UAE

DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates urged all citizens and residents aged 16 and above to register for COVID-19 vaccinations from Sunday as the Gulf state widens its immunisation drive after inoculating about 56% of the eligible population.

The UAE, the region’s commercial and tourism hub and a global travel centre, has set a blistering pace for its vaccine rollout to keep its economy open for business. It ranks second globally behind Israel for doses per 100 people.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s state-backed oil giant Aramco announced Sunday that its profits nearly halved in 2020 to $49 billion, a big drop that came as the coronavirus pandemic roiled global energy markets.

DUBAI (Reuters) - A French tourist arrested in Iran 10 months ago, Benjamin Briere, faces charges of “spying and propaganda against the system”, one of his lawyers told Reuters on Monday.

He gave the new details of the case at a time of heightened tension between Tehran and the West, as the United States and European parties to Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal - including France - try to restore the pact abandoned in 2018 by then-U.S. President Donald Trump.

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Afghan peace talks, now stalled in Qatar, should be rotated to other venues, Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates said, indicating the Qatari hosts had not pushed hard enough for the Taliban to reduce violence.

Talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban have been held in Qatar since last year, after the United States agreed to withdraw its troops. But violence has increased and the government accuses the militants of failing to meet obligations to reduce attacks.

DUBAI (Reuters) - The trial of British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe at Iran’s Revolutionary court was held on Sunday, her lawyer Hojjat Kermani told Reuters, hoping she would be acquitted from the charge of “propaganda against the system”.

“Her trial was held at branch 15 of the Revolutionary court. Her charge is propaganda against the system,” Kermani said, adding that “Zaghari-Ratcliffe was fine and calm at the court session”.

13 Mar 2021; MEMO: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced yesterday that it was setting up a $10 billion investment fund aimed at strategic sectors in Israel. The two countries normalised relations last year in what was seen as a major triumph of the former US President Donald Trump.

11 Mar 2021; MEMO: Palestinians received 40,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine on Thursday, a donation by the United Arab Emirates that could boost a long-time rival of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of an election, reported Reuters.

Mohammad Dahlan, who fell out with Abbas and was dismissed from the president's Fatah party more than a decade ago, took credit for securing the shipment to Gaza from the UAE, where he lives in exile.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma have tested positive for COVID-19 after showing minor symptoms, the president’s office said in a statement on Monday.

It said they were both in good health and would continue to work while in isolation at home.

06 Mar 2021; MEMO: The United Nations (UN) confirmed on Friday that it has not yet received any evidence from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government that Sheikha Latifa is alive.

06 Mar 2021; MEMO: The population of Emirati citizens in Dubai is only 8 per cent of the total population, recent data issued by the Dubai Statistic Centre showed.

According to the data, the Emirati population was 271,50 by the end of 2020, compared with 263,450 in 2019.

There was an increase of 7,600 citizens with a growth rate of about 2.88 per cent.