Archive: uae

21st June 2014
By: Brian Whitaker
"Individuals and organisations in London with connections to the Muslim Brotherhood are behind a series of media attacks on the UAE," the Emirati newspaper, The National, reported on Wednesday. The paper certainly went to town on the story, with a news report, a 3,000-word investigative piece and a… Read more
6th February 2014
By: Brian Whitaker
A United Nations investigator provided a rare glimpse into the workings of the UAE’s justice system yesterday. At the end of a nine-day official visit to the Emirates, Gabriela Knaul, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, presented her initial findings in a news… Read more
27th November 2013
By: Brian Whitaker
A 29-year-old American is imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates over a comedy video posted on YouTube. Shezanne "Shez" Cassim, who had been working in Dubai, was detained on April 7 and more than seven months later there is still no sign of a date being fixed for his trial. Several others,… Read more
23rd July 2013
By: Brian Whitaker
"I'm very, very happy. This is the perfect ending," Marte Dalelv told reporters yesterday after learning that she had been pardoned by the ruler of Dubai. The 24-year-old Norwegian woman had been convicted of having extramarital sex and sentenced to 16 months in jail after complaining to Dubai… Read more
11th July 2013
By: Brian Whitaker
Delighted at the overthrow of President Morsi, several Gulf monarchies have been swift to offer aid to Egypt. Saudi Arabia has pledged $5 billion, Kuwait $4 billion and the United Arab Emirates $3 billion.  Clearly, there is more to this than a simple desire to help Egypt through its economic… Read more
26th May 2013
By: Brian Whitaker
Dozens of migrant building workers who joined a strike earlier this month in Dubai are now facing deportation. Thousands of mainly Asian workers employed by Arabtec – one of the Gulf’s largest construction firms – stopped work on May 18 but returned after four days when police intervened. Unions… Read more
6th March 2013
By: Brian Whitaker
Undeterred by the banning of a British academic from the UAE, the British government is urging closer ties between universities in the UK and the Emirates. David Willetts, the minister for universities and science, was in Dubai yesterday, attending a conference on "the role of higher education in… Read more
19th December 2012
By: Brian Whitaker
A Filipino man appeared in court in Abu Dhabi yesterday accused of “imitating a female”. He had been arrested in a shopping mall, allegedly dressed in women’s clothes and holding a handbag. A report in The National says: “Store workers were making fun of him when one took offence and called the… Read more
15th December 2012
By: Brian Whitaker
The Dubai conference of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has ended in disarray – much to the relief of those who support internet freedom. The purpose of the conference was to draft a new international treaty on cross-border communications. As I reported last week, Russia and others… Read more
11th December 2012
By: Brian Whitaker
There are calls in the United Arab Emirates for action to "provide rapid rebuttal" when the UAE is "a victim of unjust and inaccurate criticism from abroad", according to a report in The National today. The UAE authorities are fuming over complaints about their human rights performance, and in… Read more