UAE: Sharjah International Airport Passengers Shoot Up

Sharjah Airport continued to record double-digit growth rates during the first half of this year as passenger numbers rose to 6.605 million.

The airport posted an increase of 15.25 percent compared to 5.731 million passengers in the first half of 2018.

The airport saw 1.114 million passengers in June, a growth rate of 17.6 percent compared to 947,200 passengers in June 2018, a statement said.

Between January and June, there were 41,700 air traffic movements, a growth rate of 7.47 percent compared to the same period last year.

In terms of freight, air cargo volume rose to 78,780 tons, the statement said, adding that the festive seasons, summer holidays and new destinations have contributed to Sharjah Airport’s record growth over the last six months.

Ali Salim Al Midfa, chairman of Sharjah Airport Authority, said: Sharjah Airport’s positive results in terms of the number of passengers during the first half of this year are a result of the efforts of all the organisations operating at the airport.

These genuine partnerships help to position the airport as one of the region’s best airports both regionally and globally.

Sharjah International Airport is an airport located 7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi) east south east of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. It is spread over an area of 15,200,000 m2 (3,800 acres).

Sharjah Airport is the third largest Middle East airfreight hub in cargo tonnage, according to official 2015 statistics from Airports Council International.

Ground services company, Sharjah Aviation Services, handled 586,195 tonnes in 2015 – a 16.1% increase year on year. It has one passenger terminal with an area of 125,000 m2 (1,350,000 sq ft).

Sharjah International Airport is home base of the low-cost carrier Air Arabia. The headquarters of Air Arabia is in the Sharjah Freight Center, on the property of the airport in Sharjah, UAE. The center is an old cargo terminal.

The current Sharjah Airport was built in the 1970s and was opened on 1 January 1977. On 20 August 1977 Concorde 202 G-BBDG, which came from Filton and refuelled at Damascus landed at Sharjah Airport. The aircraft also made a short flight display over the city.

The BAe party was headed by Sir Geoffrey Tuttle, which received a great welcome, the whole party were also given watches and a few received magnificent swords as well.

It replaced RAF Sharjah which was closer to the city and was opened in 1932. It was the first airport in UAE and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, for use by Imperial Airways, and was subsequently used by the RAF until 14 December 1971.

The reason for the move was development pressure from the city of Sharjah. The old airport's runway is now part of King Abdul Aziz Street in the city centre.

The airport was used by the United States Air Force 926th Tactical Fighter Group during Operation Desert Shield/Storm. Approximately 450 members of the unit were stationed at the airport, which flew A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft during the conflict in late 1990 and early 1991.

The airport resides at an elevation of 116 feet (35 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 12/30 with an asphalt surface measuring 4,060 m × 60 m (13,320 ft × 197 ft).

Financial services at the airport include banking, ATMs and exchange centres.

Founded in 1985, Sharjah Airport Travel Agency (SATA) is owned by the Sharjah Airport Authority, Government of Sharjah and has 14 branches in the UAE, including one on the first floor of the main terminal at Sharjah Airport.

There are two prayer rooms available, one in the transit area of the Arrivals Terminal and the other in the ground floor of the Departures Terminal.

In addition to this there are mosques in both the East and West Cargo Terminals 3 and 4.

On 15 December 1997 a Tupolev Tu-154 from Tajik Air Flight 3183 crashed on approach to SHJ. Some 13 km from Sharjah the plane ran into terrain and 85 of the 86 occupants died. One of the seven crew members survived the disaster.

On 10 February 2004, Kish Air Flight 7170, operated by a Fokker 50 crashed on approach, killing 43 of its 46 occupants, which consisted of 3 crew and 40 passengers.

On 7 November 2004 a Boeing 747-230 freighter was damaged beyond repair due to an aborted take-off with insufficient runway remaining. None of the four crew were injured. The take-off was aborted after a report of smoke from the tower and hearing a loud bang in the cockpit.

On 21 October 2009, Azza Transport flight 2241, operated by a Boeing 707–320, crashed on take-off. The flight was carrying cargo only and all six crew members were killed.

On 3 September 2010, UPS Flight 6 developed an in-flight fire in the cargo hold and attempted to land at Sharjah after a previous unsuccessful attempt failing to land at Dubai International Airport, but lost control and crashed, killing the two crew members on board.


Tourism Observer

UAE: Advisory Issued By The UAE Embassy In Bangkok For Visitors Travelling To Thailand

The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Bangkok, Thailand, has warned its citizens from possessing any type of the electronic cigarettes while visiting the Asian country, as it is prohibited under the country's laws.

Possessing any type of e-cigarettes would be punished by fine, imprisonment or both, the embassy noted.

Moreover, the embassy added on its official Twitter account that Thai authorities won't allow travellers to carry more than 200 cigarettes, in 20 packs, according to Thailand's law.

It emphasized that any obtaining more cigarettes would be punished with fines, as well as seizing of the cigarettes.

Meanwhile, an Asian visitor was arrested at the Dubai airport after authorities discovered that he was using a fake travel document.

Airport authorities suspected that the defendant might be travelling illegally.

According to the public prosecution, in May, the airport authorities suspected that the defendant might be travelling illegally, as he bought the tickets just two days before the flight, and had no baggage.

While checking the passport at the departure gate, an officer at the airport found out that the document was printed using normal ink and had no official marks.

The officer also noticed that Indonesian passport had a fake entry stamp on it.

The 30-year-old man was arrested and the public prosecution referred his case to the criminal court for forging official documents.


Tourism Observer

UAE: Jumeirah Hotels And Resorts Win 10 Trophies At The World Travel Awards

Congratulations to our Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts for scooping awards at the 2019 World Travel Awards™, at the Middle East Gala Ceremony 2019, held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

World Travel Awards™ celebrates its 26th anniversary this year and the annual awards programme is renowned as the most prestigious and comprehensive in the global industry.

Each year World Travel Awards™ covers the globe with its Grand Tour – a series of regional gala ceremonies to recognise excellence within each continent, culminating in a Grand Final at the end of the year.

Join us in congratulating the following hotels on their honorable achievements:

Burj Al Arab Jumeirah

Middle East's Leading All Suite Hotel 2019
United Arab Emirates's Leading Hotel 2019 (three consecutive years)

Jumeirah Beach Hotel

Middle East's Leading Family & MICE Hotel 2019

Jumeirah Al Qasr

Middle East's Leading Hotel 2019

Madinat Jumeirah

Middle East's Leading MICE Resort 2019

Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Royal Residences

Middle East's Leading Resort Residences 2019

Jumeirah at Etihad Towers

Abu Dhabi's Leading Conference Hotel 2019

Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort

Abu Dhabi's Leading Luxury Resort 2019

Jumeirah Royal Saray

Bahrain's Leading Resort 2019

Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa

Kuwait's Leading Business Hotel 2019

The gala ceremonies are regarded as milestone events in the industry calendar, attended by the industry's key decision makers and figure heads, as well as key trade and consumer media.

The programme, its winners and its sponsors are represented globally on social media, with fresh daily content on multiple platforms.


Tourism Observer

UAE: Abraaj Founder Arif Naqvi Faces Lawsuit By Air Arabia

Air Arabia PJSC has filed a lawsuit against Abraaj founder Arif Naqvi, becoming the first publicly traded company to initiate legal proceedings against the Pakistani entrepreneur.

The low-cost carrier said it began legal proceedings through the filing of a misdemeanor case in a court in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates.

Air Arabia Group has investments outstanding with private equity firm Abraaj, it said in a statement.

The Dubai listed airline, which has a market value of about $1.3 billion, said in June that it had an exposure of $336 million to funds managed by Abraaj Group, adding that it won’t have a significant impact on daily operations or its liquidity status.

Abraaj was one of the most high profile private equity companies in the Middle East until its dramatic collapse last year.

The firm owes banks more than $1 billion and is being restructured after it was found to have borrowed money from some of its own funds to meet operating expenses without investors’ consent, people with knowledge of the matter have said.

Air Arabia is an Emirati low-cost airline with its head office in the A1 Building Sharjah Freight Center, Sharjah International Airport, in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

The airline operates scheduled services to 151 destinations in the Middle East, North Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and Europe to 22 countries from Sharjah, 28 destinations in 9 countries from Casablanca, Fez, Nador and Tangier, 11 destinations in 8 countries from Ras Al Khaimah, and 6 destinations in 4 countries from Alexandria.

Air Arabia's main base is Sharjah International Airport. There is also a hub in Ras Al Khaimah and focus cities in Alexandria and Casablanca. Air Arabia is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization.


Tourism Observer

MEXICO: Emirates To Commence Flights To Cancun

The Mexican government has reached an agreement that will soon see a United Arab Emirates plane land on Mexican soil.

The announcement was made by the Secretary of Tourism, Marisol Vanegas and Lizzie Cole, representative of the Tourism Promotion Council of Quintana Roo who say that the Emirates flight would bring the Dubai market to the Mexican Caribbean.

While Lizzie Cole points out that there are no visitor figures available from the Middle East, Arab princes have vacationed in the region.

The new flight, which is expected to begin this year, will be a luxury flight from Dubai to Mexico City and eventually, to Cancun.

We know that this is a very special tourism niche that requests certain requirements in terms of treatment, food, culture and we are preparing ourselves.

Dubai is very important because it is a hub, so this flight, will allow us to access tourism from many other countries including India, she explained.

The news came as Mexico participated in the Arabian Travel Market 2018 in Dubai and was visited by His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, governor of Dubai, during the opening of the largest commercial travel event and tourism in the region.

Emirates has 159 destinations to 85 countries and transports more than 59 million passengers per year from its hub in Dubai.

Last year, the company expressed interest in flying Dubai to Mexico City to Cancun, however legalities delayed the initiation of these new flights.


Tourism Observer

IRAN: Turkish Plane Crashes In Iran Mountains Killing All 11 on Board

A Turkish private jet flying from the United Arab Emirates to Istanbul carrying a group of young women crashed Sunday night in a mountainous region of Iran during a heavy rain, killing all 11 people on board, authorities said.

Days earlier, the doomed aircraft carried a bachelorette party bound for Dubai, although it was not clear who was on the plane when it crashed.

The plane took off late Sunday afternoon and climbed to a cruising altitude of just over 35,000 feet.

A little over an hour later, it rapidly gained altitude and then dropped drastically within minutes.

Local authorities report that local villagers had reached the site in the Zagros Mountains and found only badly burned bodies and no survivors.

He said DNA tests would be needed to identify the dead.

The plane was a Bombardier CL604, tail number TC-TRB. Turkey’s Transport Ministry said the aircraft belonged to a company named Basaran Holding.

A day ago, Basaran posted a picture with seven smiling friends from a Dubai resort.

The last videos posted to her account showed her enjoying a concert by the British pop star Rita Ora at a popular Dubai nightclub.


Tourism Observer

UGANDA: Etihad To Stop Flights To Entebbe International Airport For Luck Of Business

According to a statement issued by Etihad yesterday, flights between Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and Entebbe will be suspended from 25 March 2018 following a commercial assessment of the route's performance.

The airline assured ticket holders that they will be provided with alternative travel options to their final destination.

Etihad introduced service to Entebbe in May 2015.

At the time, James Hogan, president of Etihad Airways, said: Uganda is one of the continent’s fastest-growing business and tourism destinations and the launch of services to Uganda is consistent with our strategy of targeting areas of strong growth in emerging markets.

Etihad follows British Airways as a major airline to suspend service to Uganda in the last three years.

British Airways suspended its service to Entebbe in October 2015 after 24 years.

Other multinationals that have quit the struggling Ugandan economy in that period include supermarket chains Uchumi and Nakumatt and insurance giant AIG.

According to Bank of Uganda, the Ugandan economy slowed down to 3.9 percent annual growth in 2016-17.



Tourism Observer

YEMEN: Four UAE Soldiers Die In Helicopter Crash

They were carrying out their normal mission in the Shabwa governorate in Yemen, where their helicopter had technical failure.

The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday that four of its soldiers died after their helicopter crashed during a routine mission in Yemen.

They were carrying out their normal mission in the Shabwa governorate in Yemen, where their helicopter had technical failure, which led to an emergency landing and hitting the ground.

The UAE is part of a Saudi-led coalition formed in 2015 to fight the Iran-aligned Houthi group, which controls most of northern Yemen and the capital Sanaa, in a war that has killed more than 10,000 people and displaced more than three million.



Tourism Observer

QATAR: Qatar Diplomatic Crisis And Its Effects

The 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis occurred as a result of several countries abruptly cutting off diplomatic relations with Qatar.

These countries included Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt. The severing of relations included withdrawing ambassadors, and imposing trade and travel bans.

Saudi Arabia and other countries have criticized Al Jazeera and Qatar's relations with Iran, and accused Qatar of funding terrorist organizations. Qatar denied that it supports terrorism, given that it has assisted the United States in the War on Terror and the ongoing military intervention against ISIL.

Saudi Arabia's actions were verbally supported by United States President Donald Trump. Many countries in the region, including Turkey, Russia and Iran, called for the crisis to be resolved through peaceful negotiations.

Qatar has had differences with other Arab governments on a number of issues: it broadcasts Al Jazeera; it is accused of maintaining good relations with Iran; and it has supported the Muslim Brotherhood in the past.Qatar is an American ally, hosting the largest American base in the Middle East, Al Udeid Air Base.

The countries withdrawing diplomatic relations accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism, of interfering with their internal affairs and of maintaining relations with Iran.Qatar denies allegations that it supported terrorism, and pointed out that it has been contributing to the U.S.-led fight against ISIL.

Qatar maintains relatively good relations with Iran. Qatar and Iran share ownership of South Pars / North Dome Gas-Condensate field,by far the world's largest natural gas field, with significant geostrategic influence.

In April 2017, after a 12-year freeze, Qatar lifted a self-imposed ban on developing the gas field with Iran,which would require cooperation between the two countries.According to Jim Krane, energy research fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute, Qatar used to be a kind of Saudi vassal state, but it used the autonomy that its gas wealth created to carve out an independent role for itself.

Above all, gas prompted Qatar to promote a regional policy of engagement with Shiite Iran to secure the source of its wealth.Since he took power in 1995, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani believed Qatar could find security only by transforming itself from a Saudi appendage to a rival of Saudi Arabia.

The crisis has turned into a proxy battle between partners and adversaries of Iran and Qatar invests billions of dollars in the U.S. and Europe and then recycles the profits to support Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood and groups linked to al Qaeda.

Qatar hosts the American military base from which the U.S. directs its regional war against extremism, yet it also owns media networks responsible for inciting many of the same extremists.

Qatar has tried to cultivate good relations with countries and organizations that are at odds with each other.To establish a massive base for the US military on its territory, while at the same time flirting with Iran; to fight terror, but fund the Islamic State and the Al-Nusra Front in Syria.

But Qatar failed to understand that the new regional power, now more than ever, is Saudi Arabia.

Qatar also used its contacts to help negotiate peaceful exchanges of hostages for the safe evacuation of civilians from areas affected by the Syrian Civil War.However, Qatar also sent its forces to fight against alleged Iranian-backed militias in the current Yemeni Civil War and has supported rebels fighting the Iranian-allied government of Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian Civil War.

Qatar has supported the Muslim Brotherhood in the past.Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies see the Muslim Brotherhood as a threat, as it ideologically opposes hereditary rule.The government of Egypt has long viewed the Muslim Brotherhood as "enemy number one".

In 2011, during the Arab Spring, Qatar supported the Egyptian protesters agitating for change, as well as the Muslim Brotherhood. By contrast, Saudi Arabia supported Hosni Mubarak and currently supports Abd El-Fattah El-Sisi since the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état.

Qatar has been accused of sponsoring terrorism.Some countries have faulted Qatar for funding rebel groups in Syria, including al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, the al-Nusra Front,although the Saudis have done the same.Both Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been involved in the CIA–led Timber Sycamore covert operation to train and arm Syrian rebels.

Qatar has hosted officials from the Afghan Taliban and Hamas. Qatar defends this move by saying it is trying to act as an intermediary in regional conflicts.For example, Qatar hosted talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government in 2016.

On 27 May 2017, the newly-reelected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held a phone call with Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.Rouhani told Qatar's emir, the countries of the region need more cooperation and consultations to resolve the crisis in the region and we are ready to cooperate in this field.

Former US Defense Secretary and ex-CIA chief Robert Gates stated in May 2017 that he does not know instances in which Qatar aggressively goes after (terror finance) networks of Hamas, Taliban, Al-Qaeda,and that My attitudes toward Al-Udeid and any other facility is that the United States military doesn’t have any irreplaceable facility.

Qatar hosts the largest American base in the Middle East, the Al Udeid Air Base, which has been used by the United States in its campaigns in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

In 2002, Saudi Arabia removed their ambassador from Qatar over Al Jazeera's alleged critical stance towards Saudi Arabia. Diplomatic relations were re-established in 2008, after assurances that Al Jazeera would limit its coverage of Saudi Arabia.

In March 2014, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates removed their ambassadors from Qatar, citing interference with their internal affairs, but the situations were eventually defused after Qatar forced Brotherhood members to leave the country eight months later.

In February 2015, Egypt–Qatar relations deteriorated after the Egyptian Air Force conducted airstrikes on suspected ISIL positions in neighboring Libya following the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians.The airstrikes were condemned by Al Jazeera, who broadcast images of civilian casualties.

Additionally, Qatar's foreign ministry expressed reservations over the airstrikes. This prompted Tariq Adel, Egypt's Arab League delegate, to accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism. Egyptian citizens also launched an online campaign denouncing the Qatari government.

The Gulf Cooperation Council rejected Egypt's accusations and its secretary general regarded the statements to be false.Shortly after, Qatar recalled its ambassador to Egypt for "consultations".

The exact reasons for the diplomatic break-offs are unclear, but contemporary news coverage primarily attributes this to several events in April and May 2017.

In April 2017, Qatar was involved in a deal with both Sunni and Shi'ite militants in Iraq and Syria. The deal had two goals. The immediate goal was to secure the return of 26 Qatari hostages including Qatari royals who had been kidnapped by Shi'ite militants while falcon hunting in Southern Iraq and kept in captivity for more than 16 months.

The second goal was to get both Sunni and Shi'ite militants in Syria to allow humanitarian aid to pass through and allow the safe evacuation of civilians.This deal allowed the evacuation of at least 2,000 civilians from the Syrian village of Madaya alone.

What outraged Saudi Arabia and the UAE is the amount of money Qatar had to pay to secure the deal. According to the Financial Times Qatar paid $700 million to Iranian-backed Shi'a militias in Iraq, $120-140 million to Tahrir al-Sham, and $80 million to Ahrar al-Sham.

As part of the Riyadh Summit in late May 2017, many world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump visited the region. Trump gave strong support for Saudi Arabia's efforts in fighting against states and groups allied with Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, leading to an arms deal between the countries. Trump's support may have induced other Sunni states to fall in line with Saudi Arabia to take a stance against Qatar.

The Qatar News Agency website and other government media platforms were allegedly hacked in May 2017. According to Qatar-based Al Jazeera, hackers posted fake remarks on the official Qatar News Agency attributed to the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, that expressed support for Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and Israel.

The emir was quoted as saying: Iran represents a regional and Islamic power that cannot be ignored and it is unwise to face up against it. It is a big power in the stabilization of the region.Qatar reported that the statements were false and did not know their origin.

Despite this, the remarks were widely publicized in the various Arab news media, including UAE-based Sky News Arabia and Al Arabiya.On 3 June 2017, the Twitter account of Bahraini foreign minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa was hacked.

Initially alleged Intelligence gathered by the US security agencies indicated that Russian hackers were behind the intrusion first reported by the Qataris. However, a U.S. official briefed on the inquiry told the New York Times that it was unclear whether the hackers were state-sponsored and The Guardian diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour reported that it is believed that the Russian government was not involved in the hacks; instead, freelance hackers were paid to undertake the work on behalf of some other state or individual.

A U.S. diplomat said that Russia and its ally Iran stood to benefit from sowing discord among U.S. allies in the region, particularly if they made it more difficult for the United States to use Qatar as a major base.The FBI sent a team of investigators to Doha to help the Qatari government investigate the hacking incident.

Later New York Times reported that the hacking incidents may be part of long running cyberwar between Qatar and other Gulf countries that was only revealed to the public during the recent incidents and they noted how Saudi and UAE media picked up the statement made by the hacked media in less than 20 minutes and began interviewing many well-prepared commentators against Qatar.

In May 2017, the email account of the UAE's ambassador to the U.S., Yousef Al-Otaiba, was hacked. The emails were seen as "embarrassing",because they allegedly showed links between the UAE and a pro-Israeli group, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

The story was covered by Al Jazeera and HuffPost Arabi, both of which are funded by Qatar. Arab countries saw the media coverage of the alleged email hack as a provocation by Qatar, and deepened the rift between the two sides.

On 9 June, Al Jazeera's media network was the victim of a cyber attack across all its platforms.

A variety of diplomatic actions were taken. Saudi Arabia and the UAE notified ports and shipping agents not to receive Qatari vessels or ships owned by Qatari companies or individuals.Saudi Arabia closed the border with Qatar.Iran offered to send food shipments to Qatar.

Saudi Arabia restricted its airspace to Qatar Airways. Instead, Qatar has rerouted flights to Africa and Europe via Iran.Saudi Arabia's central bank advised banks not to trade with Qatari banks in Qatari riyals.

Qatar verbally criticized the ban. The Foreign Ministry of Qatar criticized the ban, arguing that it undermined Qatar's sovereignty.The foreign minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, said that Saudi statements regarding Qatar were contradictory: on one hand, Saudi Arabia claimed Qatar was supporting Iran, on the other hand, it claimed Qatar was funding Sunni extremists fighting against Iran.

All GCC countries involved in the announcement ordered their citizens out of Qatar.Three Gulf states,Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain gave Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave their countries.The foreign ministries of Bahrain and Egypt gave Qatari diplomats 48 hours to leave their countries.Qatar was expelled from the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.Kuwait and Oman remained neutral.

Kuwaiti mediators in Riyadh were presented with a list of Saudi demands to Qatar. These included cutting off all links with Iran and expelling resident members of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, curbs on the freedom of al-Jazeera, to stop “interfering” in foreign countries’ affairs and to cease any funding or support for terrorist organisations.

As of 10 June 2017, eight sovereign governments have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.

- Bahrain

- Comoros

- Egypt

- Maldives

- Mauritania

- Saudi Arabia

- United Arab Emirates

- Yemen

The Tobruk-based government of Libya claimed to have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar despite having no diplomatic representation in that country.The government of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland announced on 10 June 2017 that it has cut diplomatic ties with Qatar in solidarity with Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt.

As of 12 June 2017, six countries have downgraded diplomatic ties with Qatar without fully cutting relations.

- Chad

- Djibouti

- Eritrea

- Jordan

- Niger

- Senegal

Multiple countries and the United Nations called for the resolution of the diplomatic crisis through dialogue:

- Algeria

- Guinea

- India

- Indonesia

- Iran

- Morocco

- Russia

- Somalia

- Sudan

- Tunisia

- Turkey

- Pakistan

- United Kingdom

Germany's foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel expressed support for Qatar and criticized the severing of ties.He accused US President Donald Trump of stirring up conflict in the Middle East.

India said that it viewed the crisis as an internal matter of the Gulf Cooperation Council and was primarily concerned with the Indian expatriates in the region.

Indonesia foreign minister said the diplomatic disconnection by Arab countries against qatar is very influential on Indonesia. And Indonesia asks the state to break the ties with qatar to negotiate. Indonesian President Joko Widodo wants Indonesia to have a role in resolving the conflict in middle East, Jokowi admitted still finding out the point of the real problem before determining what steps can be done by Indonesia.

On June 10, 2017 Indonesian President Jokowi Widodo called the president of Turkey and amir Qatar to find a way to resolve the conflict considering Indonesia itself is an Islamic country and this conflict occurred in Ramadhan.

Israel said that the crisis opened up opportunities for cooperation in the fight against terrorism, claiming that the Arab countries that cut off their diplomatic relations with Qatar did not do so because of Israel or the Palestinian issue, but because of their fear of radical Islamic terrorism.

Reports that Mauritius had cut ties with Qatar were refuted by the Mauritian government.A report in the Saudi Gazette incorrectly stated that Mauritius had broken off ties with Qatar and that Mauritius' Vice Prime-Minister had issued a communiqué pledging his country's support for Saudi Arabia.

This prompted further erroneous reports by other outlets. However, Mauritian Vice Prime Minister Showkutally Soodhun in an interview with Le Défi Media Group of Mauritius refuted claims that he had issued any such communiqué, and Mauritius' Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement that Mauritius continued to maintain diplomatic relations with Qatar.

Pakistan stated that it had no plans to cut diplomatic relations with Qatar.Member of the Parliament passed a resolution in National Assembly of Pakistan urging all countries to show restraint and resolve their differences through dialogue.Federal minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources said that Pakistan will continue to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar.

A six-member Qatari delegation headed by a special envoy of the Qatari Emir visited Pakistan and asked Pakistan to play a positive role in resolving the diplomatic crisis. Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan would do all it can to help resolve the crisis and called on the Muslim world to play a role in ending hostilities.TRT in a report said that Pakistan would deploy 20,000 troops in Qatar but the Foreign Office denied media report.

The Philippines suspended the deployment of migrant workers to Qatar on 6 June.However, on 7 June, they allowed the deployment of the returning workers and those with Overseas Employment Certificate, but still suspended the deployment of new workers. The suspension was later fully lifted on 15 June.

United States President Donald Trump claimed credit for engineering the diplomatic crisis in a series of tweets.On 6 June, Trump began by tweeting: "During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!"

An hour and a half later, he remarked on Twitter that it was "good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!

This was in contrast to attempts by the Pentagon and State department to remain neutral. The Pentagon praised Qatar for hosting the Al Udeid Air Base and for its "enduring commitment to regional security." U.S. Ambassador to Qatar, Dana Shell Smith, sent a similar message.

Earlier, the US Secretary of State had taken a neutral stance and called for dialogue.Qatar hosts about 10,000 U.S. troops at Al Udeid Air Base, which houses the forward operating base of United States Central Command that plays a commanding role in US airstrikes in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

A Pentagon spokesperson claimed the diplomatic crisis would not affect the US military posture in Qatar.On 8 June, President Donald Trump, during a phone call with the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, offered as a mediator in the conflict with a White House meeting between the parties if necessary.

The offer was declined, and Qatari official stated, The emir has no plans to leave Qatar while the country is under a blockade.

On 9 June, Trump once put the blame on Qatar, calling the blockade hard but necessary while claiming that Qatar had been funding terrorism at a very high level and described the country as having an extremist ideology in terms of funding.

This statement was in conflict with Secretary of State Tillerson's comments on the same day, which called on Gulf states to ease up the blockade.

In 13 June 2017 after meeting with Tillerson in Washington, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir stated that there was no blockade and what we have done is we have denied them use of our airspace, and this is our sovereign right and that the King Salman Centre for Humanitarian Aid and Relief would send food or medical aid to Qatar if needed.

On 7 June, the Turkish parliament passed, with 240 votes in favor and 98 against, a legislative act first drafted in May allowing Turkish troops to be deployed to a Turkish military base in Qatar.In 13 June 2017 during a speech, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the isolation of Qatar as inhumane and against Islamic values and that victimising Qatar through smear campaigns serves no purpose.

Gabon's foreign ministry also made a statement condemning Qatar for failing to respect international commitments and agreements on counter-terrorism.

On 8 June, Egypt's deputy U.N. Ambassador Ihab Moustafa called for the United Nations Security Council to launch an investigation into accusations that Qatar paid up to $1 billion to a terrorist group active in Iraq to free 26 Qatari hostages, including members of its royal family, which would violate U.N. resolutions.

The Qataris were kidnapped 16 December 2015 from a desert camp for falcon hunters in southern Iraq. The hostages were released eighteen months later in April 2017. Qatari diplomats responded to the Egyptian calls for an investigation by reaffirming their commitment to the U.N. resolutions towards eliminating the financing of terrorism.

Eritrea refused a request by Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates to cut relations with Qatar, citing its strong ties with the brother people of Qatar.On 12 June, however, they issuing a statement calling the isolation of Qatar one initiative among many in the right direction that envisages full realization of regional security and stability while not breaking off relations themselves.

The United Kingdom's foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, stated that Qatar needs to do more to stop the funding of extremist groups but also urged Gulf states to ease the blockade.

In June 2017, the government of Qatar hired American attorney and politician John Ashcroft to lobby on its behalf and rebut international allegations of supporting terror.

Amnesty International condemned the crisis and accused Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the (UAE) are toying with people's lives. James Lynch, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Global Issues Programme, claimed These drastic measures are already having a brutal effect, splitting children from parents and husbands from wives.

People from across the region not only from Qatar, but also from the states implementing these measures risk losing jobs and having their education disrupted.

All the states involved in this dispute must ensure their actions do not lead to human rights violations. Amnesty International received reports from victims unable to visit their family members, students being standed and workers being unable to return to their jobs in opposing nations.

Norwegian Refugee Council expressed fears that the crisis would affect reconstruction in Palestine as Qatar is a major source of humanitarian and infrastructure aid to Palestine.

On 6 June 2017, Emirates Post of UAE, halted postal services to Qatar.

Nearly 80 percent of Qatar's food requirements come from Gulf Arab neighbors, with only 1 percent being produced domestically and even imports from outside the Gulf states usually crossing the now closed land border with Saudi Arabia.Immediately after the cutting of relations, local reports indicated residents swarmed grocery stores in hopes of stockpiling food.

Many food delivery trucks were idled along the Saudi-Qatari border. On 8 June 2017 Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said, We're not worried about a food shortage, we're fine. We can live forever like this, we are well prepared.

Qatar has been in talks with both Turkey and Iran to secure supply of water and food. On 11 June 2017 Iran sent four cargo planes with fruit and vegetables and promised to continue the supply.Turkey has pledged food and water supplies to go along with their troop deployment at their Turkish military base in Qatar.

Large airlines based in these countries, including Emirates, suspended flight service to Qatar.Gulf Air,EgyptAir,FlyDubai, Air Arabia, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Etihad Airways and Royal Air Maroc suspended their flights to and from Qatar.Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are also banning overflights by aircraft registered in Qatar.

Instead Qatar has rerouted flights to Africa and Europe via Iran.

Qatar Airways in response also suspended their flight operations to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain.

Pakistan International Airlines sent special flights to bring back over 200 Pakistani pilgrims stuck at Doha airport.Over 550 Pakistani pilgrims in Doha were subsequently flown to Muscat.

Private jet travel is also being impacted by the crisis. Business aviation officials said private flights between Qatar and the countries that cut diplomatic ties now need to make a technical stop in a third country.

Aircraft registered in Qatar cannot fly to the countries that cut diplomatic ties and vice versa. While business jet operators can request a nonstop routing, two officials said requests so far have been turned down necessitating a stop in a third country.

Due to the blockade of Qatar Airways from the airspace of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, Oman Air has taken up a significant role transporting travelers from and to Doha, mostly through Iranian airspace, while still allowing Qatar passport holders to book flights.

The travel embargo has had a significant impact on foreign nationals living and working in Qatar, with about 100'000 Egyptians and citizens from other countries stranded there, unable to book direct flights or obtain travel documents for their return.

Per request from Qatar, the blockade is currently under review by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a UN-agency seeking consensus-based solutions for the resolution of the crisis.

The United Arab Emirates banned Qatar-flagged ships from calling at Fujairah. It also banned vessels from Qatar from the port and vessels at the port from sailing directly to Qatar.Similar restrictions were put in place at Jebel Ali. Bahrain, Egypt and Saudi Arabia also banned Qatar-flagged ships from their ports.

On June 8,2017 shipping giant Maersk was unable to transport in or out of Qatar entirely. Due to Qatar's shallow ports, large cargo ships are required to dock at Jebel Ali or other nearby ports where a feeder service transports the goods into Qatar.

In response, Maersk and also Swiss-based MSC vessels for Qatar were rerouted to Salalah and Sohar in Oman.Particularly smaller shipments of perishable and frozen foods have taken that route.

On June 12, 2017, Chinese shipping company COSCO announced suspension of services to and from Qatar. Taiwan's Evergreen Marine and Hong Kong's Orient Overseas Container Line have already suspended services.

Hamad Saif al-Shamsi, the Attorney-General of the United Arab Emirates announced on 7 June that publishing expressions of sympathy towards Qatar through social media, or any type of written, visual or verbal form is considered illegal under UAE's Federal Penal Code and the Federal law on Combating Information Technology Crimes.

Violators of this offense face between 3 to 15 years imprisonment, a fine of up to 500,000 emirati dirhams ($136,000) or both.Bahrain also issued a similar statement with penalty up to 5 years imprisonment and a fine.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, and the UAE all blocked access to Qatari news agencies, including one of the most popular Arab news outlets, Qatar-based Al Jazeera.Saudi Arabia shut down the local office of Al Jazeera Media Network.The BBC speculated that changes to Al-Jazeera would be a necessary part of any peaceful resolution.

The International Monetary Fund said it was too soon to judge the economic impact of the diplomatic crisis.Standard & Poor's downgraded Qatar's debt by one notch from AA to AA- as the Qatari riyal fell to an 11-year low.Qatar's stock market dropped 7.3% on the first day of the crisis, and reached a 9.7% drop by 8 June.

As per S&P Global Ratings, banks in Qatar are strong enough to survive pull out of all Gulf country deposits.

Qatar is a global leader in liquefied natural gas production. Despite the severing of ties, Qatari natural gas continues to flow to the UAE and Oman through Abu Dhabi based Dolphin Energy's pipeline. The pipeline meets about 30-40 percent of UAE's energy needs.

Shipping constraints from the crisis have also rerouted multiple shipments of oil and gas to and from the Gulf, which has caused reverberations in many local energy markets. On 8 June 2017 United Kingdom, with nearly a third of all imported gas arriving from Qatar, gas futures spiked nearly 4 percent.

We pray that this crisis is sorted out soon and amicably.

QATAR: Qatar Versus Gulf Diplomatic Rift Will Hurt Aviation In Middle East

A diplomatic rift between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors may cost them billions of dollars by slowing trade and investment and making it more expensive for the region to borrow money as it grapples with low oil prices.

With an estimated $335 billion of assets in its sovereign wealth fund, Qatar looks able to avoid an economic crisis over the decision Monday by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to cut air, sea and land transport links.

The tiny state’s newly expanded port facilities mean it can continue liquefied natural gas exports that earned it a trade surplus of $2.7 billion in April, and import by sea goods that used to come over its land border with Saudi Arabia, now closed.

But parts of Qatar’s economy could suffer badly if the dispute, over Riyadh’s allegations that Doha has been supporting terrorism, drags on for months – a prospect that helped to push the Qatari stock market down more than 7 percent Monday.

Fast-growing Qatar Airways, at the center of the tiny state’s effort to become a tourism hub, is likely to face losses from being barred some of the Middle East’s biggest hubs.

Qatar’s government has been borrowing at home and abroad to help finance some $200 billion of infrastructure spending as it prepares to host the World Cup soccer tournament in 2022. A drop in Qatari bond prices Monday suggested that borrowing would become more expensive – possibly slowing some projects.

Bonds of other countries in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council barely moved Monday, but some foreign bankers said the whole region could end up paying more to borrow if diplomatic tensions persisted.

If this dispute goes on for a while, the ramifications could be huge, said an international banker based in the Gulf, declining to be named because of political sensitivities.

Asset managers will not differentiate between Qatar and the rest of the GCC, and international managers will take their hands off any credit from the GCC. If Qatar is seen as a terror-financing or compliance issue, then asset managers will be cautious.

Because they all rely heavily on oil and gas exports, the GCC states have only weak trade and investment ties with each other, which will limit the economic fallout of their dispute. The UAE is Qatar’s biggest trading partner from the GCC but only its fifth-largest globally.

Similarly, Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries traditionally account for only about 5 to 10 percent of trading on the Qatari stock market, according to exchange data, suggesting even a total pullout would not sink the market.

Nevertheless, Qatar will face higher costs in some areas. Saudi Arabia and the UAE provided $309 million of Qatar’s $1.05 billion of food imports in 2015. Much of them, especially dairy products, came over the Saudi land border; Doha will have to make other arrangements for them.

Construction costs in Qatar could also rise, fueling inflation across the economy, because aluminum and other building materials can no longer be imported by land.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar for eight months in 2014 over Doha’s alleged support of Islamist groups, but that had minimal market or economic impact because it did not involve a ban on transport links. Trade and investment went on much as before.

This time, Saudi Arabia has promised to begin legal procedures for immediate understandings with brotherly and friendly countries and international companies to apply the same procedures as soon as possible.

It is not clear that Riyadh will be able to persuade more countries to cut links with Doha.

But it could try to force foreign companies to make a choice between doing business with Qatar and obtaining access to its own, much larger market, which it is opening up as part of economic reforms.

Cairo-based bankers said Monday that some Egyptian banks had halted dealings with Qatari banks.

It was not clear whether GCC banks would do the same; UAE commercial bankers said they were waiting for guidance from their central bank.

Stock markets in Dubai and several other Gulf centers fell Monday – although not by nearly as much as Qatar – in a sign that investors around the region were worried.

Overall it’s not good. I don’t think that the region has been in such turmoil so close to home.

And I think everyone is speculating how far these steps will go forward, said Mohammed Ali Yasin, chief executive of Abu Dhabi’s NBAD Securities.

Everyone is hoping that there will be intervention by wise people and things will cool down. But what we have seen is a gradual escalation.

UAE: Expressions Of Sympathy With Qatar Banned

The United Arab Emirates has banned people from publishing expressions of sympathy towards Qatar and will punish offenders with a jail term of up to 15 years.

The United Arab Emirates, along with several other powerful Arab states, severed diplomatic ties with fellow Gulf state Qatar Monday over its alleged support for Islamist groups and Iran. Qatar denies the accusations.

U.S. President Donald Trump took sides in the deep rift in the Arab world Tuesday, praising Middle East countries' actions against Qatar, but later spoke by phone with Saudi King Salman and stressed the need for Gulf unity.

Strict and firm action will be taken against anyone who shows sympathy or any form of bias towards Qatar, or against anyone who objects to the position of the United Arab Emirates, whether it be through the means of social media, or any type of written, visual or verbal form, UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi declared.

On top of a possible jail term, offenders would also be hit with a fine of at least 500,000 dirhams citing a statement to Arabic-language media.

Since the diplomatic row erupted, slogans against and in support of Qatar have been among the top topics discussed on Twitter in Arabic, which is a hugely popular medium of expression in the Arab world, particularly in Saudi Arabia.

Newspapers and television channels in the region have also been engaged in a war of words over Qatar's role.

Meanwhile, A man armed with a hammer shouted "this is for Syria" before attacking police officers on Tuesday outside France's Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, the interior minister said.

The assailant wounded one officer before he was shot and wounded by other officers. The Paris prosecutor's office swiftly began a counter-terrorism investigation.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said the attacker was carrying the identification card of an Algerian student. He said preliminary information indicated the attacker had acted alone.

Dozens of armed police sealed off the area and the cathedral in central Paris that is visited by millions of tourists every year was locked down while the security forces secured the area.

It is the first attack since President Emmanuel Macron won last month's election and comes days before a parliamentary poll in which opinion surveys show Macron on course to win a landslide majority. His rivals portrayed him as weak on security during the presidential campaign.

Situation under control, one policeman injured, the assailant was neutralized and taken to hospital, Paris police said on Twitter.

France is under a state of emergency after a wave of militant attacks since early 2015 that have killed more than 230 people across the country. Soldiers patrol its streets alongside police to guard tourist sites, government buildings and events.

Hundreds of tourists were inside the cathedral when the attacker struck.

One holidaymaker inside Notre Dame posted on Twitter: Not the holiday experience wanted. Trapped in Notre Dame Cathedral after police shoot a man. We are with our 2 terrified children.

Karine Dalle, a spokeswoman for the Paris diocese, told BFM TV 900 people were inside the cathedral as police secured the area.

Both France and Britain have suffered a spate of militant attacks in recent months.

In London, militants on Saturday drove a van at high speed into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing night revelers on the street and in nearby bars, killing at seven people and wounding dozens. That followed a suicide bombing in Manchester that killed 22 people.

In France, days before the first round of the presidential election in April, a policeman was shot dead and two others wounded. ISIS claimed the attack as well as those in London and Manchester.

In September, three women were arrested after police found a car laden with gas cylinders abandoned near Notre Dame. The interior ministry at the time said it was likely an attack had been imminent.

UAE: UAE Gave $54 Million To Interpol

The United Arab Emirates announced Monday that it has donated $54 million to the Interpol Foundation, as the Gulf country prepares to host a joint forum on global security.

The funds will go toward seven Interpol projects including counter terrorism, cybercrime and drugs, an official statement said.

The threats posed by terrorism, organized crime and cybercrime are more complex and global than ever, requiring Interpol to play an even stronger role in international police cooperation, Interpol secretary-general Jurgen Stock said.

The generosity of the UAE’s contribution will have a significant impact on strengthening the work of law enforcement worldwide, Stock said in a statement.

The news came on the eve of a three-day Unity for Security forum in Abu Dhabi. The conference is the first such venture organized jointly by the UAE and the intergovernmental police organization Interpol.

The UAE last May announced it had signed an agreement with the Interpol Foundation for Abu Dhabi to host the group’s World Bureau headquarters.

The Interpol Foundation for a Safer World, founded in 2013 and registered in Geneva, is tasked with supporting the work of Interpol while remaining legally and administratively independent, according to its website.

The foundation, which last year received close to $11 million in donations, has pledged a $54-million contribution to Interpol between 2016 and 2020.

The UAE is a key regional ally in the U.S.-led coalition’s fight against Daesh (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria.

The Gulf state in 2014 introduced sweeping counter terrorism legislation enabling courts to hand down the death penalty in cases linked to militant groups.

The country blacklists 83 organizations as terrorist, including Al-Qaeda, Daesh and Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.

QATAR: Egypt,Saudi Arabia,Bahrain,UAE Cut Ties, Etihad Stops Flights And Qataris Given 2 Weeks To Vacate

Egypt,Saudi Arabia,Bahrain,and United Arab Emirates have announced sutting ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting terrorism, opening up the worst rift in years among some of the most powerful states in the Arab world.

The coordinated move dramatically escalates a dispute over Qatar's support of the Muslim Brotherhood, the world's oldest Islamist movement, and adds accusations that Doha even backs the agenda of regional arch-rival Iran.

Announcing the closure of transport ties with Qatar, the three Gulf states gave Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave their countries.

Qatar was also expelled from a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.

Economic disturbances loomed immediately, as Abu Dhabi's state-owned Etihad Airways said it would suspend all flights to and from Doha from Tuesday morning until further notice.

Saudi Arabia accused Qatar of backing militant groups and broadcasting their ideology, in an apparent reference to Qatar's influential state-owned satellite channel al Jazeera.

Qatar embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS (Islamic State) and al-Qaeda, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly, Saudi Arabia said.

The statement accused Qatar of supporting what it described as Iranian-backed militants in its restive and largely Shi'ite Muslim-populated Eastern region of Qatif and in Bahrain.

Qatar had no immediate reaction to the announcements, and Qatari officials could not be reached for comment, but it has denied supporting terrorism or Iran in the past.

The measures are more severe than during a previous eight-month rift in 2014, when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Doha, again alleging Qatari support for militant groups.

At that time, travel links were maintained and Qataris were not expelled.

A split between Doha and its closest allies can have repercussions around the Middle East, where Gulf states have used their financial and political power to influence events in Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

The diplomatic broadside threatens the international prestige of Qatar, which hosts a large US military base and is set to host the 2022 World Cup.

It has for years presented itself as a mediator and power broker for the region's many disputes.

Qatar's land borders and air space were closed for any length of time it would wreak havoc on the timeline and delivery of the World Cup.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters in Sydney on Monday that the spat would not affect the fight against Islamist militants and that Washington has encouraged its Gulf allies to resolve their differences.

The announcements come 10 days after President Donald Trump visited Riyadh to call on Muslim countries to stand united against Islamists extremists, and singling out Iran as a key source of funding and support for militant groups.

It seems that the Saudis and Emiratis feel emboldened by the alignment of their regional interests toward Iran and Islamism with the Trump administration, said Kristian Ulrichsen, a Gulf expert at the U.S-based Baker Institute.

Qatar has used its media and political clout to support long-repressed Islamists during the 2011 pro-democracy "Arab Spring" uprisings in several Arab countries.

Muslim Brotherhood parties allied to Doha are now mostly on the backfoot in the region, especially after a 2013 military takeover in Egypt ousted the elected Islamist president.

The former army chief and now president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, along with the new government's allies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, blacklist the Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation.

Egypt, the Arab world's most populous nation, said on its state news agency that Qatar's policy threatens Arab national security and sows the seeds of strife and division within Arab societies according to a deliberate plan aimed at the unity and interests of the Arab nation.

Oil prices rose after the moves against Qatar, which is the biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a major seller of condensate - a low-density liquid fuel and refining product derived from natural gas.

UAE: United Arab Emirates Named Happiest Nation In The Gulf Region

The United Arab Emirates UAE has recently been dubbed as the happiest nation in the Gulf region and the 21st ranked among all the countries in the world

According to World Happiness Report of 2017, the UAE has upped 7 slots from previously being in the 28th spot to the 21st effectively making it the happiest country in the region followed by Qatar at 35th, Saudi Arabia at 37th, Kuwait at 39th, and Bahrain at 41st places.

The report ranked 157 countries based on happiness levels using factors such as per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and social support.

The parameters measured to determine the rankings are based on six factors — per capita gross domestic product, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, social support, and absence of corruption in government or business.

Meanwhile, overall, Norway displaced Denmark as the world’s happiest country.

Happy countries are the ones that have a healthy balance of prosperity, as conventionally measured, and social capital, meaning a high degree of trust in a society, low inequality and confidence in government, Jeffrey Sachs, the director of the SDSN and a special advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General, said in an interview.

He also praised UAE for putting up a Ministry of Happiness and coerced other nations to follow its suit.

The World Happiness Report is a landmark survey of the state of global happiness. The World Happiness Report 2017, which ranks 155 countries by their happiness levels, will be released today at the United Nations at an event celebrating International Day of Happiness.

The report, the fifth one to come out since 2012, continues to gain global recognition as governments, organizations and civil society increasingly use happiness indicators to inform their policy-making decisions.

In addition to the rankings, this year’s report includes an analysis of happiness in the workplace and a deeper look at China and Africa.

The first World Happiness Report was published in April, 2012, in support of the UN High Level Meeting on happiness and well-being.

Since then the world has come a long way. Increasingly, happiness is considered to be the proper measure of social progress and the goal of public policy.

Now on the International Day of Happiness, March 20th, we launch the World Happiness Report 2017, once again back at the United Nations, again published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and now supported by a generous three-year grant from the Ernesto Illy Foundation.

KENYA: Emirates May Start Third Flight To Nairobi, No More Subject to Government Approval'

Emirates seems now set in earnest for their third daily flight between Dubai and Nairobi as the airline has now removed the precautionary notice 'Subject to Government Approval' from its flight schedule website.

Despite the current Bilateral Air Services Agreement clearly showing an open skies agreement had Kenya's former Transport Principal Secretary Mr. Irungu Nyakera vehemently opposed the third flight, speaking of the need to protect Kenyan airlines from competition, something which did not go down well in the United Arab Emirates.

He added more confusion at the time when he said that some 30 other airlines' applications for more frequencies or the use of larger aircraft had also been deferred, causing those affected to star on with a degree of perplexity, given the need to Kenya to bring in more tourists, conference participants and visitors in general.

Regular sources close to the Kenyan administration subsequently confirmed that the UAE and Dubai were digging in their heels insisting on Kenya respecting signed and ratified agreements with a big fat 'or else' hanging like an angry cloud over the bilateral relations.

President Uhuru Kenyatta in a reshuffle last week of Principal Secretaries then moved the cantankerous Nyakera into a less profiled PS position at the Ministry of Devolution and Planning, following which Emirates promptly deleted the precautionary warning.

As of the 01st of June will Dubai's award winning airline therefore fly three times a day from DXB to NBO using a Boeing B777 aircraft in a three class configuration of First, Business and Economy on all three services.

Kenya's tourism industry according to feedback received overnight, while in Nairobi, in fact expressed their delight of the added numbers of visitors the country will now receive as a result of upping the frequencies which makes Nairobi reachable from around the globe with just one convenient stop and short transit times in Dubai.

Elsewhere in the region does Emirates serve Entebbe and Dar es Salaam with one flight a day, also using Boeing B777 aircraft.

UAE: Emirates Crash In Dubai

An Emirates plane has crash-landed at Dubai International Airport and caught fire.

All 300 people on board were able to escape from the burning aircraft, but a firefighter was killed tackling the blaze.

The Boeing 777 appeared to have landed on its belly, and images showed thick black smoke rising into the sky.

Emirates chairman Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum paid tribute to the firefighter who lost his life fighting the blaze.

The aircraft was flying to Dubai from the southern Indian state of Kerala.

Flights to and from the airport were suspended for several hours but have now resumed.

The Emirates chairman told a press conference that evacuation procedures were executed professionally and the cabin crew were the last to leave the plane.

Thirteen people had suffered minor injuries, he said.

"As we were landing there was smoke coming out in the cabin," said Sharon Maryam Sharji.

"People were screaming and we had a very hard landing. We left by going down the emergency slides and as we were leaving on the runway, we could see the whole plane catch fire."

Emirates said there were 282 passengers and 18 crew on board from 20 nationalities, most of them Indian, with 24 Britons and 11 people from the United Arab Emirates.

The captain and the first officer have over 7,000 hours of flying experience each, the airline said.

The pilots and crew were the last to abandon the aircraft, Al Maktoum said, praising the "maximum level of professionalism they have demonstrated."

Dubai airport, which was closed following the accident and all departures and arrivals halted, re-opened at 6:30 pm local time (14:30 GMT), according to Dubai Airports.

The escaping passengers were then taken to a corner of the tarmac where some were being treated for their injuries.

The aircraft is sitting on the ground without its landing gear, but it is not clear why the wheels are not down.

The crew were making a normal, rather than an emergency approach, when air traffic controllers told them to abandon the landing and start climbing again, for unknown reasons.

Whatever the cause, it is a testament to the crew that they got everyone off the plane.

Flight EK521, direct from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai, is popular with hundreds of thousands of Kerala residents who work in the Gulf countries.

Emirates is the Middle East's biggest airline, and has an excellent safety record.

It ranked seventh in a survey of the world's safest airlines by AirlineRatings.com, an independent plane safety website.

Dubai International Airport is a major transport hub, one of the world's busiest for international passengers, operating with only two runways.

USA: Solar Plane Arrives In Arizona

A solar-powered airplane landed in suburban Phoenix Monday night after a daylong flight from California — the latest leg in its around the world journey using only energy from the sun.

The Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 arrived in the suburb of Goodyear, just to the southwest of Phoenix, shortly before 9 p.m. PDT.

Pilot Andre Borschberg called the 16-hour trip "a beautiful flight," after stepping from the cockpit.

"It was a special flight; not a long flight," he added.

The aircraft took off from Mountain View in northern California shortly after 5 a.m.

It began its globe-circling journey last year, and flew from Hawaii to the Silicon Valley last week.

After Phoenix, the plane will make two more stops in the United States before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to Europe or northern Africa, according to the website documenting the journey.

For several minutes after arriving, Borschberg remained aboard as powerful winds buffeted the aircraft, forcing the ground crew to hold down it down with straps.

"Sometimes it is more difficult to handle the airplane on the ground than in flight," he told reporters later.

Video from cameras aboard the aircraft as well as on the ground at the Goodyear airport showed the Solar Impulse as it flew through the night sky enroute to its safe touch down southwest of Phoenix.

Hours earlier, shortly after takeoff, Borschberg used his phone to snap photos of the sun coming up along the horizon. Then he prepared for media interviews and made breakfast plans.

"I'm heating up water for coffee," Borschberg told his ground crew. "A nice Nescafe."

His co-pilot, Bertrand Piccard, also of Switzerland, made the three-day trip from Hawaii to the heart of Silicon Valley, where he landed last week.

The Solar Impulse 2's wings, which stretch wider than those of a Boeing 747, are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries. The plane runs on stored energy at night.

The two legs to cross the Pacific were the riskiest part of the plane's travels because of the lack of emergency landing sites.

"We have demonstrated it is feasible to fly many days, many nights, that the technology works" said Borschberg, 63, who piloted the plane during a five-day trip from Japan to Hawaii and who kept himself alert by doing yoga poses and meditation.

The crew was forced to stay in Oahu for nine months after the plane's battery system sustained heat damage on its trip from Japan.

The single-seat aircraft began its voyage in March 2015 from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates and made stops in Oman, Myanmar, China and Japan.

The layovers will give the pilots a chance to swap places and engage with local communities along the way so they can explain the project, which is estimated to cost more than $100 million and began in 2002 to highlight the importance of renewable energy and the spirit of innovation.

RUSSIA: Russia’s Rostov-on-Don Airport Reopens After Deadly Crash

The airport in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don reopened March 21, just over two days after a passenger jet from budget airline FlyDubai crashed there on landing, killing all 62 people on board.

The Boeing 737, which was flying from Dubai to Rostov-on-Don, exploded into a fireball after missing the runway on a second landing attempt in heavy wind and rain.

“The airport is now fully functional,” an airport representative said.

Regional authorities said March 20 that workers had finished clearing the runway of debris, which investigators said had been scattered up to 1.5 kilometers from the crash site.

Outbound flights resumed at around 0630 GMT on March 21, but incoming flights to the city of one million were still either cancelled or delayed.

Investigators have launched a criminal probe into whether poor weather, a pilot error or a technical fault were behind the crash, which killed all 55 passengers and seven crew members on board.

The plane’s two black boxes were recovered from the crash site but were “badly damaged,” Russia’s intergovernmental aviation committee said, warning that their analysis would take time.

Experts from the state-owned budget airline FlyDubai, a sister firm of Emirates Airlines, and the United Arab Emirates authorities are assisting with the probe, Russian investigators said.

German Passport Most Powerful, Afghan Least In The World

The Afghan passport has been identified as the least powerful in the world for the restrictions the countrymen face in terms of visa-free travel, an index by a London-based consulting firm showed on Friday.

The index found Germans held the most powerful passports in the world for third year in row in 2016, Tolo news reported on Friday.

A number of the European nations and the US, Japan and Canada closely follow Germany as the top nations holding the most powerful passports in the world.

The countries listed below Afghanistan were South Sudan and Palestinian territories, according to the index South Sudan being the youngest sovereign state in the world and Palestinian territories less diplomatically recognised by countries in the West.

The index update by Henley & Partners attempts to quantify the power of passports based on the judgements in the world by the amount of visa-free travel they entitle their owner to.

The update comes as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) imposed restrictions on Afghan nationals' visit who were heading towards Dubai for business and tourism.

The issue with the UAE emerged with the issuance of the new electronic Afghan passports amid concerns that the citizens of the other countries misused the Afghan passports.

However, the issue was later resolved as an agreement was reached between the two countries to improve the information quality of the newly issued e-passports.

Meanwhile, the demand by Afghans for passports has increased last year with the deteriorating security situation across the country, forcing many Afghans to travel abroad, specifically to the Western countries by risking their lives and travelling through dangerous routes.

SLOVENIA: Slovenia And UAE Sign Economic Cooperation Agreement

Slovenia and the United Arab Emirates have signed an economic cooperation agreement which the two countries see as an opportunity to boost ties in industry, particularly food production, and in tourism.

The deal was signed in Ljubljana on Thursday by Slovenian Economic Development and Technology Minister Zdravko Počivalšek and Economy Minister of the United Arab Emirates Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri.

Počivalšek said on the occasion that volume of goods trade and investment between the two countries was solid, but that there was still lot of room for improvement. Slovenia and the UAE can upgrade their cooperation in construction, housing equipment, food and tourism, he added.

According to the minister, by signing the agreement the two countries have set up the foundation for even better cooperation.

Počivalšek and Al Mansouri also discussed the business environment in Slovenia and investment possibilities on both sides. "I believe that the foundation has been set for advanced cooperation in the fields of trade and foreign direct investment," Počivalšek said.

Al Mansouri agreed that Slovenia and the UAE have good relations. He sees opportunities for enhanced cooperation in environmental protection, innovation, renewable energy sources and food industry.

"Since we are a desert country, we depend on food imports, we import as much as 85% of our food, which is why we decided to cooperate with partner countries around the world in agriculture and food industry," he added.

According to Al Mansouri, the two countries could also cooperate in development of innovative products, which could be marketed also outside Europe.

"The United Arab Emirates can boast a strong investment fund, and in the past we made a lot of investments in the nearby countries, such as Serbia and Montenegro," he said.

Investments by the UAE in Slovenia have been modest so far because the country was little known, Al Mansouri admitted. "The country offers great potential which we could utilise," he added.

The two countries also signed an agreement on cooperation in civil aviation, which Al Mansouri believes will help boost bilateral cooperation. He noted that the UAE had four major airlines, including giants Emirates and Etihad.

Tags: Slovenia, UAE, economic cooperation agreement, Zdravko Počivalšek, Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri