Zimbabwe on Tuesday said it will investigate allegations of gold smuggling and money laundering against some people linked to the country’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, which were raised in a documentary produced by Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera. The ‘Gold Mafia’, a four-part documentary that first aired early this month, alleges that syndicates with close links to government...
Andrew is enjoying a break this week. I’m Jan Kooy, taking care of the Daily Brief in the next few days.Should a deeply repressive country get to host UN climate talks?No, that would be an extremely bad idea.So how on earth did the United Arab Emirates become host of the upcoming and crucial United Nations Climate Change Conference,...
As the next host of COP28, scheduled for the end of 2023, the United Arab Emirates has become a mecca of international sanctions evasion, and both Russians and Syrians are taking advantage. From November 30 to December 12, 2023, the United Arab Emirates Confederation will host COP28. Not only is Dubai, which is considered a...
SUN Ship Management has become one of the main transporters of Russian oil to countries including India and Cuba. BRUSSELS — The EU is discussing whether to sanction Dubai-based shipping company SUN Ship Management Ltd, which is suspected of helping Russia circumvent restrictions on its oil exports, three diplomats told POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook on condition of anonymity....
Security guards, cleaners and hospitality staff at Dubai’s Expo 2020 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are allegedly working in highly abusive conditions that may amount to forced labour, according to a human rights group. Migrant workers employed at the international fair in the UAE – taking place now after being delayed by Covid – allege they...
Human Rights Violations at Home, Abroad (Beirut) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was responsible for serious human rights violations at home and abroad in 2020, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2021. The government held peaceful critics in jail, fostered labor abuses against low-paid migrant workers, and contributed to abuses abroad in Libya and Yemen....
The city state warns it will be ‘inordinately costly’ to meet its climate promises. This article is part of POLITICO’s Global Policy Lab: Living Cities, a collaborative journalism project exploring the future of cities. Chapter 3 of the project is presented by Holcim. Dubai’s underwhelming efforts to cuts its greenhouse gas emissions are causing it to consider...
Sıtkı Ayan, the businessman helping Tehran sell oil, dodged US sanctions for years On March 22 of 2021, several of the world’s most dangerous men descended on Beirut’s historic seaside Summerland Hotel — not to swim in the Mediterranean or explore the sumptuous resort’s “Le Beach Pop Up,” but to talk Turkey. The meeting was...
The Gulf oil and gas exporter is going big on renewable energy investment and food security, while expanding hydrocarbon production. If there was a sign the United Arab Emirates is taking its role as host of the next UN climate talks seriously, the 1,073 delegates it registered to attend the Cop27 summit in Egypt would be it....
Vulnerable Ukrainian women and children are likely being trafficked into sex slavery and domestic servitude in the United Arab Emirates, defence experts have warned. Millions of Ukrainians have fled the war-torn country since Russia began its brutal advance in February, leading to increased concerns about refugees being susceptible to trafficking. Some are reported to have been targeted...