The US and UAE’s ground forces will begin a joint military exercise in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, as part of efforts to consolidate their bilateral relations and exchange training and military expertise. Code-named Iron Union 5, the drill is an extension of a series of Iron Claw exercises, which the …

The United States on Friday strongly urged northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to call off a controversial referendum on independence from Baghdad. The announcement comes hours after the KRG parliament voted to hold the poll next week despite opposition from the central government and Iraq’s neighbours.

The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution welcoming recent efforts to bring opposing sides together in Libya – a conflict that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says is ripe for mediation to end years of chaos and restore peace.