A Lebanese-American businessman with close ties the United Arab Emirates crown prince organised a meeting of Arab leaders on a yacht in the Red Sea three years ago and proposed to start an "elite group" that would supersede the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), according to a news report. George Nader's name has surfaced in recent weeks as a key witness in US special prosecutor Robert Mueller's probe into alleged foreign […]
The king of Bahrain has said his country will not take part in any summit or meeting attended by Qatar unless Doha "corrects its approach", as a major diplomatic crisis in the Gulf nears its five-month mark. Bahrain, along with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, cut ties with Qatar on June 5 and imposed a land, sea and air embargo, accusing it of supporting "terrorism". Doha has […]
A few years back, the prospect of an eminent member of the Israeli political establishment sharing a stage with a Saudi Arabian counterpart in a New York synagogue would have been difficult for many to stomach. Such events are becoming more common. On Sunday, Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi intelligence chief appeared relaxed and chatty beside Efraim Halevy, the director of Mossad from 1998-2002, on a podium in Manhattan's […]
While Saudi women celebrate their victory in their fight for the freedom of movement, social media has been in overdrive with commentators weighing in on the shocking announcement that Saudi women can now get behind the wheel. In an unprecedented move, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced in a decree released on Tuesday, its decision to allow females the right to drive . The decree firmly noted that females will […]
Diplomats from Qatar and the four states boycotting it exchanged heated words at an Arab League meeting on Tuesday. Tensions flared after Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi discussed the boycott in his opening speech despite the Gulf dispute not being on the agenda. He called the Gulf monarchy’s critics “rabid dogs”. “Even the animals were not spared, you sent them out savagely,” Muraikhi said, […]
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) threatened to impose an economic embargo against Qatar while Bahrain said "any options" were on the table as the crisis in the Gulf showed no signs of abating on Thursday. The tough talk from the Gulf Cooperation Council members came on Wednesday despite efforts by US President Donald Trump and Kuwait's emir to prevent a further escalation of the dispute, which started on Monday when […]
VOC became the first Muslim radio station in South Africa when a special events license was granted to the station in Ramadan/January 1995. Subsequent temporary broadcast licenses were granted, permitting the station to broadcast for 24 hours.
