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The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) announced that archaeologists unearthed a rare 1,600-year-old stucco plaque featuring a Christian cross on the island of Sir Bani Yas near Abu Dhabi. The discovery was made during the first major excavation campaign at the site in over three decades, after a Christian monastery was first identified on the island in 1992. Current archaeological work at the complex is focused on a group of courtyard houses where the monks resided. The 10.5-by-6.5-inch plaque was likely used by monks for spiritual contemplation. The object features what appears to be...

Archaeologists have uncovered definitive proof of early Christian life in the Arabian Gulf, thanks to the discovery of a plaster Christian cross dating back around 1,400 years. The find was made on Sir Bani Yas Island, about 110 miles southwest of Abu Dhabi, and confirms that a cluster of small courtyard houses found decades ago were part of a monastic Christian community. The cross was discovered by teams from Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism during excavations that restarted in January 2025. The artifact was found among courtyard houses north of the main monastery complex, where senior monks are...

Former US Vice President Dick Cheney “just loved Israel,” recalls Michael Oren, past Israeli ambassador to Washington. Oren was in the room as an Israeli reservist in the 1991 Gulf War when Cheney, then defense secretary, and his counterpart Moshe Arens met to discuss the response to Iraqi Scud missile attacks on Israeli cities. He was the Israeli notetaker, as Cheney sought to convince Israel not to respond. “The Israeli government was telling the administration that we couldn’t wait anymore, that the paratroopers were out on the runway ready to go to western Iraq,” says Oren. Cheney feared that the...

Sumer is commonly acknowledged as one of -- if not the earliest known -- human civilizations. Emerging in southern Mesopotamia between the sixth and fifth millennium b.c., the Sumerians are often credited with a number of key innovations, including the invention of writing, the establishment of human-engineered agricultural systems, and the construction of the first urban centers. According to a statement released by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, a groundbreaking new study suggests that all of these Sumerian developments may have been driven by dynamic changes in the interactions between rivers, tides, and sediments. The research shows that between 7,000 and...

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami came to New York City on Nov. 8 to attend a U.N. summit as U.S. intelligence and law-enforcement agencies explored new information tying his regime's intelligence services to Sept. 11 and to previous anti-American terrorist attacks, Insight has learned.The information is coming from a variety of sources and shows a clear pattern of operational contacts between the Iranian government and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization. These contacts include joint planning of terrorist operations, military training of bin Laden operatives inside Iran and by Iranian personnel in Syria and Lebanon, financial assistance to clandestine terrorist and surveillance ...

NASA updates the UN that it has detected on its radars: "Three unusual heat spots were observed in the Bandar Abbas area. There is concern that an underground nuclear facility in the area may have been damaged."

An explosion in southern Lebanon last week destroyed what is believed to have been a Hezbollah weapons depot. This latest in a series of mysterious “accidents” in Hezbollah-controlled precincts proved, as one Israeli official wryly remarked, that those who “sleep with rockets and amass large stockpiles of weapons are in a very unsafe place.” With the Party of God’s overland supply route through Syria choked off by the 22-month-long uprising against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and Israel virtually in total control of the maritime route, Hezbollah’s stockpile is being systematically degraded.Yet the arsenal of Iran’s other regional proxy force, Hamas,...

The Houthi rebels in Yemen announced on Tuesday evening that they will attack any ship that violates the group's ban on Israeli vessels passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden, effective immediately. The "ban on the passage of all Israeli ships" will continue "until the crossings to the Gaza Strip are reopened and aid, food, and medicine are allowed in," said the Houthis’ military spokesperson, Yahya Saree. Earlier on Tuesday evening, Al-Arabiya reported that the United States attacked Houthi radar facilities and weapons storage sites in the port of Al-Hudaydah in...

Take a unique walk inside one of the best preserved monuments of ancient Rome: Trajan's Column. Ascend the spiral staircase- rarely open to the public- to the top viewing platform for a one-of-a-kind view of Ancient Rome, and learn about the construction and meaning of this funerary monument that narrates the battles against the Dacians (modern Romania). Walk inside and ascend Trajan's Column | 8:22Darius Arya Digs | 28.1K subscribers | 127,903 views | August 14, 2023

Five Russian scientists who died in a plane crash on Tuesday had been helping Iran with nuclear secrets, it has been revealed. They were among 45 killed when the plane's lights failed in heavy fog and careered into a motorway before bursting into flames - leading conspiracy theorists to believe it was a deliberate plot to kill the nuclear experts. Russian security sources confirmed that the dead scientists worked at the controversial Bushehr nuclear plant on the Iranian Persian Gulf.

The people familiar with the matter have described the eight former Indian Navy officers as those with "unblemished" tenures of up to two decades. The men had served in important positions including as instructors in the Navy.The war, which commenced with the Hamas attacks of October 7, is far from over and there is much suffering yet to come The close bond between Sita, Urmila, Mandavi, and Shrutakirti proves that women are not enemies—a convenient narrative cultivated through centuries Qatar on Thursday left India 'shocked' when a court announced death sentences for eight former Indian Navy personnel. The men were...

Some experts believe the deal signifies an easing of tensions between Tehran and Washington. Five American prisoners held in Iran flew out of Tehran on Monday officials said, as part of a deal that saw nearly $6 billion in Iranian assets unfrozen. Despite the deal, tensions are almost certain to remain high between the US and Iran, which are locked in various disputes, including over Tehran’s nuclear program. Iran says the program is peaceful, but it now enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. The planned exchange has unfolded amid a major American military buildup in the Persian Gulf,...

Dozens of Iranian drones and speedboats swarming two US Navy ships near the Persian Gulf after Washington sent them in to deal with Iran's renewed threat against one of the world's most important waterways, dramatic new footage has revealed. Iran's navy sent the small vessels to confront the USS Bataan and the USS Carter Hall in the fraught Strait of Hormuz, which sits between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, according to a video published on Saturday. The speedboats were manned with armed soldiers from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and came within inches of the ships,...

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday approved the deployment of the USS Bataan amphibious readiness group and the 26th Marine Expeditional Unit to the Gulf region, according to US officials. The readiness group consists of three ships, including the Bataan, an amphibious assault ship. An expeditional unit usually consists of about 2,500 Marines. In an announcement, US Central Command said the deployment will provide "even greater flexibility and maritime capability in the region.” The announcement did not name the ships, but US officials detailed the units involved in the deployment on condition of anonymity to discuss troop movements. Along with...

The U.S. is sending F-16 fighter jets to the Persian Gulf region to help protect ships from Iranian seizures in the Strait of Hormuz. The F-16 fighters were expected to arrive in the region over the weekend to augment A-10 attack aircraft that have been patrolling the Strait of Hormuz to deter Iranian ship seizures for more than a week, a defense official told the Associated Press. The move comes a little more than week after Iran attempted to seize two oil tankers near the strait, according to the U.S. Navy, opening fire on one of the tankers and only...

The White House said the US would respond to Iranian aggression together with allies and partners in the Middle East region.Iran tried to seize two oil tankers near the strategic Strait of Hormuz early Wednesday, firing shots at one of them, the US Navy said. It said that in both cases, the Iranian naval vessels backed off after the US Navy responded, and that both commercial ships continued their voyages. “The Iranian navy did make attempts to seize commercial tankers lawfully transiting international waters,” said Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet. “The US Navy responded immediately...

The U.S. Navy deterred Iranian forces from seizing two commercial tankers on Wednesday in separate incidents. First, at about 1 a.m. local time, an Iranian navy vessel approached the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker TRF Moss in international waters in the Gulf of Oman. It departed when the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul arrived at the scene, the U.S. 5th Fleet announced on Wednesday. Approximately three hours later, another Iranian vessel began harassing the Bahamian-flagged oil tanker Richmond Voyager in international waters roughly 20 miles off the coast of Muscat, Oman. It opened fire with both small arms and crew-served...

'European democracy is under attack': Roberta Metsola addresses EU Parliament corruption scandal By Euronews • Updated: 13/12/2022 - 11:31 Roberta Metsola address the European Parliament plenary in Strasbourg, France. Roberta Metsola address the European Parliament plenary in Strasbourg, France. - Copyright Philippe BUISSIN/ European Union 2022 - Source : EP Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament, warned on Monday that there would be "no impunity" for those found guilty of corruption as she addressed what is perhaps the gravest graft scandal to hit the hemicycle in recent years. "Make no mistake, the European Parliament, dear colleague, is under...

Historians say early churches and monasteries spread along the Persian Gulf to the coasts of present-day Oman and all the way to India. Archaeologists have found other similar churches and monasteries in Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Three Iranian fast attack craft harassed two U.S. Navy ships entering the Persian Gulf on Tuesday, Navy officials told USNI News. Cyclone-class patrol coastal ship USS Sirocco (PC-6) and Spearhead-class USNS Choctaw County (T-EPF-2) were in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday when they were approached by three Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy fast attack craft in international waters. "One of the IRGCN vessels approached Sirocco head-on at a danerously high speed and only altered course after the US patrol coastal ship issued audible warning signals to avoid a collision. The Iranian vessel also came within 50 yards of the...