Lebanon economy needs urgent ‘surgery’ to avoid collapse – PM Hariri in Dubai

After nine months of wrangling over cabinet portfolios, Lebanon’s politicians finally formed a government 10 days ago

Pope says he found ‘good will’ from UAE leaders to seek peace in Yemen

Pope Francis held private meeting with UAE leaders

Saudi intercepts missile fired towards Abha

The kingdom has been targeted by hundreds of missile attacks since entering the Yemen civil war in 2015

Saudi-led coalition ready to use ‘calibrated force’ to push Yemen port deal – UAE

Coalition forces have so far held off from a full-blown assault due to humanitarian concerns

Abu Dhabi TV cameraman killed in Yemen bombing

The blast took place at a market in Mocha on Monday evening

Saudi-led coalition launches air strikes on Yemeni capital

Coalition warplanes attacked several military targets in Sanaa

Saudi foreign ministry denies reopening Damascus embassy

The UAE re-opened its embassy in Damascus last month

Iranian military cargo plane crashes, 15 killed

The Boeing cargo plane went down near Fath airport, near Karaj

OPEC is not the enemy of the US, UAE energy minister says

Leading oil producers agreed in December to cut their combined oil output, despite US President Donald Trump’s call for them not to

Different Arab money

Startup funding up by 31% in MENA region to reach $893m in 2018

A total of 366 investments were made in regional startups by 156 institutions last year

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim

The president of the World Bank resigns

Jim Yong Kim’s resignation takes effect from February 1

Egypt’s Sisi opens mega-mosque, Middle East’s largest cathedral in new capital

Coptic Christians make up an estimated 10 per cent of Egypt’s nearly 100 million people

New allegations against Ghosn concern payments to Saudi businessman, say sources

Japanese prosecutors arrested Ghosn for a third time last week, in a case that has rocked the auto industry

Advance UN truce monitors arrive in Yemen’s Hodeidah

The warring parties in Yemen’s nearly four-year war reached the deal at UN-sponsored peace talks in Sweden earlier this month

christmas bauble the dubai mall guinness world record

The Dubai Mall bags the Guinness record for the world’s largest bauble

The ornament is located in the Star Atrium of the mall

Standard Chartered appoints new Middle East CEO

New senior appointments also announced in Jordan and Oman

UAE tops MENA for wage equality, Arab region remains world’s least gender-equal

It will take the MENA economies “153 years to close the gender gap at the current rate of change”

Fighting breaks out in Yemen’s Hodeidah after truce deal

Despite the ceasefire, one resident told Reuters he could hear the sound of missiles

UN chief says Yemen’s warring parties agree to ceasefire in Hodeidah

UAE minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash welcomed the deal

Yemen warring parties agree to reopen Sanaa airport

A UN spokeswoman said both parties had received a “final package” of agreements

UN report says missile launchers found in Yemen appear to be from Iran

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres did not specifically state whether the discovery of the units in Yemen was a violation of a UN resolution

Yemen’s warring parties exchange prisoner lists, talks focus on Hodeidah

Delegates said the prisoner swap would be conducted via Houthi-held Sanaa airport in north Yemen

UN envoy says Yemen’s warring parties “not there yet” on main issues

The talks in Sweden are set to last until December 13

Yemen’s Saudi-backed government rejects UN troops in Hodeidah

The UN is seeking agreement on a ceasefire in Yemen’s main port city

US wants to continue support for Saudi-led coalition in Yemen

The Senate last month voted to advance a resolution to end US military support for the war

Hodeidah, Sanaa airport sticking points in Yemen talks

The UN-sponsored talks are the first in more than two years

Saudi Arabia hosts GCC summit amid Qatar tensions, Khashoggi crisis

The one-day annual gathering of leaders from the six member states is expected to focus on security issues

How I got here… Mathew Thomas, managing director, Middle East, Turkey and East Africa, HP Inc.

Thomas details his journey to leading one of the biggest region’s globally for HP

Yemen warring sides agree at start of talks to free thousands of prisoners

The UN envoy wants a deal on reopening Sanaa airport, swapping prisoners and securing a truce in the Houthi-held port of Hodeidah

Yemen’s Houthis arrive in Sweden for peace talks

The Houthi team was escorted from the capital Sanaa to Sweden by UN special envoy Martin Griffiths