Middle East

Bahrain is considering doubling value added tax to 10 per cent to boost state revenues and reduce its budget deficit, a Bahraini parliamentary source and a source close to the government ...

Several thousand demonstrators rallied in the Tunisian capital on Sunday to protest against President Kais Saied’s seizure of power, calling on him to step down in the biggest show ...

Israeli forces killed at least four Palestinians during a raid in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, in a statement, ...

Venezuela has agreed to a key contract to swap its heavy oil for Iranian condensate that it can use to improve the quality of its tar-like crude, with the first ...

Cyprus is moving closer to its goal to end energy isolation, with significant developments concerning electricity interconnections with its neighbouring countries. According to Cyprus News Agency (CNA) sources, developments on ...

Cyprus will be at the EXPO2020 world fair between October 1 2021 and March 31 2022 to share its history and cultural heritage with visitors, promote the island as a tourist destination, advance its ...

Majed Sait and his wife are spending their honeymoon on a cruise in the turquoise waters off Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, a voyage that is still a novelty ...

The first world fair to be held in the Middle East, Expo 2020 Dubai, opens its doors to exhibitors from almost 200 countries on Oct. 1 after being delayed for a year by ...

The United Arab Emirates’ economy minister will lead a high-level delegation to Britain this week, the ministry said on Sunday, as the Gulf state seeks to deepen trade ties. Abdulla ...

The United Arab Emirates will give favourable treatment to a locally-owned conglomerate after it pledged on Saturday to hire thousands of citizens, days after the government unveiled a $6.5 billion plan ...

A drone strike in Kabul last month killed as many as 10 civilians, including seven children, the U.S. military said on Friday, apologizing for what it called a “tragic mistake”. ...

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement said on Saturday that authorities had executed nine men who were convicted of involvement in the 2018 killing of Saleh al-Samad, then the armed group’s ...

The United Arab Emirates could invest at least a further 1 billion pounds ($1.4 billion) in the United Kingdom this year after pledging 10 billion pounds this week to its investment partnership with ...

The mooted deal for Bahrain’s national airline Gulf Air to use Larnaca airport as a hub for a number of international destinations has the potential to open up the ...

Israel’s economy grew faster than previously estimated in the second quarter, bouncing back strongly after most COVID-19 related restrictions were lifted. Gross domestic product grew 16.6 per cent at an ...

Lebanon’s outgoing finance minister Ghazi Wazni said on Tuesday a contract for a forensic audit of the central bank would be signed in a few days by the new ...

President Vladimir Putin received Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in Moscow for the first time since 2015 on Monday and criticised foreign forces that are in Syria without a U.N. mandate, ...

Turkish industrial output rose 8.7 per cent annually in July, much less than forecast after a recent strong rebound, while the current account deficit was wider than expected, data showed on ...

Lebanese leaders agreed a new government led by Sunni Muslim tycoon Najib Mikati on Friday after a year of feuding over cabinet seats that has exacerbated a devastating economic collapse, ...

U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi will fly to Tehran this weekend for talks that may ease a standoff between Iran and the West just as it risks escalating ...

Lebanese leaders agreed a new government on Friday after a year of political feuding over cabinet seats that has exacerbated a devastating economic collapse, opening the way to a possible ...

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the United Arab Emirates’ biggest sovereign wealth fund, sees technology and climate change as key investment areas for its post-COVID-19 strategy, it said in its 2020 ...

India and Russia believe that foreign militant groups operating from Afghanistan pose a threat to central Asia and to India and agreed to deepen anti-terrorism cooperation at a meeting of ...

In one of the only known photographs of Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, he stares directly at the camera – an expressionless face between a white turban and a long, grey ...