UAE

DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain will not allow the import of Israeli goods produced in settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, state news agency BNA reported, disavowing comments made by the Gulf state’s trade minister earlier this week.

Bahrain’s Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid al-Zayani had voiced openness to settlement imports, adding that Manama would make no distinction between products produced in Israel or in the occupied West Bank and Golan Heights.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The island kingdom of Bahrain said it has become the second nation in the world to grant an emergency-use authorization for the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.

The state-run Bahrain News Agency made the announcement on Friday night, following an earlier announcement by the United Kingdom on Wednesday, making Britain the first in the world.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s total cases of novel coronavirus hit 1 million on Thursday with 13,922 new cases recorded in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said, as the Middle East’s worst-affected country’s death toll reached 49,348.

Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV that 358 people had died from the coronavirus since Wednesday and that confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection had reached 1,003,494.

Iran has introduced tougher restrictions to stem a third wave of coronavirus infections, including closing non-essential businesses and travel curbs.

Tehran, Nov 30, IRNA – UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement condemning the “heinous” terrorist attack against Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the head of Research and Innovation Organization of Iran Ministry of Defense, was assassinated in a terrorist attack near Tehran on Friday afternoon.

The statement, which was issued on Sunday night, warned that the terrorist attack could further fuel conflict in the region.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian president Hassan Rouhani on Saturday accused Israel of killing the country’s top nuclear scientist, believed by the West to be the architect of Tehran’s secret military nuclear programme.

Iran’s clerical and military rulers have threatened revenge for Friday’s killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, which could further increase tensions in the Middle East region and beyond.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Travel agencies in countries across the Middle East and Africa say the United Arab Emirates has temporarily halted issuing new visas to their citizens, a so-far unexplained ban on visitors amid both the coronavirus pandemic and the UAE’s normalization deal with Israel.

Confusion over the UAE visa ban targeting 11 Muslim-majority nations, in addition to Lebanon and Kenya, swirled after a leaked document from Dubai’s state-owned airport free zone surfaced this week, declaring restrictions against a range of nationalities.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian scientist named by the West as the leader of the Islamic Republic’s disbanded military nuclear program was killed Friday in an ambush on the outskirts of Tehran, authorities said.

27 Nov 2020; MEMO: Official sources have uncovered Emirati pressure on the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayeb to engage in the Saudi-Emirati campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood (MB).

Abu Dhabi, Nov 27 (PTI) Noting that the experiences from the COVID era hold lessons for both India and the United Arab Emirates, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has discussed further opportunities to work together with the Gulf kingdom in a "changing world" during a meeting with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Jaishankar paid a two-day visit to UAE on November 25-26. It was the second leg of his six-day three-nation tour to Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Seychelles, which began on Tuesday.

26 Nov 2020; MEMO: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has suspended issuing travel and work visas for citizens of 13 mostly Muslim-majority countries, including Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Syria and Somalia, Reuters reported on Wednesday.