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United Arab Emirates

February 9, 2026

Abu Dhabi 3:31 am

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Participants visit the Token 2049 crypto conference in Dubai on May 1, 2025.

Crypto crash collides with UAE’s big bet on digital assets

After hitting record highs in 2025, Bitcoin’s sell-off is roiling global markets and making waves in the UAE.

United Arab Emirates

US Department of State's senior advisor to the president for Arab and African Affairs Massad Fares Boulos attends the Sudan Humanitarian Fund event at the Institute of Peace in Washington, on Feb. 3, 2026.

US says Sudan warring parties back withdrawal plan as donors pledge $700M in aid

State Department senior adviser Massad Boulos announced Tuesday that a "comprehensive peace plan" has been approved by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, though it still needs to be approved by Sudan's warring parties.

Diplomatic advisor to the United Arab Emirates President Anwar Gargash (C) react on stage with Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) and Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe (R) during the World Governments Summit in Dubai on February 3, 2026. Spain will seek to ban social media for under-16s to protect them from harmful content such as pornography and violence, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on February 3, in the latest such move by governments. Australia established a world first i

On eve of talks, UAE's Gargash throws weight behind Iran-US deal

Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, spoke at a panel discussion at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, where he discussed the latest developments in Gaza, Iran, Sudan and Yemen.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

How US-India trade deal could impact Mideast energy, trade routes

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2025.

UAE’s MBZ reportedly cancels Japan visit amid US-Iran standoff: What to know

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrives for a welcoming ceremony prior to talks with the Russian president at the Kremlin in Moscow, on Jan. 29, 2026.

United Arab Emirates

Gulf markets recover after gold rout, buoyed by Iran de-escalation hopes

A woman checks a window shop at a jewelry store in Dubai, on March 10, 2025.

United Arab Emirates

Analysis

Caught in the Gulf crossfire: Pakistan navigates Saudi-UAE rivalry

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, meets with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari at Za’abeel Palace in Dubai on Jan. 28, 2026.

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

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

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

Israel reopens liaison office in Morocco

The mission's reopening comes a month after Israel and Morocco agreed to establish diplomatic and economic ties.

United Arab Emirates

UAE confirms F-35 agreement inked with Trump administration

The weapons package, which includes dozens of the stealth fighter jets, drones and other munitions, is valued at $23 billion.

United Arab Emirates

An Etihad Airways Boeing 787-9 "Dreamliner" aircraft carrying a delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a first official visit, lands at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, on October 20, 2020. - The UAE delegation left on the country's first official visit to Israel with a string of deals set to be signed after the two countries signed a deal to normalise ties last month. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Etihad to resume flights to Doha as Gulf crisis ends

Following the United Arab Emirates reopening its airspace to Qatar, the Abu Dhabi-based airline will restart flights to the Qatari capital next month.

United Arab Emirates

An Emirati man gets vaccinated against the COVID-19 coronavirus at al-Barsha Health Centre in the Gulf Emirate of Dubai on December 24, 2020. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Dubai suspends nonessential surgery as COVID-19 cases soar

The emirate is also pausing live entertainment at hotels and restaurants until further notice.

United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates signs deal to buy F-35s, drones just before Biden sworn in

President Joe Biden has suggested his administration might review or impose conditions on arms sales, but it is not yet clear he will oppose the deal.

United Arab Emirates

A general view shows Egypt's High Dam in Aswan, some 920 kilometres south of the capital Cairo, on January 3, 2021. - Half a century since Egypt's Aswan dam was inaugurated to much fanfare, harnessing the Nile for hydropower and irrigation, the giant barrier is still criticised its human and environmental toll. But it is also a stark reminder -- amid high tensions today as Addis Ababa fills its collosal Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) upstream, Africa's largest -- of just how volatile politics over t

UAE steps in to ease Nile dam crisis

Sudanese reports recently revealed that the United Arab Emirates is seeking an initiative to bring the views of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia closer so as to break the deadlock in the negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

United Arab Emirates

DOHA, QATAR - DECEMBER 18: In this handout image provided by Qatar 2022/Supreme Committee, Qatar inaugurates fourth FIFA World Cup 2022 venue, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on December 18th, 2020 in Doha, Qatar. Qatar inaugurates fourth FIFA World Cup 2022™ venue, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, in front of 50% capacity crowd. The 40,000-capacity venue will host seven matches during Qatar 2022 up to the round-of-16 stage. Fans in attendance were required to show negative COVID-19 test results before entering the venue. (P

Can World Cup soccer help heal Gulf wounds?

Communities torn apart by a yearslong rift between Gulf rulers may need time to heal the wounds of a crisis that damaged social ties that have historically transcended borders.

<<enter caption here>> on October 24, 2011 in Doha, Qatar.

UAE reopens land, sea, air ports to Qatar following Gulf deal

The announcement comes after Gulf leaders this week agreed to end their years-long embargo of Qatar.

Israel, UAE top Middle East vaccination rates

Other countries in the region have only just recently imported vaccines, and the status of vaccination in Iran and Syria in particular is unclear.

Emirati official says Gulf states to work on trade with Qatar before resuming diplomatic ties

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash's comments indicate that healing the Gulf rift may still take more time.

Was UAE behind Israeli decision to allow Palestinian farmers access to Jordan Valley?

For the first time in 46 years, Israel allowed Palestinians to enter al-Qa'oun valley in the northern Jordan Valley to cultivate their land. Despite the Palestinian Authority’s statement that this was in implementation of a judicial decision, Al-Monitor received information about Emirati-Israeli understandings that led to this action.

United Arab Emirates

A technician handles collected PCR (polymerase chain reaction) swab samples collected as part of COVID-19 coronavirus disease testing, at the Palestinian Gaza-based Health Ministry central laboratory in Gaza City on December 7, 2020. - The Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip announced on December 7 that it will stop testing for the novel coronavirus as it "ran out of examination materials". (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE helps Gaza resume COVID-19 testing as normalization dust settles

The UAE sent a medical aid convoy to the Gaza Strip as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens, in the first such shipment since normalizing ties with Israel.

United Arab Emirates