Middle East Experience

Grenell’s work in Germany established him as a  hugely popular figure among Iranian-Germans and Iranian dissidents for his work in seeking a democratic Iran.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Iran sanctions ex-US intel chief for efforts to end death penalty for LGBTQ+

NEWSFLASH Amnesty International has received credible information that Buheliqiemu Abula and her teenage daughter, 13, were made to take tests for Covid-19 today in preparations for their deportation to China. The police told them that they should be prepared to leave the deportation center at 9 pm local time today to board a flight bound ..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Saudi Arabia: Uyghur child among four ‘booked for deportation’ to China tonight

Gambling in some form will be permitted in the UAE, but it will be up to each emirate to decide whether and how to regulate it..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Global casinos place bets on gambling in UAE

Smotrich has no doubt whatsoever that he is right, that his path is the correct one, and that his worldview is the one most pleasant in God’s eyes.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Smotrich's words on the current coalition are appalling - editorial

The United Nations’ refugee agency (UNHCR) called for better oversight of the United Kingdom’s ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme after reports of “sexually suggestive” messages sent to Ukrainian women surfaced, a UN report released late Wednesday stated.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The UK government launched the initiative in mid-March to pay British people to open their homes to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, allowing Ukrainian refugees who do not have any family ties in the country to settle there.The scheme connects the two parties together outside any regulatory framework, mainly through social media, according to the UN’s report which also highlighted that some Ukrainian refugees (especially women) were receiving “inappropriate and sexually suggestive messages from men, sometimes within minutes of making contact online.”Refugees seeking asylum in the UK need to have a sponsor before applying for a visa to settle there. The UN reported “bureaucratic delays” in issuing visas to refugees compared to the swift process and action taken by several central and Eastern European countries that have welcomed millions of Ukrainians fleeing the war.The delays caused the UK’s Home Secretary Priti Patel to issue an apology last Friday for all the inconveniences and long waiting times faced by the traumatized applicants.The UNHCR said in a statement issued on Wednesday that it has been made aware of reports that some Ukrainian women were at risk from their sponsors under the scheme.“UNHCR highlights the need for adequate safeguards and vetting measures to be in place against exploitation, as well as adequate support for sponsors. UNHCR believes that a more appropriate matching process could be put in place by ensuring that women and women with children, are matched with families or couples, rather than with single men,” the statement read.The refugee agency warned that matching done “without appropriate oversight may lead to increasing the risks women may face, in addition to the trauma of displacement, family separation and violence already experienced.”It added that it was concerned about the repercussions involved if a UK host turned out to be a “potential threat to the safety of the refugee,” and the six-month minimum duration stay laid out as one of the scheme’s criteria.The UNHCR stressed that “appropriate training and information” was needed to ensure that the hosts were making an “informed decision when applying to become sponsors” of the refugees.“Housing a stranger in an extra bedroom for an extended period is not for some people sustainable,” the agency added. “There will need to be close support and communication between the relevant ministries, councils and vetting processes.”Read more:Russia using same tactics in Ukraine as in Syria: Ukraine FM KulebaBrits to get around $456 a month to open homes to Ukraine refugees fleeing invasionBritain keen to send new types of military aid to Ukraine: PM’s spokesman
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: ‘Homes for Ukraine’: Ukrainian women fleeing Russian invasion at risk, UNHCR says

The war in Ukraine is brewing a “perfect storm” of crises globally, threatening to “devastate” economies in developing countries, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“We are now facing a perfect storm that threatens to devastate the economies of developing countries,” the UN Secretary-General said in an address that included the first detailed policy brief issued by the Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance (GCRG) on Wednesday.Launched by the UN chief on March 14, the GCRG is a 32-member group, chaired by the UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and includes heads of other UN agencies, development banks and international organizations.The GCRG was set up “in response to concerns over the potential consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the UN report stated.According to the UN, the Ukraine crisis risks tipping up to 1.7 billion people, over one-fifth of humanity, into poverty, destitution and hunger. Ukraine and the Russian Federation provide 30 percent of the world’s wheat and barley, one-fifth of its maize and over half of its sunflower oil, making their grain combined an essential food source for vulnerable people as it used to provide more than one-third of the wheat imported by 45 African and least-developed countries.Guterres pointed out that while the whole world focuses on the effects of the war on Ukraine, the Russian invasion was also impacting other countries across the world, pushing more people into poverty and causing greater social unrest.Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what it called a “special operation,” which has since driven millions out of the country and cripple several economies across the world due to sanctions against Russia.The group aims to ensure cross-governmental collaboration, partnerships and coordination in a variety of sectors to help vulnerable countries avert large-scale crises. The group’s first policy was released on Wednesday.The policy brief urges global cooperation in tackling the crisis which it said “will leave deep and long-lasting scars,” calling on countries to recognize that “the very nature of increasingly common global shocks is such that countries are not individually responsible” because solutions need to be devised on a global level, rather on a national one.Read more:UN chief discusses Yemen in phone call with Saudi Crown Prince‘Homes for Ukraine’: Ukrainian women fleeing Russian invasion at risk, UNHCR says FAO says Ukraine war drives surge in world food prices, updates 2021-22 forecast
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Ukraine war brewing ‘perfect storm’ of crises globally: UN Chief Guterres

A British pedophile teacher who “thought he could run away from his crimes by returning to the UK” was sentenced on Tuesday to ten years in prison for abusing two students while he worked in the United Arab Emirates.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Paul Shinn, 49, from London, carried out a campaign of grooming and assault over eight years while he was working at a British school in the Gulf state.The school removed him from his post in March 2019 after learning of the allegations and reported him to the National Crime Agency (NCA).Shinn returned to the UK where he was arrested the following month.He was found guilty of five counts of child sexual abuse by a jury at Kingston Crown Court on January 28, 2022, the NCA reported on Thursday.An investigation showed that the primary school teacher groomed two children from the ages of eight and nine, gaining their trust and encouraging them to spend time with him through the offers of gifts and trips.He sexually assaulted his victims several times and took indecent photographs of them.Shinn also reportedly forced them to watch sex scenes from movies before moving on to pornography, and showing them condoms, according to the NCA.He was charged with six counts of child sexual abuse under section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act, which allows British nationals to be prosecuted in the UK for abuse committed overseas.Shinn was found guilty of five counts including sexual assault of a child under 13 (2011-2015), two counts of sexual activity with a child (2016-2019), and two counts of causing a child to watch a sexual act (2010-2017).The jury were unable to reach a decision on the sixth charge - sexual activity with a child over 13.“Shinn positioned himself as a caring and trustworthy teacher in order to befriend children and their families. He then abused their trust in the most horrific way – through the systemic grooming and sexual assault of these children over a number of years,” Ian Truby from the National Crime Agency said in a statement.“Shinn thought that he could run away from his crimes by returning to the UK. However, the NCA works closely with international partners to ensure British nationals who commit offences against victims overseas are brought to justice.”Read more:Half of children in MENA experience online abuse, sexual exploitation: ReportDubai Police handle more than 100 cases of child abuse, negligenceIndonesia’s parliament passes landmark bill on sexual violence
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: British teacher jailed in UK for sexually abusing students in UAE

A US family of five has taken the world record title of the tallest family, according to an announcement by the Guinness World Records.The family’s average height is 203.29 centimeters or 6 feet and 8 inches, with the tallest being the son Adam Trapp measuring a whopping 221.71 centimeters and the shortest being the mother Kristine Trapp at 191.2 centimeters.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“I love saying I’m the shortest person in the world’s tallest family at 191.2 centimeter,” Kristine joked in a statement.Daughter Savanna Trapp-Blanchfield, 27, measures 203.6 centimeters while their sister Molly Steede, 24, stands at 197.26 centimeters.All three of the Trapp kids play sports and have been recruited by colleges for either basketball or volleyball.Savanna was recruited by UCLA to play Division one basketball, Molly played volleyball in college, and Adam was a star basketball player in high school.“When I was in the first grade, I was taller than my teacher,” said the father Scott Trapp in the same statement.While each member of the Trapp family has unique situations and experience from their height, the common thread is that they frequently “hit their heads on doorways, ceiling fans, and overhead lighting,” according to the family statement.The family also faces another difficulty - finding clothing, especially pants and shoes.In contrast, they also joke that they are easy to find in a group of people - “just look up.”Savanna adds in the statement that the family hopes that their world record title “empowers others who are unique or feel different. There is joy and freedom in embracing who you are. Rock what you got. There is nobody else like you and that is fantastic.”The Trapps were confirmed as the tallest family in the world in December 2020.Read more:Johnny Depp lawyers seek to discredit ex-wife domestic violence claimsIn pictures: David Beckham’s son Brooklyn marries US actress Peltz in $3.5mln weddingElton John, Celine Dion support ‘Stand Up For Ukraine’ social media rally
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: World’s tallest family revealed with average height of 6 feet, 8 inches

Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC) has thwarted an attempt to smuggle around 500,000 amphetamine pills into the Kingdom, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Thursday.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The GDNC’s official spokesperson, Major Mohammed al-Nujaidi said that the security follow-up to the drug smuggling and promotion networks foiled an attempt to smuggle 456,000 pills hidden in machines, equipment and spare parts for elevators.This resulted in the arrest of its recipients of which three were Egyptian nationals, one Syrian and two Saudi citizens in Jeddah and Riyadh. They have been referred to the Public Prosecution.Major al-Nujaidi said that the Ministry of Interior, with all its security sectors and in coordination with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority will continue to crack down on drug smuggling attempts to safeguard the Kingdom and its youth from falling victim to drug abuse.Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia thwarted attempts to smuggle 279,010 amphetamine pills, 330 kilograms of hashish, 39 tons and 934 kilograms of the narcotic plant khat. As a result, 50 suspects were arrested.Read more:Saudi Arabia arrests 50 for attempting to smuggle hashish, khat, amphetamine pillsPhilippine expert says some drug-war death certificates falsifiedRecord 700-kilogram meth haul netted in Hong Kong
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia authorities foil drug smuggling attempt of 500,000 amphetamine pills

The released funds would be deposited into Iran's accounts, paving the way for the easing of restrictions related to the country's banking..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Qatari delegation meets with Iranian officials over frozen funds