The United Nations says Houthi rebels released a dozen United Nations international staffers and allowed three others to move freely within the U.N. compound after detaining them in the facility in Yemen's capital over the weekend.

The head of the U.S.-funded Al Hurra Arabic-language television and online news outlet has terminated most of his staff and curtailed TV programming.

Israel’s defense ministry says the military has been instructed to prepare to defend a Druze settlement in the suburbs of Damascus in neighboring Syria.

Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco has reported third-quarter profits of $27.5 billion, down about 15% from last year as low oil prices ate into its revenues.

A Palestinian ambulance worker in Gaza was devastated to realize he was carrying his own mother's body.

A Malaysian shoe company has apologized and stopped selling some of its footwear after some Muslims said the logo resembled the Arabic writing for the word God.

A spacecraft around Mars has sent back close-up photos of the red planet's little moon.

Egypt has announced it's raising prices of some types of gasoline, the latest hike to beset the cash-strapped Middle East country.

One of the world's most ruthless pirates hid in plain sight in the American colonies, according to new evidence.

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Oil giant Saudi Aramco says its profits soared more than 80% in the first three months of the year, as the state-backed company cashes in on the volatility in global energy markets and soaring oil prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Biden administration says it has cancelled $130 million in military aid to Egypt over human rights concerns just three days after greenlighting a massive $2.5 billion arms sale to the country.

Arab politician Mansour Abbas broke a longstanding taboo when he joined Israel’s governing coalition last year.

On Sunday, March 14, 2021, Kuwaits constitutional court ordered al-Dahoum expelled from parliament citing an old conviction for insulting the late emir. The court nullified Bader al-Dahoum’s membership in the currently suspended parliament, citing an old conviction for insulting the late emir. While Kuwait's parliament is more democratic than other Persian Gulf sheikhdoms, its powers remain limited. Lawmakers suspected political motives in the court decision, with 28 deputies demanding urgent legal changes to reduce the court’s influence over the elected parliament. The ruling “is seen as an attempt by the government to eliminate a harsh critic from the political scene," said Kuwaiti political analyst Mohammed al-Yousef.

Hope is designed to orbit Mars and study the Martian atmosphere using three scientific instruments on board the spacecraft. [RELATED: 3 spacecraft arriving in quick succession to Mars | NASA Mars rover coming in for landing during ‘most dangerous’ part of mission]AdThe UAE Space Agency offered a livestream of the spacecraft’s arrival. ET nearly half of the spacecraft’s fuel was spent to slow it down enough to capture Mars’ orbit. Just before 11 a.m. the UAE Space Agency confirmed the spacecraft had survived and was beginning it’s high orbit of the red planet. The Mars Orbit Insertion is now complete.#ArabsToMars — Hope Mars Mission (@HopeMarsMission) February 9, 2021The UAE hopes to inspire a new generation of scientists and space explorers with the $200 million mission.

Emiratis celebrate after the Hope Probe enters Mars orbit as a part of Emirates Mars mission, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. The spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates swung into orbit around Mars in a triumph for the Arab worlds first interplanetary mission. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)DUBAI – A spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates swung into orbit around Mars on Tuesday in a triumph for the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission. Amal’s arrival puts the UAE in a league of just five space agencies in history that have pulled off a functioning Mars mission. AdThe success delivers a tremendous boost to the UAE's space ambitions.

(AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)WASHINGTON – The Biden administration on Monday suspended some of the terrorism sanctions that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo imposed on Yemen’s Houthi rebels in his waning days in office. The Treasury Department said it would exempt certain transactions involving the Houthis from sanctions resulting from Pompeo's designation of the group as a “foreign terrorist organization” on Jan. 10. The sanctions Pompeo imposed had taken effect Jan. 19, just a day before President Joe Biden was inaugurated, and had been roundly criticized by the United Nations and relief organizations. Six years of war between a U.S.-backed Arab coalition and the Houthi rebels have been catastrophic for Yemen, killing more than 112,000 people and reducing infrastructure from roads and hospitals to water and electricity networks to ruins. Saudi Arabia has advocated the terror designation, hoping it would pressure the rebels to reach a peace deal.

A prominent Malian politician and three European hostages freed by Islamic extremists in northern Mali this week landed in the country's capital late Thursday where they held emotional reunions with family members and were greeted by government officials. (Mali Presidency via AP)BAMAKO – A prominent Malian politician and three European hostages freed by Islamic extremists in northern Mali this week landed in the country's capital late Thursday where they held emotional reunions with family members and were greeted by government officials. Three-time Malian presidential candidate Soumaila Cisse descended next in a flowing white robe and turban, embracing first his wife and then his son. All four released hostages were then brought to a late night reception at Mali's presidential palace where they met with dignitaries. The hostages’ release came just days after Malian authorities freed nearly 200 jihadist prisoners over the weekend, which had fueled speculation that a prisoner exchange was imminent.

Sheikh Mohammed made the announcement Tuesday on Twitter that his country plans to send an unmanned spacecraft to the moon in 2024. Already, an Emirati space probe is hurtling through space on its way to Mars while last year it sent its first astronaut to the International Space Station. Sheikh Mohammed said the rover would be named “Rashid,” the same name of his late father, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. Sheikh Rashid was one of the original founding rulers of the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. ___Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

In the Mideast, wave after wave of war, disease and economic collapse leaves this generation feeling hopeless. She was preparing to leave to England, where she would spend a year working on her masters degree in pharmacy. Even before the pandemic, in 2019 youth employment in the Arab region was estimated at 26.4%, compared to a global rate of 13.6%, according to estimates by the International Labor Organization. A U.N. report this week expected some Arab economies to shrink by up to 13% this year, compounding the suffering of those affected by armed conflict. Working at the pharmacy in Baghdads Karrada district, al-Diwani encounters people suspected of being infected with the virus every day.

Three countries the United States, China and the United Arab Emirates are sending unmanned spacecraft to the red planet in quick succession beginning in July 2020. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Mars is about to be invaded by planet Earth big time. Each spacecraft will travel more than 300 million miles (483 million kilometers) before reaching Mars next February. Only the U.S. has successfully put a spacecraft on Mars, doing it eight times, beginning with the twin Vikings in 1976. The United Arab Emirates and China are looking to join the elite club.

American Muslims, Black and non-Black, are also having raw conversations like Makki's as they grapple with questions of racial equity, tensions and representation in their own faith communities. He and others have called for more Black Muslim speakers and not just to talk about race or only during Black History Month. Ubaydullah Evans, resident scholar for the American Learning Institute for Muslims, says hes experienced interpersonal racism," from some Muslims. Dozens of American Muslim organizations came together to demand police reform and pledged to support Black-led groups. He shared plans to send African American imams to different California mosques for a day.