DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard is building a massive new support ship near the strategic Strait of Hormuz as it tries to expand its naval presence in waters vital to international energy supplies and beyond, satellite photos obtained by The Associated Press show.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, reported on Thursday it handled over 13.6 million passengers in the first three months of 2022 — more than double last year’s number in a clear sign that a long-awaited travel revival has reached the global aviation hub.
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s new laser missile defense system has successfully intercepted mortars, rockets and anti-tank missiles in recent tests, Israeli leaders said Thursday.
ISRAEL – The moment Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, Russian filmmakers Anna Shishova-Bogolyubova and Dmitry Bogolyubov knew they had to leave Moscow.
Jerusalem – As Europe aims to wean itself off Russian fossil fuel because of the Ukraine invasion, Israel hopes to help fill the gap with gas from its offshore reserves.
France, Germany and Luxembourg have seized properties and frozen assets worth 120 million euros ($130 million) in a major operation linked to money laundering in Lebanon, the EU’s justice agency said Monday.
WASHINGTON — A U.S. Navy veteran who was jailed in Iran for nearly two years sued the Iranian government on Thursday for $1 billion, alleging that he was kidnapped, held hostage and tortured.
WARSAW, Poland — On her first Shabbat away from the fighting in Ukraine, Rabbi Julia Gris twice led services to welcome the Jewish holy day.
BAGHDAD — As many as 12 missiles struck near a sprawling U.S. consulate complex in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil on Sunday, in what a U.S. defense official and an Iraqi official said was a strike launched from neighboring Iran.
Odessa (Ukraine) — Forced yet again into exile, as so many times in their tormented history, Jews are leaving in droves from the Ukrainian city of Odessa, threatening the last traces of a once-vibrant culture.
AL Shahania (Qatar) – The lips pouted to perfection, the neck was long and poised, and the judges were sure that no Botox was involved as they awarded Qatar’s largest cash prize for a camel beauty contest in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
RIYADH – Air defense systems have been front and center at Saudi Arabia’s first defence show as drone and missile attacks increase in the energy-rich Gulf.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Dubai’s main airport said Tuesday it has retained its top place as the world’s busiest for international travel with around 29 million passengers shuttling through the global gateway last year.
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has returned 820,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines donated by Poland because they were manufactured in the United States, state TV reported Monday.
MUSCAT – A wave of foreign imitations and alternative styles has prompted Oman to take tough action to preserve its unique national dress, threatening thousands of dollars in fines for men who wear the wrong sort of dishdasha.
A Nicolas de Largilliere painting that was stolen from a Jewish collector by the Nazis during World War II is scheduled to go to auction after it was recovered by his heirs.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran has sentenced a prominent human rights activist to more than eight years prison, according to her husband.
DURACH, Germany — Andrzej Sitkowski was 15 years old when his mother told him that she had been asked by a neighbor to hide a little Jewish girl from the Nazis at their home.
PARIS – Airbus has taken the extraordinary step of cancelling a multi-billion-dollar order of 50 planes from Qatar Airways, a major customer, in an escalating feud over the airline’s grounding of A350 aircraft.
SELCUK, Turkey — Black-eyed Nirvana and Mr. Isa, two male camels from the western Aydin province of Turkey and wearing colorful saddles, circled the grounds with their owners and then wrestled fiercely as thousands cheered.
Goldfish may have short memories but, according to an Israeli university study, they might be able to drive.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — United States navy vessels seized 385 kilograms (849 pounds) of heroin in the Arabian Sea worth some $4 million, in a major bust by the international maritime operation in the region, officials said Thursday.
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran said Thursday it launched a rocket with a satellite carrier bearing three devices into space, though it’s unclear if any of the objects entered orbit around the Earth.
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike group to stay in the Mediterranean Sea region rather than move on to the Middle East, amid worries about the buildup of thousands of Russian troops near the Ukraine border.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. Navy said it seized a large cache of assault rifles and ammunition being smuggled by a fishing ship from Iran likely bound for war-ravaged Yemen.
JERUSALEM – Israeli researchers on Wednesday displayed a Roman-era golden ring with an early Christian symbol for Jesus inscribed in its gemstone, found in a shipwreck off the ancient port of Caesarea.
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard on Tuesday fired cruise missiles during a major military exercise across the country’s south, media reported.
ISTANBUL — Turkey’s troubled lira nosedived Monday after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cited Muslim teachings to justify not raising interest rates to stabilise the currency.
JERUSALEM — Israeli ministers on Monday agreed to ban travel to the United States, Canada and eight other countries amid the rapid, global spread of the omicron variant.
A U.S. Navy ship successfully fired a new, high-energy laser weapon on Tuesday, destroying a training target.
DUBAI – The U.S. Navy has rescued five Iranian sailors injured in an explosion that erupted on their vessel and seized its cargo of illegal drugs, a statement said on Thursday.
JERUSALEM — The Israeli government on Wednesday said it was donating 1 million coronavirus vaccines to the U.N.-backed COVAX program.
ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described social media Saturday as one of the main threats to democracy.
Tehran – “No, my cat is not dangerous,” says Iranian animal lover Mostafa, outraged by a proposal from ultraconservative lawmakers to ban pets.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi authorities have conducted their biggest-ever crackdown on camel beauty contestants that received Botox injections and other artificial touch-ups, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported Wednesday, with over 40 camels disqualified from the annual pageant.
BERLIN — German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle said Friday it is suspending four employees and one freelancer during an investigation into allegations that they expressed anti-Israel and antisemitic views.
NICE, France — French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting the energy-rich Persian Gulf Friday, hoping to seal a major arms contract after this fall’s Australian submarine deal debacle and to strengthen France’s role in the region.
JERUSALEM — Several dozen Holocaust survivors marked the third night of Hanukkah on Tuesday with a menorah-lighting ceremony at Jerusalem’s Western Wall that paid tribute to them and the 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis.
LONDON — China, which is increasingly flexing its muscles around the world, is one of the biggest threats to Britain and its allies, and a “miscalculation” by Beijing could lead to war, the head of the U.K.’s foreign intelligence agency said Tuesday.
JERUSALEM — The Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am said Monday that politics don’t dictate his actions, with pressure from pro-Palestinian activists unable to deter him from performing in Israel and maintaining ties to the country’s high-tech scene.
