Tag: United Arab Emirates

The Story: Thomas Barrack, who was a senior advisor to Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016, and chairman of his inaugural committee 2016-17, was arrested...

The Story: Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced in a joint statement last week that they have agreed "to the full normalization of...

While allowing churches and other places of worship to exist, and marking holidays like Christmas, the Hindu Diwali and Chinese New Year with festivals and celebrations, the government has simultaneously stomped out critical political expression in the name of national security. Human rights activists and Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers have been imprisoned, academic research deemed sensitive has been curtailed and human rights groups have been barred entry. The UAE's Minister of Tolerance, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, said the government is simply doing what "we think is right for our people and for the world." The UAE, a federation of seven constituent monarchies led by President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is known for its gleaming cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Government bodies, public relations firms and even banks have been busy promoting the state's version of tolerance in preparation for the pope's visit, which includes a meeting on Monday with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's foremost religious institution, and a mass on Tuesday before 135,000 people in Abu Dhabi. "They're certainly not tolerant of any form of political dissent," Devin Kenney, researcher on the UAE for Amnesty International, said. In recent years, the UAE named dozens of individuals and some 80 groups as "terrorist"— many for their alleged ties with the Brotherhood, which is not deemed a terrorist group in Europe or the U.S. The list includes political dissenters and opposition voices, but also groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy and civil rights group in the U.S., as well as Islamic Relief Worldwide, a UK-based humanitarian aid organization with operations around the world. The UAE is also one of four Arab countries that cut ties with Qatar in 2017, in part over its support of the Brotherhood throughout the region. "We're proud of our acceptance, tolerance, respect for human dignity, having laws which protect everybody's right."

At the very bottom of the region, Syria scores 13, followed by Yemen (14) and Libya (17). Political corruption remains a central challenge, despite the work of many governments across the region to focus their national priorities on fighting corruption and increasing transparency. A pillar of democratic practice, checks and balances serve an important function in keeping governments honest. As in previous years, Syria remains at the very bottom of the CPI, having experienced violent conflict in the last few years. Facing challenges of terrorism, war and conflict, Sudan remains at the bottom of the index. With a score of 49, Jordan increased a point on the CPI since last year. In a report published by our chapter, Rasheed for Transparency and Integrity, which reviewed Jordan’s commitment to SDG 16, the chapter made several recommendations to the government to improve its anti-corruption efforts. Specifically, the report recommends financial and administrative independence of all public institutions that serve anti-corruption functions, additional protections for civil society, and a legislative review to ensure freedom of expression is upheld. Political corruption and conflict of interest remain among the main challenges to any improvement in Lebanon. Recommendations For the region to fulfil its anti-corruption commitments, there needs to be a serious change in the way countries in the region approach institutions, political rights, checks and balances and other pillars of democracy.

His exploits in his country’s 6-0 thrashing of North Korea were cheered by just one fan sporting the Gulf country’s colors. The one flag-waving fan in Qatar’s maroon colors Sunday was a South Korean woman who had traveled from her homeland to root for Qatar, according to Qatari officials. But the blockade’s effects on the tournament is not difficult to spot. Local organizers and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council were not made available for interviews. As it did during last summer’s World Cup, beoutQ is broadcasting the Asian Cup in its entirety, overlaying beIN’s logo with its own. At an under-19 game between the U.A.E. But the players were briefed to avoid discussing politics ahead of the Saudi Arabia match. Asked about the political implications of the game, Saudi Arabia’s captain and its coach both demurred, saying those thoughts were for others. “We appreciate the support because she’s the only fan who holds the Qatari flag in the U.A.E.,” al-Salat said. Qataris now need special clearance and two layers of vetting to travel into the Emirates, where many have family members.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino used a summit of soccer nations in Qatar to gather support for his mission to add 16 teams to the 2022 tournament — a move that would require the tiny, energy-rich nation sharing games in the region. Difficult probably," Infantino said. "Is it feasible to have a few games being played in neighboring countries? Well, maybe this is an option, of course. Digital Access for only $0.99 For the most comprehensive local coverage, subscribe today. #ReadLocal "I'm not that naive not to know not to read the news and not to know what is going on. Infantino used a trip to Doha in October to ask the emir of Qatar if he would consider allowing matches to be shared with nations that are part of an economic and travel boycott against his country. Sports Highlights Up Next: Infantino - 48 teams 'possible' at Qatar World Cup Your video will play in: 5 seconds Infantino - 48 teams 'possible' at Qatar World Cup FIFA President Gianni Infantino used a summit of soccer nations in Qatar to gather support for his mission to add 16 teams to the 2022 World Cup - a m Play Video | 00:47 Your video will resume shortly. No compatible source was found for this media. "If there is something that I could do which is good for football worldwide, then we should look at it," Infantino said at a news conference in Doha before heading to Abu Dhabi for the Club World Cup.

The animal was beaten and bruised by supporters of a political party Dubai: Amidst the election fever in Pakistan, an incident of animal abuse has taken over social media timelines in the country. On their Facebook page and Twitter account, the nonprofit group informed its followers about the abuse this animal had endured at the hands of supporters of a political party, who tortured the animal after writing the name of a political opponent on its body. In a detailed post, along with photographs of the animal, the group wrote: “With the upcoming elections looming upon us, no one is spared from the wrath this time...not even the most helpless of animals.” The post went on to describe the condition the animal was found in: “Beaten to pulp, punched in the face and abdomen several times, nose broken, kicked all over his body until he collapsed, has rope marks and a car rammed into him...all of this to describe one political party as an “ass” by some hooligans as written on the poor donkey’s body.” This has left social media users in the country shaken and furious at the same time. Tweep @RationalPakhtun wrote: “What amazes me the most is how people, especially the less educated ones, go to such extremes in their love and idolisation or hate of a person. First we should fix ourselves.” The animal rescue centre has refused to reveal the name of the political party, which was painted on the donkey’s body. They wrote: “We have blurred out the names on the donkey’s body as we will not involve ourselves in this mess.” However, there were some social media users who despite their post were urging them to name and shame the party and ask for an official apology from its leader. @e_zaad tweeted: “Can you please name that political party... because the leader of this political party should condemn this act and ask their workers not to do that again.” Many users just posted comments on both Facebook and Twitter to recognise the centre’s efforts and praise them for going out of their way to help an animal. I am an animal lover and trying to find about his health.” The group’s initial post has been shared over 7,000 times so far and to answer their followers’ questions, earlier this morning, the centre shared an update on the donkey, who they have named Hero. They wrote in a Facebook post: “We have named him ‘Hero’ as it takes a true hero of the heart to stand quietly, collapse helplessly, and endure painfully as this donkey did. All of this happened despite the presence of a law against animal abuse in the country.

"I think it is the same feeling; it is still bittersweet," Flicker tells CNN Sport, having sung Hatikvah in quiet defiance when tournament organizers refused to play his country's traditional national anthem. What can the sport teach people about life? Before you start the fight, you give a bow to show respect to the opponent. Something not many people know about me is... Judo is important to me because... Hopes for the future? "Israel has a successful history of staging important European events," said Soloveychik. Flicker predicted the Tel Aviv tournament would run smoothly, calling it a "70th birthday gift" for his country. I hope we will have more. "The right people managing the sport. "Oren Smadja was the first [Israeli] man to win an Olympic medal for judo (bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Games) and he's now the national coach. "Before you start the fight, you give a bow to show respect to the opponent.

(CNN)Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators are pressing witnesses for information about any possible attempts by United Arab Emirates to gain political influence by funneling money to support Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, The New York Times reports. The potential broadening of the special counsel's probe beyond Russian election interference to include UAE efforts to influence the Trump administration includes the questioning of a Lebanese-American businessman with ties to the Persian Gulf nation who has discussed Middle East policy with top aides to Trump, the Times reported Saturday. Mueller's team has questioned the businessman, George Nader, who has been an adviser to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, in recent weeks, as well as other witnesses on any possible UAE efforts to buy political influence with the Trump administration, the newspaper reported Saturday. Nader was a frequent visitor to the White House last year, meeting with senior adviser Jared Kushner and former chief strategist Steve Bannon, sources familiar with the meetings told the Times. The meetings focused on US policy toward Persian Gulf nations ahead of Trump's first foreign trip to Saudi Arabia in May 2017, according to the Times. After the TImes reached him by phone, Nader said he would call back, but neither he nor his lawyer returned the Times' request for comment, the newspaper said. The White House also did not return the Times' request for comment. Last summer, Trump weighed in on a dispute that UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt were having with Qatar, calling on Qatar to stop funding terrorism and claiming credit for and endorsing the decision of Gulf nations to ostracize their neighbor even as US Cabinet officials said their blockade is hurting the campaign against ISIS. The report of a focus on UAE by Mueller's team comes after Mueller's team indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities on charges of alleged election meddling and after Trump campaign adviser Rick Gates pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the wide-ranging probe last month.