MOSCOW Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet the United Nations’ special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on Tuesday, RIA news agency quoted the ministry’s press department as saying. RIA said the information came in response to a question on wh... More »
MALE The president of the Maldives was unhurt but his wife and two aides were injured in an explosion on board their launch as it approached Male, capital of the Indian Ocean archipelago, a senior aide told Reuters. The cause of Monday’s blast, witnessed by jo... More »
AMMAN/BEIRUT Rebels who have inflicted big losses on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad say Russia’s intervention in support of its ally will only lead to an escalation of the war and may encourage the rebels’ Gulf Arab backers to pour in more military aid. Russ... More »
VIENNA/MUNICH Austria said on Sunday it planned to end emergency measures that have allowed thousands of refugees stranded in Hungary into Austria and Germany since Saturday and move step by step “towards normality”. Austria had suspended its random border che... More »
BEIRUT/MOSCOW While the desperate flight of Syrians from their country’s war was dominating news bulletins this summer, yet another diplomatic push to end the four-year-old conflict was quietly running into the sand. That largely unnoticed failure has reinforc... More »
WASHINGTON Saudi Arabia is satisfied with assurances from U.S. President Barack Obama about the Iran nuclear deal and believes the agreement will contribute to security and stability in the Middle East, a senior Saudi official said on Friday. Saudi King Salman... More »
LONDON World oil demand is expanding at its fastest pace in five years thanks to rebounding economic growth and low prices, but global oversupply will last through 2016, the West’s energy watchdog said on Wednesday. The International Energy Agency said in a mo... More »
DOHA U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry began talks with Gulf states in Qatar on Monday, seeking to convince them of the merits of last month’s nuclear deal with Iran and to discuss the battle against Islamic State militants and the war in Syria. Most Gulf Ara... More »
ADEN, Yemen Yemeni fighters backed by Saudi-led air strikes battled to take back northern suburbs of Aden from Houthi opponents on Tuesday, residents said, a day after completing their capture of the center of the strategic port city. The country’s dominant Ho... More »
HUSSEIN LOOKOUT, Israel As U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter walked along an Israeli lookout near the border with Lebanon, Israel’s Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon turned to him and said: “Probably Hezbollah is watching us.” Israel warned during Carter’s visit o... More »
WEATHERFORD, Texas Oil field work was coming in fast when GoFrac doubled its workforce and equipment fleet at the beginning of last year, just one of hundreds of small oil service companies thriving on the revival of U.S. drilling. Founded in November 2011... More »
SEOUL An outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) threatens to deal a blow to South Korea’s economic recovery, Moody’s Investors Service said on Thursday, as the Health Ministry reported three new cases, the lowest daily increase in 17 days. The Wor... More »
(Reuters Health) – Muslims with type 2 diabetes who choose to fast during Ramadan may benefit from individualized education programs, according to findings presented this month at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in Boston. Ramadan... More »
SEOUL Hwang Jeong-rye went to hospital in Seoul on June 9 for a back problem and has been stuck there ever since – locked-in along with 78 others as South Korea scrambles to control an outbreak of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). “It is a pr... More »
LONDON World shares saw a muted end to what looks set to be their best week since April on Friday as Greek debt talks took yet another confusing turn and put European markets on the back foot. The International Monetary Fund dramatically raised the stakes in G... More »
SEOUL South Korea has sealed off two hospitals that treated people with a deadly respiratory disease, officials said, even as the outbreak that has been spreading through health facilities could have peaked, with just four new cases on Friday. Middle East Resp... More »
SEOUL South Korea’s Health Ministry reported on Friday four new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) bringing the total to 126, the world’s largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia. Ten people who tested positive for the MERS virus have died although ... More »
ADEN Air strikes by Saudi-led forces hit Houthi rebel positions in and around the southern Yemeni city of Aden overnight, residents said, after a five-day humanitarian truce expired on Sunday night. Bombings struck the rebel-held presidential palace in the dow... More »
SEOUL U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday Washington supported extending a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting in Yemen, but that maneuvers by Houthi fighters made that difficult. A Saudi Arabian-led coalition resumed air strikes against the Hou... More »
KUALA LUMPUR The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is unlikely to implement a production cut at its next meeting in June, a senior Iranian official said on Monday. Asked if OPEC would cut output at the upcoming June 5 meeting, Iran’s Dep... More »
WASHINGTON A U.S.-supplied missile shield to protect Gulf nations against Iranian attacks will take years to complete, requiring a step-up in regional trust, more U.S. sales of sensitive weapons, and intensive U.S. training to avoid mishaps in the volatile reg... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Brent crude oil futures slipped towards $66 a barrel on Tuesday, falling from a 2015 high, as Saudi Arabia considered halting bombing in Yemen to allow the delivery of aid, which eased concerns about oil supply from the Middle East. A str... More »
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian stock markets retreated on Tuesday and the Australian dollar stumbled after the central bank cut interest rates for the second time in four months as the region’s growth falters in the face of slowing demand from China. Financial sp... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Brent crude prices held near a 4-1/2 month high above $65 a barrel on Monday, supported by concerns over fighting in Yemen disrupting Middle East supplies and signs that U.S. shale output may have started to decline. The number of active ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil investors who amassed a $6 billion long position in exchange traded funds, occupying as much as a third of the U.S. futures market, are now racing for the exit at a near record pace. Outflows from four of the largest oil-specific excha... More »
ADEN (Reuters) – Houthi fighters, backed by supporters of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh entered the provincial capital of the mainly Sunni Shabwa province in eastern Yemen on Thursday, residents said, despite intense Saudi-led air strikes against ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) agreed to buy smaller rival BG Group (BG.L) for 47 billion pounds ($70 billion) in the first major energy industry merger in more than a decade, closing the gap on market leader U.S. Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) after a plu... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil futures climbed more than $1 a barrel on Monday, after Saudi Arabia raised prices for crude sales to Asia for a second month, signaling better demand in the region. International benchmark Brent regained ground after tumbling as much ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said he would have a “tough conversation” with America’s Gulf Arab allies in which he would promise strong U.S. support against external enemies but tell them they must address internal political challenges. In an ... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices dropped over a percentage point on Monday after Saudi Arabia said over the weekend that the market defined prices and the kingdom would not unilaterally cut its output to defend prices. Since oil prices started to fall in June ... More »
BAGHDAD/RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has invited Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to visit the kingdom, Abadi’s office said on Monday, in the biggest sign yet of improving ties between the countries after decades of tension. Abadi’s office... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – OPEC will not take sole responsibility for propping up the oil price, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said on Sunday, signaling the world’s top petroleum exporter is determined to ride out a market slump that has roughly halved prices since last... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – Any terms that world powers grant Iran under a nuclear deal will be sought by Saudi Arabia and other countries, risking wider proliferation of atomic technology, a senior Saudi prince warned on Monday in a BBC interview. “I’ve always said wh... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – Egypt’s President Abdel Fatteh el Sisi met Saudi Arabia’s King Salman in Riyadh on Sunday for the pair’s first in-depth talks on regional issues at a time of unprecedented turmoil in the Middle East. The meeting was aimed at strengthening bi... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s Interior Minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a close friend of the United States and a scourge of Islamist militants, will be the country’s first king from the third generation of its ruling dynasty. King Salman moved swiftly... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Friday after the death of Saudi Arabia’s king added more uncertainty to an oil market that has more than halved over the last six months. King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz died early on Friday and his brother Salman became king ... More »
ABU DHABI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it would not cut output to prop up oil markets even if non-OPEC nations did so, in one of the toughest signals yet that the world’s top petroleum exporter plans to ride out the market’s biggest slump in years. ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Brent rose to $71 a barrel on Wednesday, recovering some of its losses from the previous session as a turbulent market searched for a price floor after a nearly 40 percent fall since June. Oil has seen choppy trade since the Organization of ... More »
VIENNA (Reuters) – Gulf oil producers led by Saudi Arabia are expected to press the case on Thursday for not yet cutting OPEC output, despite calls from several members of the group to bolster sagging prices by removing surplus crude from the market. Saudi Oil... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran and Saudi Arabia held their first foreign minister-level meeting since the 2013 election of President Hassan Rouhani, official Iranian media reported, signaling a possible thaw in chilly ties between the rival Gulf powers. Shi’ite Muslim... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia suspects a virus that has killed hundreds of people there may have arrived in camels from the Horn of Africa, and could ban such imports until it knows more, the kingdom’s chief scientist told Reuters. Any ban on the camel trade... More »
LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) – A dramatic upward revision in the number of people killed by the MERS virus in Saudi Arabia may signal a fresh approach from Riyadh, but also raises new questions about how the two-year-old outbreak has been handled. Experts in globa... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – Companies in Saudi Arabia will favor local debt markets over international bond issues to meet their financing requirements in 2014 as high liquidity keeps funding costs down, a top executive at Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE ) said. Saudi firms ha... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry praised Saudi Arabia as a “very, very important” ally on Monday as he visited the Gulf kingdom on a mission to soothe strains in the relationship over U.S. policy on Iran, Syria and the Palestinian issue. K... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – From Saudi Arabia to Israel, traditional U.S. allies in the Middle East are beginning to ask: Is America turning its back on us? President Barack Obama’s diplomatic overtures to old foe Iran and his last-minute refusal to attack Syria ha... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – When Saudi Arabia’s veteran foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, made no annual address to the United Nations General Assembly last week for the first time ever, his unspoken message could hardly have been louder. For most countries, ref... More »
RIYADH/DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah’s disdain for Iran leaps from U.S. embassy cables. “May God prevent us from falling victim to their evil,” he told U.S. officials, according to a cable released by WikiLeaks. According to another, he told h... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Despite its high current death rate, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) that emerged in Saudi Arabia last year is unlikely to cause a SARS-like epidemic because it is not spreading as easily, scientists said on Friday. In the fulles... More »
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The new president of the opposition Syrian National Coalition said on Sunday he expected advanced weapons supplied by Saudi Arabia to reach rebel fighters soon and change their military situation, which he described as weak. Ahmad Jarba, w... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – Two more people have died of the SARS-like coronavirus MERS, Saudi Arabia’s Health Ministry said, bringing to 38 the number of deaths from the disease inside the country shortly before Islam’s Ramadan fast when many pilgrims visit. A two-yea... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia said another person had died of the SARS-like coronavirus MERS and six new cases were registered, as international experts said on Saturday countries should standardize their approach to treating the disease. The latest cases br... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Four more people have died and three more have fallen ill in Saudi Arabia from the new SARS-like coronavirus MERS-CoV, the Saudi Health Ministry said on Monday. The ministry said the four deaths were among previously registered cases. The new... More »
ENISKILLEN, Northern Ireland/DUBAI (Reuters) – Rebels fought to halt an advance by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces into northern Syria on Monday while U.S. President Barack Obama faced a showdown with Russia’s Vladimir Putin over Obama’s decision last week ... More »
GENEVA (Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that it would help Saudi Arabia dig deeper into deadly outbreaks of a new SARS-like virus to draw up advice ahead of the annual haj pilgrimage, which attracts millions of Muslims. The U.N. a... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Two health workers in Saudi Arabia have become infected with a potentially fatal new SARS-like virus after catching it from patients in their care – the first evidence of such transmission within a hospital, the World Health Organization sai... More »
