Iran and Oman will work to boost their ties, the Islamic republic’s President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, as a diplomatic crisis persists in the Gulf. “Iran and Oman have for years had fraternal relations and the best must be made of these good relations to reinforce them,” Rouhani said as he met Oman’s foreign … Read more
The cream of European football will be on display in the United States this month as the International Champions Cup aims to cash in on the growing popularity of the world’s most popular sport amongst American fans. In the space of little more than a decade, the event has evolved from a haphazard collection of … Read more
The United States expects to lift the laptop ban soon for the four remaining foreign airports that are still impacted by the electronics restriction. On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security said if security measures are increased at those specific airports in the next coming days to weeks, the laptop restriction will be removed. Back … Read more
An agreement between Qatar and the United States on combating terror funding is “insufficient”, the four Arab states that imposed sanctions on the emirate said in a joint statement Tuesday. The memorandum of understanding announced in Doha during a visit by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is “the result of pressure and repeated calls … Read more
Four airports remain under a ban for carry-on laptops on US-bound flights, imposed amid fears that Islamic State is developing a bomb concealed in personal electronics, officials said Tuesday. The ban remains in place for Saudi Arabia’s two main international airports, in Riyadh and Jeddah, as well as Egypt’s Cairo International and Morocco’s Casablanca Mohammed … Read more
Qatar’s envoy to Gaza said Tuesday Doha was committed to funding projects in the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave, despite pressure from Saudi Arabia and others who accuse it of supporting extremism. Speaking in Gaza City alongside a top UN official, Mohammed al-Amadi said Qatar would continue to fund projects in Gaza, despite the “siege” imposed by … Read more
The US and Qatar announced Tuesday they have signed an agreement on fighting terrorism, at a time when the emirate is facing sanctions from neighbouring countries which accuse it of supporting extremism. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani made the announcement at a joint news conference … Read more
Amnesty International on Tuesday called for a commission to investigate crimes against civilians in Mosul by all sides in the battle to liberate the Iraqi city from jihadists. “The horrors that the people of Mosul have witnessed and the disregard for human life by all parties to this conflict must not go unpunished,” said Lynn … Read more
Kuwait, the United States and Britain Monday called on all sides in the Gulf crisis to resolve their dispute through dialogue and expressed “deep concern” over the continued rift. Their call was issued in a joint statement following talks between US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, his Kuwaiti counterpart and Britain’s national security adviser at … Read more
The President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has expressed dissatisfaction about the way Ghanaian nationals are treated in the Gulf especially in Qatar. Speaking to the new Qatar Ambassador to Ghana, Mohammed Jaber Al-Kuwari, at the Flagstaff House on Monday, President Akufo-Addo said he wants the issue to be resolved to … Read more
Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu received Monday a suspended two-month prison sentence and community work after a Jerusalem court decided against imprisoning him for a misdemeanour from over four years ago. The 62-year-old former nuclear technician was jailed in 1986 for disclosing the inner workings of Israel’s Dimona nuclear plant to Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper. … Read more
Syria’s six-year conflict has ravaged its infrastructure and caused losses to its economy of $226 billion, according to estimates published by the World Bank on Monday. The devastating war has killed over 320,000 people and displaced more than half the country’s population since it began in March 2011. The World Bank said the destruction ran … Read more
Britain’s High Court ruled on Monday that UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia are not unlawful, after campaigners argued the weapons were used to violate international humanitarian law in bombing Yemen. “We have concluded that the material decisions of the secretary of state were lawful. We therefore dismiss the claim,” Lord Justice Burnett said at … Read more
Syria’s government and opposition meet Monday for a seventh round of UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva with little expectation of a breakthrough to end the six-year conflict. The Geneva process has been increasingly overshadowed by a separate track organised by regime allies Russia and Iran, and rebel backer Turkey. And on Sunday, a ceasefire brokered … Read more
Kuwait Airways said Sunday that a ban on laptops and tablets in the cabins of its US-bound flights had been lifted by Washington. “Now our passengers flying from Kuwait International Airport to in #NY will be able to use all of their personal electronic devices,” the emirate’s flag carrier said on Twitter. The United States … Read more
Qatar on Sunday announced it was establishing a committee to pursue compensation claims potentially worth billions of dollars over the country’s “blockade” by Gulf states. Attorney General Ali bin Fetais al-Marri said the Compensation Claims Committee would deal with cases including major companies, such as Qatar Airways, and individual Qatari students who have been expelled … Read more
More than a month since the start of the diplomatic crisis gripping the Gulf, hopes of a swift resolution seem as remote as a summer downpour in the desert. Both sides — the group of Saudi-led allies against Qatar — seem as entrenched in their positions as ever and as unlikely to find a face-saving … Read more
That Ghana is inviting the Chinese to mine bauxite at Atiwa and some other ore centres has made remarkable headlines this week. Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia says his government sought to leverage less than five percent of our bauxite deposits to unlock close to $20billion. According to him, Ghana has about 460million tonnes of bauxite … Read more
For many players, a move to a club that has struggled to avoid relegation for two straight seasons would be considered the beginning of the end, but for Asamoah Gyan, the move to Turkish side Kayserispor is about proving the opposite. If you are the Ghana stalwart, who has taken that path to return to … Read more
Saudi Arabia and its allies on Friday criticised Qatar’s refusal to accept conditions to end the Gulf’s biggest diplomatic crisis in years as a threat to regional security. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain said Qatar’s rejection of a list of demands they set to lift sanctions on Doha “reflects its intention … Read more