The United States said on Monday it was closing its embassy in Yemen to the public for regular consular services amid political turmoil after the government resigned under pressure from Houthi rebels. While the U.S. embassy in Sana’a will not offer routine consular services until further notice, the State Department said the embassy itself remained open in Yemen, where the ...

Yemen’s Shiite militia and ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh’s party held a meeting boycotted by other parties Friday to discuss ending the country’s political crisis, as protests hit several cities, including the capital. The militia, which overran Sanaa in September, seized the presidential palace and key government buildings last week, plunging the country deeper into crisis and prompting President Abedrabbo Mansour ...

Most Yemeni factions have agreed to set up an interim presidential council to manage the country for up to one year, negotiators said Thursday, in a step to ease a power struggle that forced the president to step down two weeks ago. The dominant Houthi movement had set a Wednesday deadline for political factions to agree a way out of ...

ABU DHABI, 16th December 2014 (WAM): the UAE Foreign Minister, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has issued a statement strongly condemning the terrorist act, targeting innocent citizens, that took place in a cafe in the Australian city of Sydney yesterday. “This ugly act,” he said, “strengthens our commitment to confront the phenomena of extremism and terrorism, which ...

Donations continue to roll in for the country’s Show Compassion campaign. The Ruler of Ajman, Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, has ordered the Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi Foundation for Charity to provide 4,000 jackets and 2,000 blankets to help Syrian refugees in the Levant cope during the winter season. The aid will be delivered in coordination with Emirates ...

Twenty young Emirati dancers, painters, writers, filmmakers and photographers are learning to transform their skills into viable businesses thanks to an 18-month vocational training course. The Cultural Excellence Fellowship Programme, run by the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation (Admaf) in partnership with the British Council, requires the students to attend one-day business focused workshops every other weekend. Each seminar ...

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said his country’s relations with the United Arab Emirates are “excellent,” and “will remain special,” during his first official visit to the Gulf state on Sunday. In an interview with the Abu Dhabi TV Channel, Sisi described Egypt’s relationship with the UAE as “strong and balanced since it was founded by the late Sheikh Zayed ...

ABU DHABI // After Qatar, the UAE is the second most expensive country in the Gulf to live, a price comparison survey had found. According to Numbeo’s global survey, which measured the cost of living in 119 countries, Oman is the cheapest place in the region to live. Numbeo claims to be the largest database of user contributed information about ...

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) withdrew from air strike missions against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria after the capture of a Jordanian pilot, who has since been murdered by the jihadists, US officials say. The UAE pulled out of the flights soon after the pilot was taken hostage in December, a US official said. “I can confirm that UAE ...

Controversy surrounds the questionable award of the 2022 soccer World Cup to Qatar. FIFA, the sport’s governing body, still faces scrutiny over how the tiny Gulf state managed to triumph over what seemed to many to be far more realistic bids; allegations of corruption are rife. But beyond reports of sordid backroom dealings, Qatar’s World Cup bid is tainted by a darker reality: the ...