Free Republic

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has spent millions trying to win the Kentucky Derby, and in the process plowing money into horse racing worldwide. Now with the overwhelming favorite, Dubai’s ruler faces increased scrutiny for allegations that he has violated human rights and orchestrated the disappearance of his own daughter. The controversy, well-known in the Middle East for a more than a year, has gotten renewed attention as Essential Quality prepares for Saturday’s race. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission received a complaint on Wednesday from a group of human rights attorneys and students at the University of Louisville seeking...

One of the Ukrainian models detained in Dubai for an X-rated photoshoot that made international headlines claims she was forced to take part in the stunt – and is still stuck in the United Arab Emirates. SNIP The curvaceous blonde slammed the alleged organizer of the event – Ukrainian-American Vitaliy Grechin, 41 – in messages to her boyfriend for allowing the raunchy images to be posted online and cause a furor, East2West News reported. SNIP Grechin — a businessman who has been seen pressing the flesh with Barack Obama, eating with George Clooney and posing with Hillary Clinton in photos...

Peter Clark, 51, flew from Las Vegas to Dubai on Feb. 24, where he went to the hospital after suffering an attack of pancreatitis. Doctors there found traces of hashish in his urine – considered possession in the UAE – and reported Clark to authorities. Clark claims he brought no drugs to Dubai, nor consumed or purchased drugs while there. He’s not the first Westerner who has suffered under similar charges

Force said an unspecified number were detained and warned the public over the spread of indecent images \ Dubai Police arrested a group of people following an incident on the balcony of a Dubai Marina apartment. The force on Saturday night said the arrests were made under laws covering lewd behaviour. It came after footage was shared on Twitter of a large group of women posing naked on the balcony of a penthouse apartment. Police said a "criminal case has been registered against the arrested, and they have been referred to Public Prosecution for further legal action". "Dubai Police warns...

We may be witnessing a major realignment of the Middle East. I was Googling around the other day for a factoid: how many Israelis had visited the United Arab Emirates since the signing of their normalization agreement, known as the Abraham Accords. Answer: more than 130,000.Jumping Jehoshaphat, Batman! In the middle of a global pandemic, at least 130,000 Israeli tourists and investors have flown to Dubai and Abu Dhabi since commercial air travel was established in mid-October!I believed from the start that the openings between Israel and the U.A.E., Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan — forged by Jared Kushner and Donald...

An examination of damage to an Israeli-owned cargo ship currently docked in Dubai indicates an explosion that hit it in the Gulf of Oman was caused by mines covertly attached to the ship, according to a Sunday TV report. Channel 13 news did not cite sources for the report, which contradicted earlier reported assessments in Israel that that blast was caused by missiles. An Israeli team is believed to be in Dubai to examine the ship following the suspected attack. The ship is undergoing repairs in Dubai. Limpet mines are a type of naval explosive that attach to targets using...

An Israeli-owned cargo ship that suffered a mysterious explosion in the Gulf of Oman came to Dubai’s port for repairs Sunday, days after the blast that revived security concerns in Mideast waterways amid heightened tensions with Iran. Associated Press journalists saw the hulking Israeli-owned MV Helios Ray sitting at dry dock facilities at Dubai’s Port Rashid. Although the crew was unharmed in the blast, the vessel sustained two holes on its port side and two on its starboard side just above the waterline, according to American defense officials. From the shore, AP journalists could not immediately see damage to the...

GDRFA Dubai introduces latest biometric technology to ensure contactless journeyUtilising the latest biometric technology — a mix of facial and iris recognition — passengers can check in for their flight, complete immigration formalities, enter the Emirates lounge and board their flights, simply by strolling through the airport. The new project by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA)-Dubai called the “Biometric Passenger Journey” will ease travel through Dubai Airports in cooperation with Emirates. The new project has now been launched at Dubai International Airports to create a contact-free travel journey and to cut down on queues in light...

The daughter of Dubai's ruler who tried to flee the country in 2018 later sent secret video messages to friends accusing her father of holding her "hostage" as she feared for her life. In footage shared with BBC Panorama, Princess Latifa Al Maktoum says commandos drugged her as she fled by boat and flew her back to detention. The secret messages have stopped - and friends are urging the UN to step in. Dubai and the UAE have previously said she is safe in the care of family. Ex-UN rights envoy Mary Robinson, who had described Latifa as a "troubled...

Israeli police were summoned after two passengers on a return flight from the UAE refused repeated requests to put on protective masks. The two ignored calls by the airplane crew to conform to flight rules ...

Federal prosecutors are expected to unseal new charges against a bomb-maker linked to the 1988 attack on Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, according to a report. Abu Agila Mohammad Masud, a top bomb-maker for the late Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafy, is accused of constructing the explosive that downed the airliner and killed 270 people on board, the Wall Street Journal said. Masud is being held by Libyan authorities.

Jews observed the holiday of Hanukkah (or Chanukah) in public for the first time in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Thursday, following the peace deal between Israel and the UAE under the auspices of U.S. President Donald Trump. A “lavish” Hanukkah party was thrown at the foot of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, on Thursday evening.

Dubai’s highest court has rejected an appeal by the ex-wife of a Russian billionaire to seize a £350 million ($460 million)superyacht in one of the world’s costliest divorce battles, a court ruling last week said. The Dubai Court of Cassation rejected an appeal by Tatiana Akhmedova, ex-wife of oil and gas billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov, to seize the yacht as part of a 453 million pound divorce bill imposed by London’s High Court. The vessel, the M.V. Luna, was built for Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich before Akhmedov bought it in 2014. It has at least nine decks, space for 50 crew,...

Swiss refiners — chief among them Valcambi — are under scrutiny due to the high risk of conflict gold originating in Africa entering their supply chain via the United Arab Emirates. Two parallel NGO reports on the subject were published on Thursday. This content was published on July 16, 2020 - 18:00 July 16, 2020 - 18:00 Dominique Soguel-dit-Picard See in another language: 1 One of the reports, Golden Detour [Détour Dorée] by Bern-based Swissaid, examines the gold trade in the UAE, with a focus on the scandal-stricken Dubai company Kaloti Precious Metals and its ties to Valcambi, a precious...

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...

The United Arab Emirates has become the first country among oil-producing Arab Gulf states to open a nuclear power plant. The UAE's state news agency reported on Saturday that the first unit at the Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi had started operations. A South Korean-led consortium won the bid to build the plant in 2009, after competing with rivals from Japan and the United States. The plant will consist of four nuclear reactors. Thermal power generation using natural gas has been a main energy source in the UAE. This is the first time an Arab Gulf nation that...

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates minister of state for foreign affairs said on Saturday that Turkey should stop interfering in Arab affairs, criticizing comments on Libya made by Turkey’s defense minister. Turkish media had reported the Turkish minister making remarks critical of the UAE’s actions over Libya. The UAE, alongside Egypt and Russia, backs eastern Libya commander Khalifa Haftar, whose fighters have been battling the forces of the internationally recognized government in Tripoli. Turkey has stepped up support for the Tripoli government. “Relations are not managed by threats and there is no place for colonialist delusions in this day and...

The United Arab Emirates has succeeded with the initial stage of its first ever Mars mission, thanks to the launch of an H-IIA rocket built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on Sunday. The rocket carried the Al Amal (Hope) Probe for the UAE, a Mars orbiter that is set to arrive at the red planet by February 2021, and spend a Martian year (687 days) on orbit around Mars collecting data about its atmosphere. This is the first of three separate planned missions to Mars that are scheduled to take place during July, including a...

WASHINGTON — A Japanese rocket launched the United Arab Emirates’ first mission to Mars July 19, an orbiter that will study the planet’s weather while demonstrating the country’s growing space capabilities. The H-2A rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan at 5:58 p.m. Eastern. The launch was originally scheduled for July 14 but delayed five days by poor weather at the launch site. The rocket’s upper stage released the Emirates Mars Mission, or Hope, spacecraft, nearly an hour after liftoff. The spacecraft contracted controllers shortly after separation. Hope is a 1,350-kilogram satellite developed by the Mohammed bin...

First-Ever Corporate Enforcement Action by DOJ of North Korean Sanctions            WASHINGTON – Essentra FZE Company Limited (“Essentra FZE”), a global supplier of cigarette products that is incorporated in the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”), has agreed to pay a $665,112 fine and enter into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department for conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) and defrauding the United States in connection with evading sanctions on North Korea.  Today’s public filing against Essentra FZE is the first ever DOJ corporate enforcement action for violations of these regulations. ...