Gulf

Kuwaitis head to the polls on Saturday to elect a new parliament in the oil-rich Gulf country, in a vote overshadowed by the global pandemic and a fall in crude prices.

A ship management company is in talks to free three Greek sailors kidnapped earlier this month by pirates off the Nigerian coast, Athens' Merchant Navy Ministry said Sunday.

U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was deployed to the Gulf this week, days before the killing of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, although the U.S. Navy said on Saturday the deployment was not related to any specific threat.

Pirates boarded St Kitts flagged general cargo vessel MILAN (IMO 8113619) 14nm NNM near the Pennington Terminal in Nigeria while it was in transit from Escravos to Douala, Cameroon, and abducted 10 crew.

The Minister of Defence and Chairman, Presidential Committee on Deep Blue Project, Gen. Bashir Magashi (rtd), stated this in Port Harcourt, Rivers State after inspecting the equipment at the weekend.

Fast-strengthening Hurricane Iota, the strongest hurricane yet in this record-smashing season, became very dangerous Category 4 on Monday as it approached the same part of Central America battered by a similarly powerful Hurricane Eta just over a week ago.

An unidentified Chinese buyer on Sunday paid a world record 1.6 million euros ($1.9 million) for a female homing pigeon called New Kim, online auctioneers Pigeon Paradise (PIPA) said.

Three days after polls closed, the United States and the world still do not have final results from the presidential election, although Democrat Joe Biden was on the brink of unseating Donald Trump.

Oil prices fell more than 2 percent on Friday as new lockdowns in Europe to halt surging infections of COVID-19 sparked concern about the outlook for demand, while markets remained on edge over drawn-out vote counting in the United States presidential election.

Governments across the world are anxiously watching the race for the White House, as they prepare for either Republican Donald Trump securing a second term as United States president or for an electoral win by his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden. 

Some 10,000 foreign pilgrims are arriving in Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah after a seven-month pause because of the coronavirus pandemic.

More facts are emerging as to how Ahmed Musa suddenly became clubless.

Mexican weather authorities on Tuesday said that Hurricane Zeta has made landfall on the south-eastern coast of Mexico.

After 33 years in exile, El Sadig Mohamed gave up the easy life in Canada to return to help rebuild Sudan as it emerges from three decades of autocratic rule.

Democratic hopeful Joe Biden on Sunday urged lawmakers to wait until after November’s election to tackle a Supreme Court vacancy that President Donald Trump has pledged to fill quickly, as the nomination becomes a new flashpoint in the battle for the White House.

Air assets acquired under the Deep Blue Project, also called the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, domiciled with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) are set for deployment by the Nigerian Air Force in support of the Federal Government’s maritime security effort.

Israel bombed Gaza on Wednesday after militants fired rockets through the night, overshadowing the signing of landmark normalisation deals with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in Washington.

Oil prices rose on Monday as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico prompted drillers to evacuate rigs and shut-in production.