Is Dubai a Money-laundering Hub? | Inside Story

With its skyscrapers, luxury villas, and a high concentration of millionaires and billionaires, Dubai's rise to global city and business hub captured the world's attention.

It is one of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates… an absolute monarchy long ruled by the Al Maktoum family.

The rapid development of the city has made it one of the fastest growing economies in the world. But the Washington-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies has obtained leaked property data from the city state. And it is found that those who make money out of wars, who finance terror, or are involved in drug-trafficking use Dubai’s real-estate market as a haven for money-laundering.

Presenter: Peter Dobbie | Guests: Casey Kelso, Advocacy Director at Transparency International; Andreas Krieg, Assistant Professor at the Defense Studies Department at King's College London; Laurent Lambert, SeniorPolicy Analyst at The Social and Economic Survey Research Institute at Qatar University

What Happened to Dubai's Princess Latifa? - BBC News

Sheikha Latifa, the daughter of Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has not been seen since March 2018.

It's claimed she was snatched while trying to escape the country with the help of a former French spy and a Finnish martial arts instructor. Gabriel Gatehouse investigates.

Dubai - The City Built By Cowboys (2010)

Quicksand (2010): Dubai was created during major economic fluctuation. Critically, this has left the legal system open to exploitation.

‪UAE: Ferraris Fill Dubai as Enthusiasts Show Off Their Supercars‬

Ferrari owners from across the UAE gathered to show-off one of the world's most iconic sports car brands, in Dubai's Jumeirah district, Saturday.

Woman Drowns in Dubai after Father Blocks Rescue to Save 'Honour'

THE TELEGRAPH: Asian man "considered that if these men touched his daughter, then this would dishonour her" according to reports

A young Asian woman drowned after her father allegedly prevented Dubai lifeguards from coming to the rescue because that would "dishonour" her, Emirati news media reported Monday.

Emirates 24/7 reported that Dubai police arrested the unnamed man.

When two lifeguards tried to help the drowning 20-year-old, her father "started pulling and preventing the rescue men and got violent with them", it reported. » | AFP | Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Arnoud van Doorn’s Son Converting to Islam in Dubai

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Dubai Censors Cut Quarter of The Wolf of Wall Street

Margot Robbie stars opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in 'The Wolf of Wall Street'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Moviegoers said all profanities were bleeped out from the Martin Scorsese movie featuring Leonardo DiCaprio

About 45 minutes have been cut from the nearly 3-hour high-finance extravaganza "The Wolf of Wall Street" for Dubai audiences, or a quarter of the film, leaving many viewers disappointed and confused about the sequence of events.

The cuts come as the movie has drawn criticism even from film critics in more liberal countries for its portrayal of drugs, sex and money. Detractors say the film glorifies unchecked greed, includes full nudity and is loaded with a reported record for F- bombs in a movie - more than 500.

Moviegoers said all profanities were bleeped out from the Martin Scorsese movie featuring Leonardo DiCaprio. One woman wrote on the Facebook page for Reel Cinemas, which operates two theaters in Dubai, that she and her friend walked out after about 40 minutes because they felt the movie was simply incoherent and unwatchable. » | AP | Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Norwegian Rape Case Woman Allowed to Leave Dubai

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Norwegian woman who was imprisoned in Dubai after telling police she had been raped won her fight for freedom on Monday as the emirate's ruler pardoned her for the crime of extramarital sex.

Marte Dalelv said she was overjoyed that her ordeal was finally over, after four months fighting a jail sentence in a case which highlighted the tension between Dubai’s courtship of Western investors and visitors and its strict Islamic laws. “I have my life back,” the smiling 24-year-old told reporters. “I am free, finally”.

Ms Dalelv had been convicted by a Dubai court last week of extramarital sex, perjury and consuming alcohol without a permit and sentenced to 16 months in prison. The verdict, she told press, was a shock - coming despite DNA, medical and witness evidence that she said proved her claims.

Meanwhile, her alleged rapist was also pardoned. He had been given a lesser sentence of just 13 months for extramarital sex. » | Hannah Strange | Monday, July 22, 2013

Norwegian Woman Who Reported Being Raped in Dubai Is Jailed for 16 Months

MAIL ONLINE: Norwegian woman, 25, was in Dubai on a business trip / She was raped and reported the incident to the police / At the station, police took her passport and jailed her / She will now serve 16 months for illicit sex outside marriage

A young Norwegian woman has been sentenced to 16 months in jail after she reported a rape in Dubai.

The 25-year-old was in the United Arab Emirates on a business trip when she was raped and reported the assault to the local police.

Dubai police did not believe her, and instead took her passport and jailed her on suspicion of having had sex outside marriage.

The Norwegian woman reported the sexual assault in March this year, after which she had to spend days in a cell before she was allowed to use a telephone.

With the help of family members, the Norwegian consulate was able to negotiate a release and she has been living under the protection of the Norwegian Sailor’s Church until her sentencing this week.

'I received the harshest sentence for sex outside marriage, harshest sentence for drinking alcohol and on top of that I was found guilty of perjury,’ the woman told Verdens Gang.

‘It is a terrible situation she is in,’ said Gisle Meling, the priest at the Norwegian Sailor’s Church.

‘We are very surprised and had hoped it would go another way, but we live in a country which has a justice system which draws its conclusions with the help of Sharia law.’ » | Sara Malm | Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Piers Morgan: The Luxury Life of Dubai & A Luxury Tour Of Dubai (2011)

Dubai Expat Acquitted Over Sending Text Message Islam Insult
THE NATIONAL: DUBAI // An expatriate who was accused of sending a text message insulting Islam and the Prophet Mohammed to a colleague was acquitted this morning.

DM, a Briton, was accused of sending the message to his fellow sales executive KS, 24, after a business trip to Saudi Arabia in March last year.

The sales executive claimed that the Briton had reprimanded him for performing Umra after work hours during the trip, telling him that this was not an approved company activity.

When they returned to Dubai on March 15, the sales executive resigned. He claimed that two days later the Briton sent him a text message that insulted Islam and the Prophet Mohammed and warned him that he "knew lots of sheikhs". » | Salam Al Amir | Thursday, May 16, 2013

British Men Get Four Years for Possession of Drugs in Dubai
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Three British men sentenced to four years for possession of drugs in Dubai claim they were tortured by police.

Grant Cameron and Suneet Jeerh, both 25, and Karl Williams, 26, were jailed for possessing synthetic cannabis, known as “spice”.

The men, who are all from London, claim they were tortured by police following their arrest. Williams claims he had electric shocks to his testicles and all three said after they were arrested they had guns held to their heads by police.

Human Rights charity Reprieve said all three men signed documents in Arabic, a language none of them understands, while being threatened.

In a draft witness statement given to Reprieve lawyer Marc Calcutt, Williams describes having a towel put on his face by police and having electric shocks on his testicles.

He said: "They took off the towel and I could see that there was a gun pointed at my head. All I could think was that the gun in my face could go off if the policeman slipped, and it would kill me. I started to believe that I was going to die in that room." » | Claire Carter | Monday, April 29, 2013

Is This Man Too Sexy for Saudi Arabia?
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The internet is abuzz with speculation that this is the man who was literally too sexy for Saudi Arabia.

Omar Borkan Al Gala, a smouldering poet, actor, and photographer from Dubai, is rumoured to be one third of the chiselled trio that was deported by Saudi authorities who feared that they would prove irresistible to the Kingdom's women.

The three men from the United Arab Emirates are said to have been removed from the Jenadrivah Heritage & Culture Festival in Riyadh because they were "too handsome". Women, and some men, across the world have been longing for a glimpse of the illegally attractive men and the internet's probing spotlight has fallen on Al Gala.

The young man, who appears to be wearing eye-liner [Probably kohl] in many of his Facebook glamour shots, posted a link to an article about the deportation with the comment: "This is what written in newspapers in over the world :)" » | Telegraph Reporter | Friday, April 26, 2013




PERTH NOW: Is Omar Borkan Al Gala the man too sexy for Saudi Arabia? » | NEWS.COM.AU | Friday, April 26, 2013

MSN NOW: Hey girl, I'm the guy who was deported for being too handsome (+ gallery)» | Thursday, April 25, 2013

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: Was this hottie deported from Saudi Arabia for being ‘too handsome’? : Religious police in the conservative country allegedly feared that three men from the United Arab Emirates were so handsome that ‘female visitors could fall for them.’ Whether or not Omar Borkan Al Gala is one of those three, there’s no denying that he’s been blessed with good looks. » | Carol Kuruvilla/New York Daily News | Thursday, April 25, 2013

FACEBOOK: Omar Balkan Al Gala »

After Being Attacked, Dutch Woman in Dubai Charged with Insulting Islam
BIKYA NEWS: DUBAI: A Dutch woman living in Dubai pleaded not guilty in a court on Monday after being charged with insulting Islam and insulting the police after she had called them to report a personal attack. She said that while she had been drinking, she did not insult religion or the police officers.

“I’m not guilty for insulting the policemen and religion, but yes I consumed alcohol,” the 28-year-old Dutch woman told the court.

It is the latest in a string of “crimes” against woman after they had initially called the police.

She could face up to one-year in prison or deportation. » | Sharifa Ghanem | BN | Thursday, April 04, 2013

Thousands Convert to Islam in Dubai

KHALEEJ TIMES: DUBAI — Statistics say that Islam is the fastest growing among over 4,200 religions in the world today, with the emirate of Dubai seeing the conversion of more than 4,000 people last year.

There were 4,229 in all who converted to Islam at the Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities (Diaca) and the Islamic Information Centre of the Dubai government-run Dar Al Ber Society.

Diaca saw the conversion of 2,322 residents from 77 different countries — 70 per cent of whom were women. Diaca director-general Hamad Al Shaibani said the department spared no effort to convey the tolerant message of Islam, develop awareness about Islamic culture, and enhance national identity.

“We also pay much attention to new Muslims and provide them with an array of lectures, activities and training courses for them and their family members.” » | Ahmed Shaaban | Wednesday, January 23, 2013

The Enlightened Side of Islam? Slaves of Dubai
Most people know Dubai for its massive skyscrapers and luxurious hotels, but few know that the city was built by modern-day slaves.

ITU Dubai: Internet Regulation in Focus
Internet giant Google says web freedom could be curbed by a UN regulatory body meeting in Dubai. The International Telecommunication Union has been imposing controls for more than five decades. Al Jazeera's Tarek Bazley reports.

David Cameron in Dubai to Promote UK Arms Trade
The prime minister arrives in Dubai on Monday at the start of a three day trip aimed at persuading the United Arab Emirates to buy 60 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets in a deal reported to be worth more than £3bn. On Tuesday David Cameron is expected to visit Saudi Arabia, Britain's biggest trading partner in the region

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British Woman Faces Jail for 'Sex in Backseat of Dubai Taxi' after All-day Drinking Binge

MAIL ONLINE: A British businesswoman faces up to three years in jail for allegedly having sex in a taxi in Dubai while she was drunk.

Rebecca Blake, 29, and Conor McRedmond were arrested after an all-day drinking binge.

They were held for five days and accused of having sex outside marriage and being drunk in a public place – both criminal offences in the strict Islamic state.

Miss Blake, a recruitment consultant, met Irishman Mr McRedmond at The Irish Village, a hotel bar where patrons pay £10 a head for an all-you-can-drink brunch event. After drinking for 12 hours, the pair hailed a cab towards Dubai Marina.

Minutes later they were spotted in a passionate embrace by the driver in his rear view mirror, according to police reports.

Incensed by their behaviour, the driver stopped and complained to police in a patrol car parked nearby. When he returned with an officer, they saw Miss Blake having sex on the back seat of the cab with Mr McRedmond, it is alleged.

A source said: ‘They were completely drunk, started kissing and then got carried away. That’s when they started having sex.

‘When the police officer went over, he found the woman was completely naked and they were having sex on the back seat.’ Read on and comment » | Arthur Martin | Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Surreality Check! Islam Is Key to Peace, Convention Concludes
KHALEEJ TIMES: Concluding three days of lectures and activities, the second edition of the Dubai International Peace Convention affirmed that Islam is the key to peace much sought after these days.

Altogether 150,000 people of different nationalities and religions attended the 16 lectures delivered by 12 scholars and spiritual gurus during the event.

The world congress, held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, is aimed to create a climate of intellectual cooperation and share the teachings of Islam in order to guide the world towards peace.

Dr Hamad Al Shaibani, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for World Peace, said the convention has been a wonderful platform for leading thinkers in the Muslim world to come together. ‘They have had a massive impact in raising awareness of our main objective, and we are delighted to have brought together different races and religions under one roof to create an interactive environment that perpetuates our vision of peace.’

‘Brotherhood in Islam’, the ‘status of women in Islam’, ‘Muhammad (PBUH) — the ambassador of peace’, ‘One world... One way... One God’, ‘action plan to achieve world peace’, the ‘role model for peace’, ‘how to build a peaceful family’, ‘the solutions for global crisis’, ‘peace in the light of the Holy Quran’, and ‘Peaceful coexistence... myth or reality’ were some of the issues spotlighted during the convention. » | Ahmed Shaaban | Sunday, April 15, 2012

My comment:

First, Islam disturbs world peace, which is one of today's greatest problems; second, Muslims gather for a huge convention stating that Islam is the solution to world peace. One really couldn't make this stuff up. One can only scratch one's head! The audacity of it all. – © Mark