Satellite photos obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday appear to show the aftermath of a fatal attack on an oil facility in the capital of the United Arab Emirates claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels.
The images by Planet Labs PBC analyzed by the AP show smoke rising over an Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. fuel depot in the Mussafah neighborhood of Abu Dhabi on Monday. Another image taken shortly after appears to show scorch marks and white fire-suppressing foam deployed on the grounds of the depot.
Full StorySouth Korea's leader arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, where he was greeted in Riyadh by the kingdom's crown prince and an honor guard marching band.
It was the second stop on a Mideast tour by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife, who were greeted on the tarmac by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. All were masked and President Moon did not shake hands with the prince, in line with coronavirus social distancing practices.
Full StoryThree Iranian diplomats have arrived in Saudi Arabia to represent Tehran in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, state TV reported Monday.
The report said the diplomats arrived several days ago, marking the first time that Saudi Arabia is receiving diplomats from Iran since 2016. That's when Saudi Arabia severed relations with the Islamic Republic after Iranian hardliners attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran.
Full StoryMansour Abbas broke a longstanding taboo when he led his Arab party into Israel's governing coalition last year. The bold move appears to be paying dividends.
Abbas, a once obscure politician, is the linchpin of the shaky union, securing hefty budgets and favorable policies for his constituents and even winning an audience with the king of Jordan.
Full StoryA senior U.N. official said she is pushing for Libya to hold elections by June after the county missed a December deadline to elect its first president since the 2011 ouster and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
Stephanie Williams, the U.N.'s special adviser on Libya, told The Associated Press late Sunday that it is still "very reasonable and possible" for the country's 2.8 million voters to cast their ballots by June in line with the U.N.-brokered 2020 roadmap.
Full StoryThree people were killed in a suspected drone attack that set off a blast and a fire in Abu Dhabi on Monday, officials said, as Yemen's rebels announced military operations in the United Arab Emirates.
Two Indians and a Pakistani died as three petrol tanks exploded near the storage facility of oil giant ADNOC, while a fire ignited in a construction area at Abu Dhabi airport.
Full StoryIsraeli police were in a standoff Monday with a Palestinian man who carried a gas cannister on the roof of his home in a Jerusalem flashpoint as his family faced eviction.
Israeli media reported that Mohammed Salhiya had threatened to set himself on fire if the eviction order from Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem was carried out.
Full StoryJordan's military has said that an army officer was killed in a shootout with smugglers on the country's northern border with Syria.
A Jordanian military website said Capt. Muhammad Yassin Musa al-Khudayrat was killed and three others were injured when a group of smugglers opened fire on border guards.
Full StoryEgyptian authorities have announced the arrest of a prominent member of a U.S.-designated terrorist group. According to government media, the suspect was detained after a Turkey-bound flight from Sudan that he was on made an emergency landing in Egypt.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement that a man, identified as Hossam Menoufy, had been arrested earlier in the week but did not provide further details.
Full StoryThe U.N. Security Council has condemned the seizure of a United Arab Emirates ship and demanded that Yemen's Houthi rebels immediately release the vessel and its crew.
A press statement from the U.N.'s most powerful body called on all sides "to resolve the issue quickly and underlined the importance of freedom of navigation in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, in accordance with international law."
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