not be possible without the complicity of the UAE, including the shipment of arms to the RSF”. Sudan wants ICJ judges to force the UAE to stop its alleged support for the RSF and make “full reparations”, including compensation to victims of the war.

Continue reading...

UK conference on Sudan fails to set up contact group for ceasefire talks

Posted on by

Major setback for diplomatic efforts to end two years of civil war as Arab states refuse to sign joint communique

A British-led attempt to establish a contact group to facilitate ceasefire talks in Sudan fell apart on Tuesday when Arab states refused to sign a joint communique after a conference in London.

The daylong argument between Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over the communique represents a big diplomatic setback for efforts to end two years of civil war in Sudan.

Continue reading...

Sudan in ‘world’s largest humanitarian crisis’ after two years of civil war

Posted on by

NGOs and UN say country is ‘worse off than ever before’ with wide-scale displacement, hunger and attacks on refugee camps

Sudan is suffering from the largest humanitarian crisis globally and its civilians are continuing to pay the price for inaction by the international community, NGOs and the UN have said, as the country’s civil war enters its third year.

The UK is hosting ministers from 20 countries in London on Tuesday in an attempt to restart stalled peace talks. However, diplomatic efforts have often been sidelined by other crises, including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Continue reading...

Leaked UN experts report raises fresh concerns over UAE’s role in Sudan war

Posted on by

As crucial London peace talks set to begin, report seen by the Guardian raises questions over ‘multiple’ flights into bases in Chad

Pressure is mounting on the United Arab Emirates over its presence at a crucial conference in London aimed at stopping the war in Sudan after a leaked confidential UN report raised fresh questions over the UAE’s role in the devastating conflict.

The UAE has been accused of secretly supplying weapons to Sudanese paramilitaries via neighbouring Chad, a charge it has steadfastly denied.

Continue reading...

Good Energy agrees near-£100m takeover by UAE-linked firm

Posted on by

Esyasoft to acquire UK company, which supplies renewable power to about 245,000 households and businesses

A British green electricity supplier, Good Energy, has agreed a near-£100m takeover by a company controlled by a member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family.

The retail energy company said on Monday it had agreed a deal with the Dubai-headquartered Esyasoft for a cash offer of £4.90 a share, valuing it at £99.4m.

Continue reading...

Reform deputy leader Richard Tice splitting time between Skegness and Dubai after partner leaves UK

Posted on by

MP says he is totally committed to his constituency after Isabel Oakeshott moved to the Emirates

One weekend, it will be the straightforward delights of Skegness seafront; the next, the flashy private beach clubs of Dubai.

Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK and its MP for Boston and Skegness, is splitting his time not just between his Lincolnshire ­constituency and the House of Commons, but is also spending time 3,500 miles away in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “We are spreading our international reach,” he said.

Continue reading...

Protesters march in London for release of teenage boy in Dubai jail

Posted on by

Marcus Fakana from north London was convicted of having sex with British girl, now 18, when they were on holiday

Protesters have marched through central London calling for the release of a teenager in prison in Dubai for having sex with a 17-year-old British girl.

Marcus Fakana, from Tottenham in north London, was jailed last month after being convicted of having sex with the girl, who has now turned 18, when they were on holiday in September.

Continue reading...

UAE becomes Africa’s biggest investor amid rights concerns

Posted on by

Activists alarmed at emirati companies’ poor record on labour rights and fear projects may fail to address environmental concerns

The United Arab Emirates has become the largest backer of new business projects in Africa, raising hopes of a rush of much-needed money for green energy, but also concerns that the investments could compromise the rights of workers and environmental protections.

Between 2019 and 2023, Emirati companies announced $110bn (£88bn) of projects, $72bn of them in renewable energy, according to FT Locations, a data company owned by the Financial Times.

Continue reading...

Rabbi in UAE killed in ‘antisemitic terror incident’, says Israel

Posted on by

UAE says it has arrested three people over the killing of Zvi Kogan, who worked for an Orthodox Jewish group

Israel has said that an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates was killed in what it described as a “heinous antisemitic terror incident”.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement about the death of Zvi Kogan, who worked in the UAE for an Orthodox Jewish group called Chabad and had not been seen since Thursday.

Continue reading...

UAE urges countries to honour fossil fuels vow amid Cop29 impasse

Posted on by

Petrostate’s rebuke comes as Saudi Arabia and allies try to derail transition promise made at climate talks last year

The world must stand behind a historic resolution made last year to “transition away from fossil fuels”, the United Arab Emirates has said, in a powerful intervention into a damaging row over climate action.

The petrostate’s stance will be seen as as a sharp rebuke to its neighbour and close ally Saudi Arabia, which had been trying to unpick the global commitment at UN climate talks in Azerbaijan this week.

Continue reading...

British 18-year-old arrested in Dubai for sex with 17-year-old

Posted on by

Marcus Fakana could face two decades in jail for having sex with girl, also from London, while on holiday in UAE

An 18-year-old man from London could be jailed in the United Arab Emirates after having sex with a 17-year-old girl.

Marcus Fakana, from Tottenham, was on a family holiday in Dubai when he met the British girl, who is also from London and has since turned 18.

Continue reading...

Iran cites 19th century British maps in row over ownership of islands

Posted on by

Tehran cites 1888 charts in effort to prove ownership of islands near strait of Hormuz that are also claimed by UAE

Maps drawn up more than 130 years ago on the instruction of the Marquess of Salisbury, the then British foreign secretary, have been cited by Iran in its deepening dispute with the Gulf states over the ownership of three strategic islands at the entrance to the critical strait of Hormuz waterway.

The dispute is threatening to damage Iran’s current efforts to form closer relations with its Gulf partners, and has also turned into an additional roadblock to improving Iran’s relations with the European Union.

Continue reading...

Chris Hemsworth criticised over tourism ad promoting Abu Dhabi despite ‘notorious’ human rights violations

Posted on by

Actor and wife filmed promotional ad in UAE, a country which strives to present itself as tolerant ‘while carrying out repression against dissent’

Australian movie star Chris Hemsworth has been criticised for starring in a slick advertisement promoting Abu Dhabi as a tourism destination in partnership with the United Arab Emirates government, the latest celebrity to use their influence to promote the gulf state.

Hemsworth features in the minute-long ad with his actor and model wife, Elsa Pataky, which they posted on their Instagram accounts on Wednesday. The ad was also shared by the Experience Abu Dhabi Instagram account.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Migrant workers exposed to deadly 45C temperatures in Gulf – report

Posted on by

Research and undercover interviews reveal reality of extreme heat exacerbated by abusive working conditions

Migrant workers across the Gulf are risking their lives by being forced to work up to 14 hours a day in deadly temperatures, according to human rights researchers.

Equidem, a human rights organisation, interviewed more than 250 migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE between 2021 and May 2024 for a new report on the conditions they were facing including their exposure to extreme heat and long working hours.

Continue reading...

World leaders call for restraint after Israel’s airstrikes on Iran

Posted on by

US and European states urge Tehran not to respond, while Middle Eastern countries condemn Israeli operation

World leaders have called for restraint after the first open Israeli airstrikes on Iran, after Tehran reiterated that it was “entitled and obligated to defend itself”.

The Israeli air force struck about 20 military bases across Iran, including missile and drone manufacturing sites and air defence systems, in the early hours of Saturday.

Continue reading...

UN chief calls on Sudanese paramilitary leader to end siege of North Darfur city

Posted on by

António Guterres ‘gravely alarmed’ by RSF assault on al-Fashir as EU foreign policy chief warns of another genocide

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, is “gravely alarmed” at reports of a full-scale assault on the Sudanese city of al-Fashir by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and has called on its leader to halt the attack immediately, according to Guterres’ spokesperson.

“It is unconscionable that the warring parties have repeatedly ignored calls for a cessation of hostilities,” Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement.

Continue reading...