Free Republic

Editors note: We at the USA Transnational Report has been covering the thawing of relations between Israel and the Arab countries for some months. The geopolitical map in the Middle East has changed totally. In a true sign of change in the Arab world, Kuwaiti media personality Yousuf ‘Abd Al-Karim Al-Zinkawi called on all Arab and Muslim states to recognize Israel, openly and without delay, and stop calling it “the Zionist Entity” or “the Israeli occupation,” terms which undermine Israel’s legitimacy. In an article published in the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa on Saturday, he argued that by sitting alongside Israel at...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A US woman has appeared in court for allegedly insulting the United Arab Emirates in public while waiting for a taxi at the Abu Dhabi International Airport. The National, a state-owned newspaper in the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi, says the 25-year-old woman appeared Monday in the Federal Supreme Court. The newspaper says the woman, whom it did not identify, told the court she’s been jailed since Feb. 23. It quoted her as saying two men approached her at the airport and that she “refused to engage with them and nothing happened.” The report did...

DUBAI—Dubai’s flagship developer Emaar Properties on Sunday unveiled plans to construct the world’s tallest tower in the Middle Eastern emirate, set to rise slightly above the Burj Khalifa that currently holds the title. The announcement by Emaar underlines Dubai’s ambition to establish itself as a global investment and tourism hub by often pursuing futuristic megaprojects such as artificial islands off its coast or an indoor ski slope. Emaar aims to deliver the tower, which won't be for residential use but contain an observation deck and possibly a small hotel, before Dubai hosts the World Expo fair in 2020. It will...

Emaar Properties, the same developers behind the Burj Khalifa, currently the world’s tallest building, has announced plans to build a $1 billion (£710 million) tower in Dubai that will exceed the height of the 828m (2,716 ft) record-holder.

During a discussion on Wednesday morning in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Subcommittee, the Regavim movement that tracks illegal Arab construction exposed that a new illegal Arab city has sprouted up on a military firing range in the southern Har Hevron region of Judea. The ongoing illegal construction spans tens of thousands of dunams, and includes the establishment of hundreds of residential buildings, schools, clinics and mosques. Foreign sources, including the European Union (EU), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Abu Dhabi are funding the illegal development of roadway and electricity infrastructures which are spreading out ever further over dozens...

Progressives, who inexplicably still seek to coddle the worst humanity has to offer As we’ve argued before; when a country fails to solve its problems, those who are capable of leaving will do so. There’s no reason for a person of reasonable wealth to stay in a nation that’s making his or her life miserable. That’s not rocket science; it’s just simple economics. So, when you look at a nation like France, you might assume that the ugly trifecta of high taxation, high cost of living, and radical Islam is incentivizing the departure of the financially stable. ...And you’d be...

Rising tensions in France, especially in Paris following a series of Islamist terrorist attacks in 2015, have spurred an exodus of its super-wealthy citizens, a new report on migration trends of millionaires and high-net worth individuals across the world reveals. The report warns that other European countries, including the UK, Belgium, Germany and Sweden "where religious tensions are starting to emerge", will also see similar trends. Regarding a Brexit, the report suggests millionaires would want to stay in Britain even if it leaves the single currency bloc. The report was compiled by New World Wealth, an agency that gives information...

Controversy has erupted in Belgium after it emerged that some Belgian mosques were refusing to join public prayers for non-Muslim victims of the recent terror attacks in the capital Brussels. A report by the United Arab Emirates TV station Al-Ghad Al-Arabi explained that the Council of Belgian Imams rejected the prayer initiative, saying that praying for the souls of non-Muslims runs counter to Islamic law (Sharia). During the report, which aired March 26 and was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Sheikh Abdelhadi Sewif, Chief Imam of the Great Mosque of Brussels, suggested Muslims might be able...

Exchanged views on regional issues His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, today discussed with President of Russia Vladimir Putin ties of friendship and co-operation between the two countries. They also tackled overall regional and international issues of mutual interest. This followed discussions, as the Russian President received Sheikh Mohamed and his accompanying delegation at the Kremlin. Putin welcomed Sheikh Mohamed, expressing his happiness at again meeting with him to discuss bilateral relations and Middle East issues. At their meeting, the Russian President said,...

Remains of oldest inhabitant of Abu Dhabi found (By a staff reporter) 30 June 2004 ABU DHABI - Remains of the earliest-known inhabitant of Abu Dhabi have been found on the western island of Marawah by the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey, ADIAS, as part of their spring excavation season, it was announced on Tuesday. Marawah is part of the Marawah Marine Protected Area, MPA, which is managed by Abu Dhabi's Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency (ERWDA). The excavations were carried out at the site of a 7,000 year old village which has the best-preserved and most-sophisticated stone buildings...

The skeleton of one of Abu Dhabi’s earliest inhabitants has been uncovered on Marawah Island in what historians believe was a “house for the dead”. An archaeological dig on the Western Region island, about 100 kilometres west of Abu Dhabi city, has also revealed the first use of stone-built architecture in the Arabian Gulf, dating back 7,500 years, the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA) said on Thursday. “This partial skeleton was inserted into one of the already semi-collapsed rooms of the house, indicating that the structure had originally been used as a house for the living, and then...

World monuments in solidarity with victimsBurj Khalifa lit up in the colours of the Belgium flag on Tuesday night. Burj Khalifa in colours of Belgium flag in solidarity with victims of Brussels attacks, tweeted Dubai Media Office. The UAE has condemned the terrorist attacks in Brussels on Tuesday, which claimed the lives of innocent civilians and left many people injured.

A passenger jet has crashed in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don with at least 55 people on board, officials say. The FlyDubai Boeing 738, coming from Dubai, overshot the runway as it attempted to land and burst into flames, according to reports.

CAIRO — The Arab League labelled Shiite Muslim Hizbollah a terrorist organisation on Friday, Egyptian state media said, as tensions rise between Sunni and Shiite powers across the Middle East. Sectarian wars are raging in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, and the League has become a forum for the mostly Sunni Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia, to air their grievances with Shiite power Iran, the major backer of Hizbollah and other Shiite groups in the region. "The Arab League foreign minister's committee has decided on Friday to consider Hizbollah a terrorist organisation," said a statement from the Arab League carried...

An Emirati fighter jet suffered a "technical malfunction" and crashed Monday while taking part in the Saudi-led war against Shiite rebels in Yemen, killing the plane's two pilots, authorities said. Bystanders apparently found the remains of the Mirage fighter near Yemen's port city of Aden, while amateur video and photos posted on a local news website showed onlookers rifling through the debris and standing on a piece of the plane's distinctive triangle-shaped wing. The United Arab Emirates' state-run WAM news agency earlier announced the "loss of a fighter aircraft." It did not immediately report the pilots' deaths. The state-run Saudi...

BEIRUT -- A Saudi-dominated political bloc on Wednesday formally designated Lebanon's Hezbollah militia a terrorist organization, a move that signals dangerously escalating tensions between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Gulf Cooperation Council's decision against the Iranian-allied group comes two weeks after Saudi Arabia canceled $4 billion aid package for strengthening Lebanese security services. Saudi Arabia and other GCC member states have advised their citizens to leave Lebanon. An announcement posted on the GCC website accused Hezbollah, a powerful Shiite Muslim movement, of unspecified hostile acts in the six states in the bloc: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates,...

Confesses to intentionally spreading AIDS A 19-year-old girl infected with AIDS told police that she had slept with many men in Abu Dhabi although she knew that she was suffering from the killer disease. Police arrested the girl with two men at an apartment in the capital and medical tests showed she was suffering from the Acquired Immuno-deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). She admitted that she was infected with the HIV virus following a relationship with a man carrying the virus. 'She confessed that she was intentionally spreading AIDS among men because she wanted to destroy them after she was infected...

Can a government regulate happiness? That's the question being asked now by many in the United Arab Emirates, after the government announced that it would be creating a "minister of state for happiness" on Monday -- a move that is part of a broader shake-up of the Gulf states' leadership that also saw the creation of a minister of state for tolerance and a number of young politicians appointed. On Twitter, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, said that the happiness minister position would "align and drive government policy to create social good and satisfaction." Judging from...

Emirati captain, boat crew escape attack An Emirati captain and his boat crew survived a shark attack off the coast of Fujairah, Al Bayan reports. According to the report, the shark weighed two tonnes and was approximately four metres in length. The Emirati, identified as Hamza Hamid Al Shara, said he and his crew were in shock when the shark jumped into the boat. “Fortunately, the shark hit a barrier and fell in the middle. “We managed to catch it and one of our crew members got injured in the bargain,” he said. Mahmoud Hamid Al Shara, head of...

According to unconfirmed reports, the FBI is now investigating the possibility that donors were directed to the Clinton Foundation in return for favors from the State Department when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State. This would be in addition to the ongoing investigation into Hillary's use of a private email account for official business. We hope the FBI is reviewing the circumstances described below that we uncovered and have already made public: New York University (NYU) and the United Arab Emirates UAE)- We documented that Cheryl Mills, Hillary's longtime aide and confidant, worked as State Department chief of staff...