UAE

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Bahrain will allow “all flights coming to and departing from the United Arab Emirates” to cross through the island kingdom’s airspace — a statement apparently allowing Israeli flights after neighboring Saudi Arabia issued a similar announcement.

The state-run Bahrain News Agency made the announcement without directly naming Israel, just as Saudi Arabia had. However, the announcement late Thursday came just days after Saudi Arabia allowed the first direct Israeli commercial passenger flight to use its airspace to reach the UAE.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — In less than 24 hours on the ground, Israel’s first-of-its-kind delegation to the United Arab Emirates received a warm welcome that would have been nearly unthinkable just a few weeks ago.

DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates has betrayed the Islamic world and the Palestinians by reaching a deal toward normalising ties with Israel, Iran’s top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech on Tuesday.

“Of course, the UAE’s betrayal will not last long, but this stigma will always be remembered. They allowed the Zionist regime to have a foothold in the region and forgot Palestine,” Khamenei said.

“The Emiratis will be disgraced forever for this treachery against the Islamic world, Arab nations and Palestine.”

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — New labor rules in the energy-rich nation of Qatar “effectively dismantles” the country’s long-criticized “kafala” employment system, a U.N. labor body said Sunday.

The International Labor Organization said as of now, migrant workers can change jobs before the end of their contracts without obtaining the permission of their current employers.

30 Aug 2020; MEMO: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) today issued a decree abolishing a 1972 law regarding the boycott of Israel, following a deal to normalise relations between the two countries, Anadolu Agency reports.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The ruler of the United Arab Emirates issued a decree Saturday formally ending the country’s boycott of Israel amid a U.S.-brokered deal to normalize relations between the two countries.

The announcement now allows trade and commerce between the UAE, home to oil-rich Abu Dhabi and skyscraper-studded Dubai, and Israel, home to a thriving diamond trade, pharmaceutical companies and tech start-ups.

DUBAI (Reuters) - The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen said it intercepted and destroyed on Friday an explosives-laden drone launched by the Iran-aligned group in the direction of Saudi Arabia, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.

DUBAI (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met the Sultan of Oman on Thursday as part of a Middle East tour following a U.S.-brokered deal on normalising relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

In a meeting with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, Pompeo said on Twitter he discussed “the importance of building regional peace, stability, and prosperity through a united Gulf Cooperation Council”.

Sultan Haitham took power in January after Sultan Qaboos bin Said died after a half century at the helm of the Gulf country.

 26 Aug 2020; MEMO: Israel has been selling advanced military systems and equipment to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for more than eight years, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper revealed.

25 Aug 2020; MEMO: The United Arab Emirates and Israel on Monday agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in the health sector following an accord between the countries to normalise relations 10 days ago, UAE state news agency WAM said.

The health ministers of the two countries discussed cooperation on pharmaceuticals, medical research, and COVID-19 in a telephone call. A statement from Israel’s Health Ministry added that they agreed on “initial and immediate cooperation” in the health sector.