Saudi Arabia deters bid for UN human rights probe in Yemen

A Saudi-led coalition of Arab states has been pressing a bombing campaign in Yemen over the past six months to try to restore a Yemeni government forced into exile by Houthi fighters

Qatar central bank chief cools rate rise talk, says won’t follow U.S.

The official said that liquidity in Qatar’s banking system remained ample and that demand for T-bills was still strong

Saudi forces arrest two foreigners at illegal bomb factory

One of those arrested was a Syrian man, who the interior ministry said was preparing to carry out attacks while the other was a Filipino woman accused of helping him

Opening of Abu Dhabi’s Louvre pushed back to 2016

Officials did not give a reason for the delay in building work at the $650m project

Iran expels second-ranking Bahraini diplomat in Tehran

Diplomatic relations between Bahrain and Iran have been strained after the former accused Iran of being behind recent bomb attacks on the island kingdom’s security forces

Saudi Arabia signals easing of tension with Islamist cleric

Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi, a cleric whose fiery sermons have irked Gulf states, appeared alongside the Qatari prime minister and the Saudi ambassador at an event in Doha

Saudi Arabia to continue energy investments despite oil price drop

The kingdom’s oil minister said that the sharp fluctuations in oil prices have been happening since 1970s

Mideast funds heavily favour UAE equities in region

Survey finds 53 per cent of fund managers expect to raise equity allocations to the UAE in the next three months

Dubai property market should balance itself – Deyaar CEO

Residential sales prices fell 6 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter

Saudi Arabia’s new oil policy works in reclaiming market share

Saudi Arabia led a shift by the OPEC in November 2014 to defend market share against competing supplies

Audi: Driving into the future

Senior board members at Audi and parent company Volkswagen explain how driving as we know it is about to change

New Indian channel launches in Middle East, targets South Asian expats

Senior executive at Rishtey Asia confirms content has been curated for the local market

Kuwait to seek private investment in $36bn projects

The Gulf state recently introduced a new law designed to facilitate public-private partnerships

Emirates begins second daily service to Boston

The new service is anticipated to boost passenger and cargo capacity on the route

Nexus 6P will be launched in the Middle East

Previous smartphones from Google’s flagship Nexus line have not been officially launched in the region

Saudi Arabia says deeply concerned at Russian attacks on Syria

Officials from the kingdom have said no ISIL targets were present in the areas attacked by Russia

Huawei Smart Watch Metal Strap

Huawei launches new smartphone, watch in the Middle East

The Chinese firm is the third largest smartphone vendor in the Middle East by market share, behind Samsung and Apple

Dubai’s ruler approves Expo 2020-related road expansion, new metro station designs

The Route 2020 project is an extension of the Dubai Metro’s Red Line connecting to the Expo 2020 site

Bahrain uncovers large bomb-making factory

Officials said the bomb-making facility in Nuweidrat contained more than 1.5 tonnes of high-grade explosives

Star Trek Beyond begins filming in Dubai

The movie will be filmed over 13 days across the city

Abu Dhabi’s TDIC appoints official from wealth fund ADIA as CEO

Sufian Hasan al-Marzooqi took charge as CEO of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Development Investment Co in mid-September

Dubai airport August traffic up 9.5% as capacity and inbound travellers rise

Traffic rose to 7.28 million passengers from 6.65 million a year earlier

Iran’s leader condemns Saudi over haj crush, demands bodies of pilgrims

At least 239 Iranians pilgrims were killed in the stampede near Mecca and 200 others are still missing

Qatar Airways to launch daily direct flights to Sydney from March 2016

The new route launch comes after Australia and Qatar agreed to boost flight capacity by 50 per cent

Pictures: Meraas opens new attraction ‘The Dome Box’ in Dubai

The venue, the first of its kind in the Middle East, is located within Meraas’ recently opened Box Park development

Gulf-backed Yemeni forces battle Houthis for strategic territory

The seizure of the Marib dam by militiamen fighting alongside Gulf troops is their biggest success in several weeks

StanChart aims to hire financial crime compliance staff in Middle East

The bank is hiring a head of sanctions for the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan

Dubai’s dnata acquires 30% stake in Italy’s Airport Handling

Under the agreement, dnata will also have a call option to acquire a further 40 per cent share

Twitter may expand 140-character limit with new product

The company’s executives are also discussing changes to how the character limit is measured

UAE says labour reforms will better protect foreign workers

New steps will make it easier for workers in the country to change employers