RIYADH / WAM Saudi Arabia’s Royal Air Defence Forces intercepted a ballistic missile launched by Iranian-backed Houthi militias towards the Kingdom, said the Arab Coalition Command in a statement. No injuries or casualties were reported. Colonel Turki Al Malki, the Arab Coalition official spokesman, said that at 21:25 on Friday, the Coalition Air Defence detected the launch of a ballistic ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development has issued a final call for applications for the fourth edition of “Ibtikari” (My Innovation), an intensive six-month incubator aimed at helping Emiratis advance their technology start-ups. The deadline to apply is August 31. This year’s updated version of “Ibtikari” is a result of a new partnership between the Khalifa ...

ASTANA / WAM Dr Mohammed Ahmed bin Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Kazakhstan, has participated in laying the foundation stone of the UAE mission compound in Astana, in the presence of the mission staff and military attaché and the contractors. The new compound is an extension of the distinguished relations of friendship between the UAE and ...

DUBAI / WAM The Events Security Committee at Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) and Dubai Police has chalked out a plan for the traffic movement, and road security of the public celebrating Eid Al Adha holiday. Brigadier Expert Khalil Obaid Al Bishri, Acting Director of the General Department of Organization Protective Security and Emergency cum deputy Head of Events Security ...

DUBAI / WAM Mariam Hareb Almheiri, Minister of State for Food Security, concluded her trip to Queensland and New South Wales, Australia, by meeting with high-level federal government officials and visiting innovative private sector food production facilities to discuss important issues relating to future food security. Alongside, Dr Obaid Al Hayeri Salem Al Katbi, UAE Ambassador to Australia, and representatives ...

Bloomberg As the European Union tries to resolve differences over Kosovo and welcome new members from the former Yugoslavia, one hopeful may have a tougher issue to overcome. Serbia, the largest of the six Balkan countries the bloc says could join from 2025, is being forced to choose between the benefits of the world’s No. 1 trading alliance and loyalty ...

Bloomberg Kofi Annan, the soft-spoken Ghanaian diplomat who served as the first United Nations secretary-general from sub-Saharan Africa, has died. Annan died on Saturday after an unspecified short illness, according to a statement from his family and the Kofi Annan Foundation. He was 80. “Kofi Annan was a global statesman and a deeply committed internationalist who fought throughout his life ...

Bloomberg Imran Khan was sworn in as Pakistan’s prime minister on Saturday after winning a vote from a majority lawmakers with a pledge to curb corruption through “ruthless accountability.” President Mamnoon Hussain took oath from the 65-year-old former cricket star in Islamabad. Khan, whose Movement for Justice party won the most seats in last month’s national poll, beat his opponent ...

Bloomberg Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit Pyongyang next month as ties between the two countries improve amid mounting US-China trade tensions, The Straits Times reported, without citing anyone. Xi has been invited by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the country’s founding on September 9, the paper said. The visit would be ...

Bloomberg The whirlwind tearing through international relations that is US President Donald Trump may be forcing Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin into a marriage of convenience after years of antagonism. On Saturday, the German chancellor hosted the Russian president at an 18th century Baroque palace near Berlin, their first bilateral meeting in Germany since before Putin’s 2014 annexation of Crimea ...