Radio Shoma

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has praised the efforts of the first batch of Emirati government officials to secure scholarships to study at the world's top universities.

The UAE's Attorney-General, Dr. Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, has ordered the referral of 13 defendants and six UAE-registered companies to the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal (State Security Court) on charges of illicit trafficking in military materiel, forgery and money laundering.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced a travel ban for UAE citizens to Iran, Lebanon and Iraq, citing current regional developments.

Iran said on Thursday it would respond with "long and painful strikes" on US positions if Washington renewed attacks and restated its claim to the Strait of Hormuz, complicating US plans for a coalition to reopen the waterway.

A fresh Ukrainian drone strike on Russia’s Black Sea port of Tuapse, the fourth in the past week, sparked a fire at the sea terminal but caused no injuries, local officials said early on Friday.

The legal team of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi plans to meet the detained former leader this weekend after she was transferred to house arrest in the capital by the military-backed government, a representative said on Friday.