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Racist comments, vulgar drawings, messages supporting terrorism deface mosque washroomsMosque washrooms in Dubai and Sharjah are being defaced by racist slurs, vulgar remarks and hate messages, a random XPRESS survey revealed. The offensive posts — mostly too graphic to be shown or talked about here — were found scribbled behind toilet doors in restrooms attached to mosques. XPRESS visited several restrooms at mosques in Dubai, including those in Deira, Bur Dubai, Karama, Mankhool, Satwa and Al Safa, and also mosques in Rolla and Abu Shagara in Sharjah. On an average, only four out of around 15 were found to be...

The U.S. Treasury Department disrupted a Dubai-based banking operation that Washington believes had become Tehran's primary conduit for evading international sanctions and processing its oil sales, according to people briefed on the operation. The effort was particularly sensitive because the targeted institution in the United Arab Emirates is partly owned by the local government of Dubai, a close U.S. ally. The chairman of the bank, called the Noor Islamic Bank, is the son of Dubai's ruler.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- Perhaps it is rare to think of Tiger Woods mingling among a crowd of people wealthier than him, but there he was Sunday afternoon on the 18th green at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, as U.A.E. sheikhs worth billions tried to administer a trophy presentation.

Dubai: Syria faced new sanctions after missing an Arab League deadline yesterday to allow observers to monitor the uprising.A senior Qatari official was quoted as saying that Syria had asked for "new clarifications and further amendments to be made to the protocol which was proposed" to cover the deployment of the observer mission. But the Arab ministers had "refused."Yesterday's deadline was announced in Doha by Qatari Prime Minister Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem Al Thani, who also warned against the internationalisation of the Syrian crisis if Damascus did not heed the Arab call.

Police in Dubai and the Associated Press are trying to claim that Ahmad Rezai's death was a suicide, but even the office of the Supreme Leader today acknowledged that Ahmad Rezai, 35, was murdered in the Gloria Hotel in Dubai today. The initial police report quoted by the AP claims he was found with a slit wrist, but Iranian websites and Rezai's father's Tabnak website say that he was found dead under "suspicious circumstances," apparently electrocuted. The regime had good cause to murder the younger Rezai, who initially fled to the United States in 1998 and denounced the regime and...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The son of a prominent Iranian conservative who ran against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009 has died in a Dubai hotel in an apparent suicide, a Dubai police official and an Iranian website said Sunday.

DUBAI: UAE issues shock Eurofighter Typhoon request By: Craig Hoyle Dubai France’s long-running campaign to sell up to 60 Dassault Rafales to the United Arab Emirates faces a shock last-minute challenge, with the Eurofighter consortium having been asked to submit a proposal based on its Typhoon combat aircraft. News of the development broke on the eve of the Dubai air show, where both types are scheduled to take part in the daily flying display. Sources have confirmed that the UK provided a formal briefing about the Typhoon to UAE officials on 17 October, after being asked to explore how it...

The slow collapse of Dubai, a desert mirage built on oil money, human misery and the greed of Western businesses, reminds us once again of the fate of all slave economies in the end. But for all the skyscrapers in Dubai, the glittering avenues built by slave labor and the abundance of luxury American and European automobiles-- the story of Dubai and Saudi Arabia is very much an old story in a Muslim Middle East, of fat prosperous sheiks clutching their ill gotten gains to themselves and ruling over harems and companies of slaves, until the end comes. Like Muslim...

That's me! In Dubai last week to open a milkshake franchise, promote her signature fragrance, and pursue other opportunities to expand her business empire, uber-celebrity Kim Kardashian and mother Kris Jenner stopped by the Dubai Mall to shop for the latest Middle Eastern fashions – including matching burqas.“That’s me!” Kardashian later squealed on Twitter beneath a photo of herself with her famous face completely obscured except for a slit for the eyes (this is actually a niqab, , which covers everything; a burqa is becoming the popular catchall word to describe the covering in general). Considering that Kardashian’s fame...

Restaurant fined; Municipality says no tolerance with eating outlets that do not comply with rulesA man who fancied a steak meal went to a famous food chain’s Chili's outlet at Sharjah’s Sahara Centre (Dubai) and ordered one. As the dish was served, his hunger instantly turned into disgust as there were worms in the plate. Infuriated, Bahaa Hijazi quickly took shots of the plate with his mobile phone, summoned the restaurant manager and protested. The manager said sorry and simply offered him another free meal. “But of course I refused and told him it is not a matter of another...

US fleet may quit troubled Bahrain Hugh Tomlinson From:The Australian THE US Navy is looking at plans to move its Fifth Fleet away from Bahrain amid fears over violence and continued instability in the Gulf kingdom. Sources in Washington and the Gulf have confirmed a growing consensus around the idea of relocating the fleet after the recent crackdown on anti-government protests that left at least 32 dead. Politicians in Washington are concerned the navy's continued presence a few kilometres from the centre of the capital Manama lends tacit support to Bahrain's suppression of the opposition, amid allegations of systematic human...

Briton fined Dh3,000 for insulting Ramadan on Facebook Awad MustafaJul 20, 2011  DUBAI // A British woman who expressed her hatred of Ramadan on Facebook and called her colleague a "dictator" and a follower of Osama bin Laden on the site, has been fined Dh3,000 by a Dubai Court.EG, 31, a trainer, was charged at the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours with insulting the Egyptian MJ, 35, online.In her statement to prosecutors, MJ said that on the evening of September 4 she saw a "disrespectful" status update about Ramadan on EG's Facebook page. She said she was moved to "chat" with...

Explanation: A starry night over the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is really not so starry. In fact, the Moon is the only celestial beacon to come close to competing with city lights in this night skyscape, a situation all too familiar to urban skygazers. The futuristic looking scene is dominated by the 800 meter tall Khalifa Tower, presently the tallest free standing structure on planet Earth. But for now you should also be able to make out a few of the very brightest stars in Earth's night sky. Capella is left of the tower and Aldebaran,...

SNIPPET: "Shanti was arrested by u.s. Customs and Border Protection in Blaine, Wash. ..." SNIPPET: "Both were from Morocco. It's unclear why Shanti would need to jump the border so often. But a LinkedIn account listed in Shanti's name lists a string of jobs in Canada, Dubai, and Jordan, so it may have been work-related."

DUBAI // Full-body scanners will not be introduced at Dubai International Airport, police have confirmed. Security teams will instead rely on well-trained personnel to provide screening, Brig Gen Ahmed bin Thani, the director of the Airport Security Department at Dubai Police, said yesterday. The airport had been considering purchasing the controversial machines - which create images of passengers' bodies through their clothing - as recently as December, when officials suggested they could be modified to protect privacy and health. However, Brig Gen Thani said that international standards adopted by the airport in 2007 were already adequate to ensure passenger safety....

Linky Here Gigapan Homepage Linky Here The GigaPanSM process allows users to upload, share, and explore brilliant gigapixel+ panoramas from around the globe. Anyone with a regular digital camera and stitching software can upload. Free to join and post.

A British tourist called the Islamic prophet Muhammad a terrorist in a heated row with an electronics salesman in a Dubai shopping mall, a court heard yesterday. Andrew Graham, 40, faces spending a year in a Dubai jail if he is convicted of insulting Islam. In a written statement produced before the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours yesterday, the Pakistani salesman said: ‘He laughed and said that I’m crazy and that prophet Muhammad was not a peaceful man but he is a terrorist.’ ‘I told him he was crazy because they were terrorists and they kill people and bomb each other....

Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, has a new project. ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Late one night last November, a plane carrying dozens of Colombian men touched down in this glittering seaside capital. Whisked through customs by an Emirati intelligence officer, the group boarded an unmarked bus and drove roughly 20 miles to a windswept military complex in the desert sand. The Colombians had entered the United Arab Emirates posing as construction workers. In fact, they were soldiers for a secret American-led mercenary army being built by Erik Prince, the billionaire founder of Blackwater Worldwide, with $529 million...

The September11 terror attacks in the US were staged to overcome disunity in al-Qa'ida, confidential computer records reveal. Alan Cullison reports on what happened after his laptop was wrecked while he was covering the combat in Afghanistan IN the autumn of 2001, I was one of scores of journalists who ventured into northern Afghanistan to write about the US-assisted war against the Taliban. After losing use of my computer in an accident, I scrawled stories by candlelight with a ballpoint pen and read dispatches to my editors at The Wall Street Journal over a satellite phone. When the Taliban's defences...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Saudi Arabia's rulers answered the Arab world's winter of rage with money: throwing $36 billion into housing and other social assistance channels in attempts to quell rumblings of dissent. Iran's president offered more bombast as Tehran tries to project sympathy for protesters. The two approaches this week — largesse versus rhetoric — captures the style and stakes for the region's heavyweight rivals as Iran hunts for gains and Saudi tries hard to stamp out any threats. Already, the region has been reshaped by the fall of decades-old regimes and growing pressures on others, including Moammar...

Sitting On Top Of The Burj Khalifa In Dubai

Missing a Father in Iran Daniel Levinson June 22, 2008 It has been 471 days since my father, Robert "Bob" Levinson, went missing in Iran -- more than the 444 days that 52 American diplomats were held hostage after they were seized in Iran in 1979. These past 15 months have brought my mother, four sisters, two brothers and me nothing but grief and sadness. We are no closer to finding answers than we were when our father disappeared March 9, 2007, on Kish Island, Iran. He was on a private business trip, and I emphasize "private" because, although he...

Gold seekers need look no further than Galeries Lafayette in Dubai, where nuggets of the precious metal can now be exchanged for cash at the emirate's first Gold to go ATM. Shoppers will receive a personalized Galeries Lafayette piece of gold that corresponds in value to the amount of money they put in. The first nugget was dispensed during a launch party on February 11, 2011 at Galeries Lafayette - Dubai Mall, the nation's largest luxury department store. Guests gathered round the machine, which is situated on the ground floor of Galeries Lafayette to watch as the ribbon was cut...

As the Middle East violence continues, we move on to Bahrain for a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Saudi forces are battling Shiite protesters in the streets. Naturally the media is misreporting this as government atrocities against democracy protesters. When actually it's another Sunni-Shiite civil war in another Sunni country with a Shiite majority. If this reminds you of Iraq, you're pretty close. Except that Bahrain is more like Dubai with its own royal family, a business culture built on its proximity to Iran, and much of the country is actually foreign workers brought in by oil revenues....

A new book by David Horowitz and Richard Poe has enraged the Left and alarmed many conservatives. It exposes the machinations of a radical clique working at the highest levels of government and finance to undermine American power. That book is The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party. It hit the New York Times bestseller list in its first week in print. Here to tell us about The Shadow Partyis co-author Richard Poe, our esteemed colleague at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, where he serves as director of research. Mr....

DUBAI (Reuters Life!) – Dubai's boom may have fizzled, but you can still live the high life perched atop the world's tallest building as the glitzy Gulf emirate unveils one of the world's highest restaurants. Atmosphere, on the 122nd floor, is one private elevator ride up the glass and chrome Burj Khalifa...

It exemplified the booming property market and ambition of Dubai’s entrepreneurs. But after the global financial crisis led to the collapse of the emirate’s home-building market, a unique development known as ‘The World’ is reportedly facing Armageddon. The project, a man-made archipelago designed to resemble a map of the planet, is facing disaster as its islands have begun sinking, a tribunal heard this week. The development, which sits a mile and a half from the mainland, is all but vacant after investors who bought up its ‘nations’ saw their finances collapse after the economic crash.

Dubai World Down the Drain by Tammy January 22, 2011 I just read a great article over at Hillbuzz.Apparently Dubai World, a man-made metropolis of islands in the Gulf of Oman, is SINKING. You may have caught the 60 Minutes interview with the King of Dubai as he explained this insane construction project. A project that was being built at the hands of slaves.Yes, slavery survives and thrives in the Middle East. Anyone who thinks these Islamic jerks have one iota of civility in their blood is sadly mistaken.And now these islands, built on slave blood are melting away. Karma...

Recent events in Tunisia, Lebanon and Egypt spell a dangerous new trend in the region. There have been major developments in Tunisia, Lebanon and Egypt, each of which is of tremendous importance. In Tunisia, a popular uprising fueled by unemployment, economic suffering and long-term discontent has overthrown the dictator, but not necessarily the dictatorship. In 55 years of independence, the country has been governed by two dictators, the current one being Zine al-Abedin Ben Ali, who has been president for 23 years and was a key power in the regime even before that. Is this going to spread? Does it...

For centuries people living in the Middle East have dreamed of turning the sandy desert into land fit for growing crops with fresh water on tap. Now that holy grail is a step closer after scientists employed by the ruler of Abu Dhabi claim to have generated a series of downpours. Fifty rainstorms were created last year in the state's eastern Al Ain region using technology designed to control the weather.

BEIJING – The 121-story Shanghai Tower is more than China's next record-setting building: It's an economic lifeline for the elite club of skyscraper builders. Financial gloom has derailed plans for new towers in Chicago, Moscow, Dubai and other cities. But in China, work on the 2,074-foot (632-meter) Shanghai Tower, due to be completed in 2014, and dozens of other tall buildings is rushing ahead, powered by a buoyant economy and providing a steady stream of work to architects and engineers. The U.S. high-rise market is "pretty much dead," said Dan Winey, a managing director for Gensler, the Shanghai Tower's San...

A court in India has sentenced to death seven men convicted of attacking the American cultural centre in Calcutta in January 2002. Those convicted include Aftab Ahmed Ansari, who the judge said had planned the attack in which five policemen were killed and nearly 20 others injured. Two other men were acquitted for lack of evidence. The attack heightened tensions in South Asia, coming just weeks after a bloody raid on India's parliament. India accused Pakistan of having a link to both attacks which was strongly denied by Islamabad. Although India still supports the death penalty it is rarely carried...

Bahrain and Dubai are expecting to get more MGM-164 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) manufactured by Lockheed Martin. Last week the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified the U.S. Congress about the planned sale of 130 ATACMS missiles carrying Unitary Warheads T2K (MGM-164), equipping the two gulf states with medium range ballistic missile capability for the first time. According to the agency, the United Arab Emirates’ Army will get 100 ATACMS missiles while Bahrain buy additional 30. The recent announcement includes only missiles, but no launchers, as both countries already have the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) in service.

The discovery of a US-bound bomb at a Dubai air cargo terminal on Friday should prompt authorities to dig deeper into the causes of a UPS jumbo jet crash outside the city eight weeks ago. On September 3, the 747 cargo plane crashed after a fire broke out on board shortly after takeoff and its two pilots struggled to land the plane at Dubai. The initial investigation into the crash — into a military base next to the Dubai-Al Ain Road — that killed the two pilots on impact, identified lithium batteries on board as being potentially to blame. However...

Shows the Hollywood star how to handle a falcon during the meeting where Sheikh Hamdan was also present His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, received Hollywood star Tom Cruise who is in Dubai to shoot 'Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol'. The 48-year-old Hollywood actor, whose death-defying stunts atop the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, grabbed global headlines only a day ago, also met Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai during the occasion. Sheikh Mohammed showed Cruise how to handle a...

Pardon me if this is old news . I'm in Japan and just woke up . Couldn't finy anything via search .

WASHINGTON (AP), LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB Fox 41) -- Safety advocates have warned for more than a decade that someday an air shipment of lithium batteries like those used in cameras, cell phones and countless other products would catch fire, causing a plane to crash and people to die. That day may have arrived last month. A United Parcel Service cargo plane with a fire raging on board, and carrying a large quantity of lithium batteries, crashed near Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on Sept. 3, killing both pilots. 48-year-old Captain Doug Lampe from Louisville and 38-year-old First Officer Matthew...

SNIP Representative Jane Harman, a California Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said Friday that the packages seized in Britain and Dubai contained PETN, the same chemical explosive contained in the bomb sewn into the underwear of the Nigerian man who tried to blow up an airliner over Detroit last Dec. 25. That plot, too, was hatched in Yemen, a country that is regarded as one of the most significant fronts in the battle with extremists. Ms. Harman, who was briefed by John S. Pistole, administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, said that both packages contained computer printer cartridges...

(CNN) -- SNIPPET: "The charge centers around a one-way ticket that authorities allege Abdel Hameed Shehadeh purchased from Queens, New York, to Islamabad, Pakistan. Shehadeh originally told investigators that the purpose of his trip was to visit an Islamic university and attend a friend's engagement party. But he later admitted to FBI agents in Hawaii that he bought the ticket in order to join a fighting group such as the Taliban, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in New York Monday."

here's a half-off sale in the world's tallest building. Even with an address at the iconic Burj Khalifa, rents for residences in the tower are not immune from Dubai's real estate crash. Indeed, nearly a year after it was inaugurated with a massive water-and-fireworks display, about 825 of the tower's 900 ultra-luxury apartments remain unoccupied, according to Better Homes, a real estate brokerage in Dubai. The cost of renting a studio with floor-to-ceiling windows, marble fixtures and wooden floors has dropped to $1,815 a month from $3,025, while a one-bedroom apartment is available for $2,722 (it used to be $4,536),...

However, no major accidents were reported Thursday morningSevere fog enveloped most parts of Dubai this morning bringing the visibility down to less than 30 metres in several areas and slowing down traffic movement. The Roads and Transport Authority’s Intelligent Traffic System displayed signs on most foggy areas alerting drivers to reduce speed and switch on the fog lights. However no major accidents have been reported so far. Meanwhile the weather forecast for today is that relatively hot weather during daytime with mild to pleasant weather at night especially over the internal and mountainous areas. According to the met department, “some...

He was also charged with stealing two shields from Dubai Customs office at the airportThe Dubai Criminal Court awarded three Bangladeshis, including an office boy of the Customs office of Dubai International Airport who stole a picture of a pretty female employee, three months in jail followed by deportation. The office boy, JRK, and his two compatriots SKS and SFM, who work for Group 4 Falak - a company assigned by the airport to perform services, were charged with stealing from the luggage of passengers. JRK was also charged with stealing two shields of Dubai Customs. SFM, who was detained...

The Dubai Criminal Court heard the testimony of the third accused in the case of three Bengalis - two men and a woman - who are accused of human trafficking and forcing women into prostitution. They were trapped by an Omani national in co-ordination with Dubai Police. MMS, 29, cook; ZAJ, 29, jobless, and HAR, 27, a clerk; were accused of human trafficking and forcing AAI, 29, a Bengali housemaid into prostitution. HAR has been accused of holding the victim illegally, too. In the previous hearing, the two men MMS, 29, cook, and HAR, 27, clerk, denied the accusations. On...

Director of Forensic Department speaks to Emirates 24|7 about the importance of forensics in challenging casesThe number of criminal cases in the Emirates has decreased in recent years. Homicide rate in Dubai is just about 1.5 per cent per 100,000 of the population. And this can be attributed to judicial system and efficient forensic department, which ensure no criminal goes scot-free. In fact, authorities at the criminal investigation department (CID) as well as judiciary value the authenticity of forensic reports to accounts of witnesses in homicide cases. Emirates 24|7 caught up with Professor Fawzi bin Omran, Director of Forensic Medicine...

The United Parcel Service (UPS) aircraft ran into technical trouble shortly after leaving for Germany from Dubai International Airport. The Boeing 747-400 was diverted to a nearby air force base but caught fire, hit a covered parking lot, then bounced and crashed, a government source said. There were no injuries on the ground. The plane suddenly vanished, Saif al-Suwaidi, general manager of civil aviation in Dubai, said. "The pilot reported fire and smoke in the cockpit and was instructed to return to Dubai," Mr Suwaidi said. "After failing to land at the airport, the plane disappeared from radar screens and...

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a staunch supporter of the proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque near Ground Zero, recently has been expanding his business dealings in the Arab and Muslim world, including opening a new "Islamic finance portal." Some critics are questioning whether Bloomberg's unpopular decision to back the controversial mosque project may be colored by his billion-dollar financial software, news and data company's decision to build a hub in the United Arab Emirates and North Africa. The mayor's privately held company, Bloomberg L.P., has been increasing its revenue in the Middle East while its U.S.-based division has...

OTTAWA — The RCMP dismantled an alleged Ottawa terrorist cell with suspected links to al-Qaeda on Wednesday morning, making two arrests in the nation’s capital without incident. The men are suspected of preparing a terrorist attack targeting Canada. The ringleader allegedly attended training camps in the Pakistan and Afghanistan region. But the bomb plot was described as not well defined and the arrests were apparently made on Wednesday because one of the suspects was preparing to travel abroad. A news conference has been scheduled for Thursday afternoon. The RCMP, Ottawa Police Service and Canadian Security Intelligence Service were involved in...

(CNN) -- The United Arab Emirates on Saturday expressed concern about a German court's decision to release an alleged Israeli agent being investigated in connection with a Hamas leader's murder in Dubai. The suspected agent, who often uses the alias Uri Brodsky, is under investigation for helping obtain a false German passport allegedly used by one of the killers in January. The UAE's foreign ministry said it's worried about Brodsky's release on bail and his freedom to return to Israel during the probe, the state-run WAM reported. Brodsky still faces a possible trial in Germany "The UAE seeks assurances that...

A British holidaymaker has been charged with indecency in Dubai after walking through the world's largest shopping centre in a bikini. The woman was buying clothes and gifts in the Dubai Mall, fully dressed but in a low-cut top, when she was accosted by an Arabic woman and criticised for wearing 'revealing clothing'. The pair then became embroiled in a heated row in front of hundreds of bemused shoppers. Incensed by the Arabic woman's comments, the British woman told her to 'mind her own business' before stripping out of her clothes and 'taunting' the locals by walking around in only...

SNIPPET: "Dr. Zakir Naik is a 44 year-old Muslim preacher born in India. He has gained a significant international following by establishing a satellite television network, Peace TV, which promotes Wahhabi Islam; it is based in Mumbai/Bombay, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai, and has a supporting organization, the Islamic Research Foundation. Naik has mainly broadcast his message in English as well as Urdu. But Peace TV is an ambitious enterprise that now aims at Albanian Muslims, among others. Zakir Naik is distinguished by one characteristic: incitement of provocative disdain for any other Muslims than Wahhabis and Pakistani jihadists, as well as...