Dubai's financial crisis may have calmed a bit now that the central bank of the United Arab Emirates has promised to stand behind the city state's banks with fresh liquidity. After all, the UAE, to which Dubai belongs, has perhaps $700 billion accumulated from petroleum riches — a resource that Dubai, which is apparently stuck with tens of billions of dollars in debt, does not enjoy. But the question remains, if the central bank in Abu Dhabi decides ...

A member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi who was captured on videotape torturing an Afghan grain dealer has reportedly been detained, a senior U.S. State Department official told CNN Saturday. The official said the government of the United Arab Emirates, which includes Abu Dhabi as one of its seven emirates, told the State Department that Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan is under house arrest pending an investigation, but that the United States has not independently confirmed the ...

On the tape, Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan appears to burn with rage. Believing he was cheated in a business deal, the member of the United Arab Emirates ruling family was trying to extract a confession from an Afghan grain dealer. With a private security officer assisting, Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan is seen stuffing sand in the Afghan's mouth. As the grain dealer pleads and whimpers, he is beaten with a nailed board, burned in the genitals ...

A videotape of a heinous torture session is delaying the ratification of a civil nuclear deal between the United Arab Emirates and the United States, senior U.S. officials familiar with the case said. In the tape, an Afghan grain dealer is seen being tortured by a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi, one of the UAE's seven emirates. The senior U.S. officials said the administration has held off on the ratification process because it believes sensitivities over the ...

Australia were frustrated in their bid to become the first side to reach next year's World Cup finals in South Africa after beating Uzbekistan 2-0 to regain control of Asian Group A. Had Bahrain and Qatar drawn their match in Manama later on Wednesday, the Socceroos would have been celebrating qualification. Instead they must wait at least until their next match against Qatar after striker Fouzi Aaish hit the only goal of the game for Bahrain from a free kick ...

Over the last few months, Dubai's glittering skyscrapers have been diminished by the alarms about the emirate's economic woes. The news has not been easy to take for the showpiece city-state, the most populous among the seven sheikdoms that make up the United Arab Emirates. Indeed, even as the rest of the world spiraled into crisis, the UAE insisted that its brand-name city would not be drawn in by the downturn. In fact, the UAE established a "no news is ...

Israel's Andy Ram will be able to play in the Dubai Tennis Championships next week after being granted a visa to enter the United Arab Emirates. The ATP had been under pressure to ensure Ram could compete after his countrywoman Shahar Peer was prevented from playing in the women's event this week. ATP president and executive chairman Adam Helfant told PA Sport: "I am pleased that the efforts to secure Andy Ram's visa to compete in the ATP ...

Organizers of a tennis tournament in Dubai, criticized for banning an Israeli female player, said Tuesday they were trying to protect the woman from anti-Israel protests. "The Tournament respects Ms. Shahar Peer as a professional tennis player on the Tour and understands her disappointment," the organizers wrote in a statement. "Ms. Peer personally witnessed protests against her at another tournament in New Zealand only a few weeks ago. "We do not wish to politicize sports, but we have to be ...

The Israeli tennis player refused an entry visa to Dubai has told CNN she is "very, very disappointed" to have been denied the opportunity to play. Shahar Peer was due to fly into the United Arab Emirates for the start of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Sunday, but was informed on Saturday night by telephone that she wouldn't be granted a visa. She had just finished playing in the Pattaya Open in Thailand, where she reached the semi-final. "They really ...

The United Arab Emirates has refused to grant a visa to a female Israeli tennis player, preventing her from competing in the Sony Ericsson World Tennis Association Tour in Dubai, the WTA said in a statement Sunday. The move runs counter to WTA policy, which says no player should be barred from competing in a tournament for which she has qualified. "We are deeply disappointed by the decision of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) denying Shahar Peer a visa that ...