UAE

24 Sep 2020; MEMO: Emirati companies have signed contracts with Israeli firms and banks blacklisted by the United Nations (UN) for supporting illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, an investigation by Anadolu Agency revealed on Wednesday.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s King Salman made a rare address to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, using the moment to highlight the foundational notions of his regime — his steadfast commitment to the Palestinians, his stature as custodian of Islam’s holiest sites and his assertion that Iran is responsible for much of the region’s instability.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia, the most powerful Arab nation and home to Islam’s holiest sites, has made its official position on the region’s longest-running conflict clear: Full ties between the kingdom and Israel can only happen when peace is reached with the Palestinians.

Yet state-backed Saudi media and clerics are signaling change is already underway with Israel — something that can only happen under the directives of the country’s powerful heir, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

21 Sep 2020; MEMO: Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Zayed is talking with the Pentagon to transfer the US Incirlik Air Base from Turkey to the UAE, the New Khaleej reported yesterday.

Informed sources revealed to the news site on Saturday that the plan aims to consolidate the UAE’s ties with the “deep state” in the US.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The newly formed U.S. Space Force is deploying troops to a vast new frontier: the Arabian Peninsula.

Space Force now has a squadron of 20 airmen stationed at Qatar’s Al-Udeid Air Base in its first foreign deployment. The force, pushed by President Donald Trump, represents the sixth branch of the U.S. military and the first new military service since the creation of the Air Force in 1947.

It has provoked skepticism in Congress, satire on Netflix, and, with its uncannily similar logo, “Star Trek” jokes about intergalactic battles.

13 Sep 2020; MEMO: The UAE reported 1,007 new coronavirus cases, the country’s Health Ministry said on Saturday, the highest daily spike since the first case was reported in the country, Anadolu Agency reported.

The total number of cases has rose to 78,849, including 68,983 recoveries, a ministry statement said.

It added that at least one more fatality was reported over the past day, bringing the country’s death toll to 339.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Afghanistan’s warring sides started negotiations on Saturday for the first time aimed at ending decades of war, bringing together delegates appointed by the Afghan government and the Taliban.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attended the opening ceremony, which was held in Qatar where the meetings will take place. It’s the latest in a flurry of diplomatic activity by the Trump administration ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.

08 Sep 2020; MEMO: Emirates airline revealed on Monday that it has refunded more than $1.4 billion to customers after cancelling their flights during the coronavirus crisis.

The Dubai-based national carrier said that it had settled more than 1.4 million refund claims since March, accounting for 90 per cent of all such claims. “The refunds include all requests from customers around the world until the end of June, save for some cases that require further manual review,” it added.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Saudi court issued final verdicts on Monday in the case of slain Washington Post columnist and Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi after his son, who still resides in the kingdom, announced pardons that spared five of the convicted individuals from execution.

04 Sep 2020; MEMO: The government of Dubai has sold $2 billion in Islamic and conventional bonds, in its first sale to international debt markets in six years.

The sale included $1 billion in ten-year sukuk, or Islamic bonds, and $1 billion in 30-year conventional bonds, Reuters reported.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected all economic sectors in Dubai – hitting the tourism industry, which is one of the most important sources of income for the Gulf emirate, the hardest.