United Arab Emirates - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

UAE cover image

United Arab Emirates

August 16, 2026

Abu Dhabi 4:34 pm

41°C

port attack

Hormuz traffic sinks to one-week low as ships attacked, talks stagnate

The United States and Yemen's Houthi rebels carried out separate attacks on commercial ships on Tuesday in the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea.

Building construction at the Red Sea in Egypt.

Explainer

UAE-Egypt ties keep growing as Cairo navigates shifting Gulf landscape

An Emirati investor could soon strike a $2.7 billion deal to develop another tourism project on Egypt's North Coast, the latest in a string of UAE-linked pacts that have continued advancing despite turmoil from the US-Iran war.

Latest News

Analysis

Amid realignment with Egypt, Turkey steps up support for Sudan’s Burhan

Sudan's de facto leader and armed forces chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan greets supporters in Port Sudan, Dec. 29, 2024.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Oil jumps 8% as US-Iran war pressures Saudi Arabia, explosions hit Egypt

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on July 24, 2026, in New York.

Analysis

How Gulf banks are absorbing Iran war shocks

A man counts Saudi riyal banknotes in the capital, Riyadh, Oct. 3, 2016.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Mohammed Soliman

In Washington, DC, reporting on Gulf politics

An employee walks past a screen displaying the worldwide locations of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, at the bank's headquarters in Abu Dhabi, April 3, 2013. The National Bank of Abu Dhabi named the banker who led Australia and New Zealand Banking Group's push into Asia as its chief executive on Wednesday, as it expands abroad from its saturated local market. REUTERS/Ben Job (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTXY6VB

Abu Dhabi’s Foreign Assistance Steals Spotlight

While Abu Dhabi has developed a reputation for its generous foreign aid, little attention is paid its significant internal aid, which keeps the other emirates afloat.

United Arab Emirates

Traders monitor stock information at the Emirates Securities Market in Abu Dhabi December 12, 2010. REUTERS/Fadi Al-Assaad (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTXVNM8

UAE Professor Challenges Cybercrime Law on Twitter

After a UAE professor published a provocative article online, observers wait to see how the government will implement its updated cybercrime law.

United Arab Emirates

Labourers work near the Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower in the world, in Dubai May 9, 2013. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Tags: BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION) - RTXZFXJ

UAE Needs More Transparency On Human Rights

A string of recent human rights abuses has placed the UAE under international scrutiny.

United Arab Emirates

Video of UAE Official Beating Indian Driver Sparks Debate

UAE anti-defamation laws are again under scrutiny as the Indian man who filmed the assault is put in jail.

United Arab Emirates

An Egyptian Air Force F-16 fighter jet flies low over thousands of anti-government protesters gathered at Tahrir square in Cairo January 30, 2011. Egyptian air force fighter planes buzzed low over Cairo on Sunday, helicopters hovered above and extra troop trucks appeared in a central square where protesters were demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak's rule. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTXXAH3

US Should Not Cut Aid to Egypt’s Military

US military aid can sustain American leverage and assist Egypt’s democratic transition.

A man walks past the Dubai Courts November 1, 2012. REUTERS/Jumana ElHeloueh (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Tags: CRIME LAW) - RTR39UPY

UAE Trial Adds to Controversy Over Press Freedom, Political Islam

Guilty verdicts in the trial of 94 people accused of plotting to overthrow the UAE government have raised new questions about both press freedom and the role of political Islam.

United Arab Emirates

The Mideast in Venice

Nine Middle Eastern countries are represented at the Venice Biennale, including a piece aptly called "Resistance" from a Turkish artist.

United Arab Emirates

People stand outside the federal supreme court, where the verdict for five political activists was read out, in Abu Dhabi November 27, 2011. The activists convicted on Sunday of insulting the leaders of the United Arab Emirates were sentenced to between two and three years in jail. REUTERS/Nikhil Monteiro (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR2UJ0C

Emirati Sent to Jail Over 'False Tweets'

UAE media law allows wide latitude for crackdown on critical reporting.

United Arab Emirates

Israeli Air Force F-16 war planes fly in formation over the Mediterranean Sea as part of celebrations for Israel's Independence Day, marking the 65th anniversary of the creation of the state, April 16, 2013. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: TRANSPORT MILITARY ANNIVERSARY) - RTXYO3U

US Arms Sales All About Iran

The novelty of the latest US arms sales to Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates was not their scale or content, but the sign of a US realignment of allies to deter Iran, explains Jean-Loup Samaan.

An illustration picture shows the log-on icon for the Website Twitter on an Ipad in Bordeaux, Southwestern France, January 30, 2013. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau (FRANCE - Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS) - RTR3D6NN

UAE Arrests Activist For 'False News' Tweets

An Emirati activist arrested and charged with "spreading false news" on Twitter is yet another sign of dwindling free speech in the United Arab Emirates, writes Matt Duffy.

United Arab Emirates

People walk past a court in AL-Ain January 10, 2010. Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi's ruling family, was found innocent on Sunday of the torture and rape of an Afghan in a case that embarrassed the Gulf Arab emirate and raised questions over human rights. The judge reading the verdict at the court in the United Arab Emirates, the world's third largest oil exporter and a key U.S. ally, did not give a reason why Sheikh Issa was exonerated of responsibility for abuse shown in a video fi

UAE Bars Foreign Journalists From Trial

The UAE has barred foreign journalists from covering the sedition trial of 94 Emiratis accused of sedition, writes Matt Duffy.

United Arab Emirates

A Lebanese policeman stands guard, as Lebanese Shi'ites, who said they were forced to leave United Arab Emirates last year because of purported security reasons, hold banners during a protest to demand for their rights, in front of the UAE embassy in Beirut May 5, 2010. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS SOCIETY EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS) - RTR2DHH4

UAE Deports 125 Lebanese Citizens

The UAE recently deported some 125 Lebanese citizens, as Lebanese Shiites also face harassment in Libya, reports an Al-Monitor Lebanon Pulse contributor.

United Arab Emirates