Isabel Debre

US service members board a stateless fishing vessel transiting international waters in the Gulf of Oman as a rigid-hull inflatable boat and patrol coastal ship USS Chinook (PC 9) sail nearby, Jan. 18, 2022. (US Navy via AP)

January 23, 2022, 3:00 pm

US detains ship loaded with bomb-making compound heading from Iran to Yemen

Same stateless fishing dhow was stopped last year with cargo of weapons UN said was likely intended for Houthi rebels; UK seizes $26m worth of drugs in Mideast waters

By Isabel Debre

Iranians mourn in Tehran during a funeral procession for 150 Iranian soldiers killed in the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), whose bodies were recovered from battlefields, on January 6, 2022. (AFP)

January 6, 2022, 3:02 pm

Thousands of Iranian mourners attend mass funeral for 250 dead in ’80s war with Iraq

None of the victims’ remains identified; tombstones read ‘anonymous martyr’; largest such ceremony in recent years, ahead of 2nd anniversary of downing of Ukrainian plane

By Isabel Debre

In this February 8, 2021 file photo, a man receives his Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine from a medical staffer at Guru Nanak Darbar temple in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

December 21, 2021, 7:31 pm

UAE reports major virus surge, despite boasting 99% vaccination rate

Country records 452 infections in past 24 hours, including 2 deaths, after cases hovered at 50 a day just over a week ago

By Isabel Debre

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi gives an interview to The Associated Press, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on December 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

December 14, 2021, 8:54 pm

2015 nuclear deal no longer sufficient for reality of Iran in 2022, IAEA chief says

Rafael Grossi, head of UN nuclear watchdog, warns Tehran that there is no way around inspectors, says world currently only getting ‘blurred image’ of country’s nuclear program

By Jon Gambrell and Isabel Debre

Maya, 36, plays with her one-year-old undocumented daughter in a dank, overstuffed section of an apartment, subdivided by hinged partitions, that she shares with eight other women, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 24, 2021. (Kamran Jebreili/AP)

December 13, 2021, 12:37 pm

No longer criminalized in UAE, out-of-wedlock babies still remain in shadows

Unwed mothers may not face jail anymore, but a tangle of red tape prevents documentation of their children

By Isabel Debre

Two men play backgammon while smoking a shisha water pipe at a restaurant overlooking the canal and the Dubai Marina neighborhood in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on May 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

December 7, 2021, 7:12 pm

UAE shifts workweek to Monday-Friday in move to align with West

Decision, which is to take effect next month, puts Gulf financial powerhouse in line with businesses in US and Europe, but out of sync with rest of region

By Isabel Debre

Two Emiratis walk toward an Emirates Airbus A380 jumbo jet on display at the Dubai Air Show in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

November 14, 2021, 4:55 pm

Muted Dubai Air Show opens with aviation industry still recovering from pandemic

Exhibition includes 1st Israeli pavilion, featuring inventions by 6 firms, as defense cooperation with UAE hailed following last year’s normalization deal

By Aya Batrawy and Isabel Debre

Sudan's head of the military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, speaks during a press conference at the General Command of the Armed Forces in Khartoum, Sudan, on October 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali)

October 28, 2021, 8:03 pm

Sudanese coup leader al-Burhan seen as a strongman with powerful allies

General who pushed out civilian government enjoys backing of Egypt and some Gulf nations, as well as feared paramilitary chief

By Samy Magdy and Isabel Debre

October 25, 2021, 4:40 pm

Lacking linguists, Facebook said to overpolice some posts yet spread hate speech

Internal memo reveals systemic failures in content moderation, including in Gaza, where moderators are quick to flag Palestinian content as terror

By Isabel Debre and Fares Akram

Jewish and Arab attendees celebrate the opening of the Israeli pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday, October 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

October 7, 2021, 10:55 pm

Israel opens its pavilion with big bash at Dubai’s Expo 2020

Flasy videos promote Israeli tech and sights, as Hebrew music plays and balloons fly — amid high security

By Isabel Debre

Women walk through Syria's pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 2, 2021. (Jon Gambrell/AP)

October 4, 2021, 12:33 pm

At Dubai Expo, infomercial-like pavilions can’t quite gloss over world problems

Over 190 countries are participating in multi-billion dollar extravaganza where war, famine, and political and economic turmoil are kept out of sight

By Isabel Debre

Qatar's Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, center left, awaits a posed photo op with Emirati Energy and Infrastructure Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei, center right, during the Gastech 2021 conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, September 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

September 21, 2021, 4:54 pm

UAE welcomes regional rivals at major natural gas conference

Energy officials from Qatar and Turkey in Dubai for world’s largest gas expo and industry’s first in-person conference since pandemic began

By Isabel Debre

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami (center) speaks during a joint press briefing with Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Mariano Grossi (second right) in Tehran, Iran, on Sunday, September 12, 2021. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)

September 16, 2021, 7:31 pm

Iran’s nuclear chief admits removing damaged IAEA monitoring cameras

Mohammad Eslami also says he’s heading to Vienna next week for talks with UN nuclear watchdog

By Nasser Karimi and Isabel Debre

A presenter walks off stage at an event announcing new economic programs in the United Arab Emirates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, September 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

September 5, 2021, 3:08 pm

UAE rolls out plan to invest in economy, liberalize laws

Nation’s plan to lure foreign talent reflects an emerging contrast with other sheikhdoms of the Gulf, which are growing increasingly protectionist

By Isabel Debre

In this August 22, 2019, photo, Saudi passengers enter the departure terminal of Abha airport, in southwestern Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

August 31, 2021, 3:19 pm

Bomb-laden drone targets Saudi airport, wounding 8, says state TV

The attack is the second such strike on Abha airport in country’s southwest in the last 24 hours

By Isabel Debre