Tag: dubai

US gas prices soar as Iranian attack hits Kuwaiti tanker off Dubai coast

Welcome to RT’s live coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran and the wider chaos across the Middle East and beyond that the unprovoked attack has caused. Overnight, there have been reports of significant strikes both on Tehran and the Jewish state. While in Dubai there are reports of loud explosions and a strike on a Kuwaiti tanker.

The price of oil has dropped by almost 1% on global markets, while Moscow has doubled-down on its refusal to sell oil and gas to unfriendly nations.

The Pentagon is set to hold its sixth press briefing since the start of the conflict a month ago, with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine expected to appear before journalists later on Tuesday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted on Monday that “a coalition of nations” would secure the Strait of Hormuz by force while Iran’s ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali spoke to RT’s Sanchez Effect and dismissed US President Donald Trump’s claims that Tehran is negotiating with Washington, saying that US and Israeli officials are “planning how to strike Iran” rather than seeking peace.

Trump has also claimed that his goal of regime change in Iran was achieved by killing the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in the initial strikes on February 28. 

“The one regime was decimated, destroyed, they’re all dead. The next regime is mostly dead, and the third regime – we’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before… it truly is regime change… you can’t do much better than that,” Trump said.

The new leadership in Iran is “very reasonable,” he said, claiming that he feels that a deal with Tehran could be reached “soon.”

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60-Year-Old British Tourist Charged Along with 20 Others in Dubai for Filming Iranian Missiles Despite Deleting the Video Immediately

A 60-year-old British tourist from London was detained and formally charged in Dubai under the United Arab Emirates’ strict cybercrime laws after allegedly recording Iranian missiles flying over the city.

The man, whose identity has not been revealed, is part of a group of 21 people of various nationalities being prosecuted for the same reason: recording and sharing material related to recent Iranian missile and drone attacks that have struck Emirati territory.

According to reports confirmed by British authorities and the organization Detained in Dubai, the tourist was arrested on Monday, March 9, 2026, in the Bur Dubai area.

Police found a video on his phone showing an Iranian missile impact in Dubai, although the man claims he deleted it immediately when confronted by the authorities and denies any intention of publishing or distributing it.

Nevertheless, he was charged with “using an information network or technological tool to disseminate, publish, republish, or circulate false news, rumors, or provocative propaganda that may incite public opinion or disturb public security.”

The invoked Emirati law expressly prohibits publishing or sharing any material that may “disturb public security.”

The UAE Attorney General’s Office had previously issued warnings: “Photographing or sharing attack sites, unreliable information, or images of projectile damage may lead to legal action and compromise national security.”

Since the start of the current conflict between Iran, the United States, and Israel on February 28, 2026, the Emirates have reported more than 1,800 drones and missiles launched against their territory, resulting in six deaths and 141 injuries.

The Emirati Ministry of Defense and senior officials, including the ambassador to the United Kingdom Mansoor Abulhoul, justified the measures as citizen protection: preventing missile fragments from falling on those filming and avoiding panic or the disclosure of defensive positions.

The British Embassy in Abu Dhabi immediately published an official alert on X: “UAE authorities warn against photographing, posting, or sharing images of incident sites, projectile damage, government buildings, or diplomatic missions. British nationals are subject to UAE laws; violations may lead to fines, imprisonment, or deportation.”

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British tourist, 60, ‘who filmed Iranian missiles’ in Dubai is facing two years in prison after being charged with cybercrime offence

A British tourist arrested after allegedly filming missiles hitting Dubai is facing two years in prison after being charged with a cybercrime. 

The 60-year-old Londoner, who was detained on Monday night, is said to have deleted the video immediately when asked. He insists he did not mean to break the law.

However, he has been charged alongside 20 others over videos and social media posts relating to recent Iranian missile strikes on the UAE, according to campaign group Detained in Dubai. 

The official allegation relates to ‘broadcasting, publishing, republishing or circulating rumours or provocative propaganda that could disturb public security’. The offence carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison. 

Dubai’s government heavily polices social media and responded to the outbreak of war by threatening jail against anyone sharing information that ‘results in inciting panic among people’.

Videos of drone and missile strikes were regularly shared on social media in the early days of the conflict, but these have largely disappeared and been replaced by a deluge of posts praising Dubai’s government. 

Once a tax-free haven attracting influencers from across the globe and thousands of Brits seeking warm weather and crime free streets, Dubai’s carefully crafted image has been shattered and some residents believe it is ‘finished’. 

The emirate, home to around 240,000 British expats including Rio and Kate Ferdinand, Luisa Zissman and Petra Ecclestone, has been targeted by constant Iranian missile and drone attacks as the regime strikes US allies in the Middle East. 

Dubai was hit by a fresh wave of drone attacks today, with a fire breaking out at a hotel in Creek Harbour in the early hours of the morning. Around noon, a building on the Sheikh Zayed Road was hit followed by a further incident in the Al Bada district. 

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Report: Crypto Drives Record Growth in Trump Family Finances

A new Reuters investigation reveals a scale of presidential enrichment unseen in modern U.S. history. Published Tuesday, a special report titled “Inside the Trump family’s global crypto cash machine” shows that the Trump family’s fortune surged in 2025. The summary reads:

The U.S. president’s family raked in more than $800 million from sales of crypto assets in the first half of 2025 alone, a Reuters examination found, on top of potentially billions more in unrealized “on paper” gains. Much of that cash has come from foreign sources as Donald Trump’s sons have touted their business on an international investor roadshow.

When President Trump’s term ends, he is expected to regain full control of a business empire now swollen with foreign capital and turbocharged by a crypto market shaped by his own administration’s policies.

The findings draw on official disclosures, property and court records, crypto trade information, and interviews. They outline a complex network of token sales, offshore investors, and regulatory changes that together fueled the company’s explosive growth. Reuters described the arrangement as “legal, but not ethical.”

Reacting to the report, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) struck a relaxed tone:

As long as [the president] disclose[s] the income and sources, I think that’s acceptable.

But the story Reuters pieced together suggests something deeper — a presidency and a family fortune advancing in parallel, powered by the same crypto engine.

The Dubai Pitch

The money trail begins in Dubai. In May, Eric Trump met with Chinese businessman Guren “Bobby” Zhou and others on the sidelines of a cryptocurrency conference, pitching World Liberty Financial, Inc. (WLFI), the family’s crypto business.

Buy at least $20 million of “governance tokens,” he said, and join a venture that would “embody the future of finance.” The technology behind the project appeared “rudimentary,” one attendee told the outlet. Yet, within weeks, Aqua1 Foundation, a state-linked Abu Dhabi investment group, announced a $100 million purchase — the largest known buy of WLFI tokens.

Reuters identified Zhou as being under investigation by Britain’s National Crime Agency for money laundering. He has also been linked to multiple money-laundering probes and civil court judgments in China. Aqua Labs Investment LLC, an affiliate of Aqua1, confirmed the deal as a “commercial decision consistent with advancing regulated digital-asset ecosystems.”

The Windfall

Dubai was only one stop on the Trump brothers’ investment tour. Reuters wrote:

In Europe, the Middle East and Asia, they have been promoting World Liberty and other ventures that funnel investors’ cash to Trump family businesses, known collectively as the Trump Organization.

The results were staggering. In the first half of 2025, Trump Organization income soared to $864 million, up from $51 million a year earlier. Over 90 percent came from crypto ventures, including token sales through WLFI.

Traditional businesses paled by comparison: golf clubs and resorts brought in $33 million, while name-licensing added $23 million. More than half of total income — about $463 million — came from sales of the family’s $USD1 tokens, including as much as $75 million from Aqua1 Foundation alone. WLFI’s website confirms that a Trump entity receives 75 percent of all token-sale revenue.

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The former London bus driver ‘running Dubai sex ring where girls are forced to carry out disgusting sexual fetishes for rich men’ – as former worker describes the depraved acts

A former London bus driver has been accused of running an illegal prostitution ring in Dubai, exploiting vulnerable young women and forcing them into degrading sex acts.

Charles ‘Abbey’ Mwesigwa was filmed by an undercover reporter claiming women under his control would do ‘pretty much everything’ clients asked.

BBC Eye and the World of Secrets podcast interviewed women who said they were lured to the UAE seeking stable employment, only to be forced in to coercive sex work.

Troy, a man who worked for Abbey, said women were told upon arrival they owed money for flights, visas and living costs, and that the only way to repay the debt was through prostitution.

Troy said that women were forced into sexual acts he had ‘never seen in his life’, catering to ‘rich men [who] look for girls that can fulfil their fantasies’.

‘They see musicians, they see footballers, they see presidents,’ Troy alleged.

‘It doesn’t matter what those girls go through as long as Abbey’s rich clients are happy. These girls, they have no escape route,’ he added. 

Mia (not her real name), who says she was trapped by the network, said at least one of the clients regularly asks to defecate on the women. 

She said that clients were mostly white Europeans. Many clients expect extreme sexual acts from the women because of their race, she said.

The investigation sought to unveil the real stories behind the viral hashtag #DubaiPortaPotty, an internet story of influencers moving to Dubai to be willingly defecated on by wealthy clients for money.

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Mystery as missing Ukrainian model, 20, is found ‘close to death’ by the side of a road in Dubai ‘with her spine, arms and legs broken after hotel party’

Maria Kovalchuk, who was 20 this month, had been missing for eight days after telling friends she had been invited to a party at a hotel on March 9.

She was set to attend the event ‘with two men who introduced themselves as representatives of the modelling business,’ according to several Ukrainian media reports.

The model told her mother, Anna, that she would be staying with these representatives for the night, but she subsequently disappeared.

Maria had booked a flight to Thailand that departed Dubai on March 11, but did not turn up at the airport. 

Anna and concerned friends then contacted local authorities who launched a search for Maria and opened an investigation, but she remained missing for several days.

On March 19, ten days after she first went missing, a battered and bloodied Maria was found dumped at a roadside in Dubai with her limbs and spine broken, according to Russian outlets Shot and Life. 

Maria was rushed to hospital, and according to her mother underwent three surgeries to save her life, before later receiving a fourth procedure. 

She remains in a critical condition and is reportedly unable to speak. 

Friends and family hope she is able to make a full recovery to talk about her ordeal and explain what happened. 

Speaking to Ukrainian media earlier this week, Anna said: ‘There is an assumption that she went to a party. But the promoter who organized these parties did not see her. 

‘Today Masha was found in the hospital in serious condition. 

‘She has no documents, no phone, nothing. She has undergone three operations. And she cannot speak.

Maria’s friend, Russian model Angelina Doroshenkova, 31, said: ‘We all hope for the best and are very grateful to everyone who took part in the search and helped with information.’

She was spending time with Maria in Dubai and was reportedly invited to the same party on March 9, but ultimately decided to return to Russia days before. 

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Face Scanning App Developed to Identify Unconscious Patients Decades After Human Microchips Failed to Gain Traction

The Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services has announced a smartphone app that utilizes facial recognition technology aimed at identifying unconscious patients in emergency scenarios. By the middle of 2025 it is expected to be operational in the United Arab Emirates’ ambulatory setting.

“With the app, a patient in an emergency situation such as in a state of unconsciousness can have their face scanned by paramedics for their personal identification information to be retrieved, thanks to the system’s integration with the UAE national identity database,” Biometric Update said Friday.

Dubai is undergoing a so-called ‘digital transformation‘ where facial recognition is taking center stage in the areas of public transit and palm print scanning is being implemented in the areas of payments and commerce.

Being face scanned while unconscious may be the least of someone’s worries, as in the U.S. unconscious patients are being enrolled into medical experiments and administered lethal Covid vaccines.

While face scanning may be seen as invasive by some, American company VeriChip Corporation took things a step further, much further, when they developed an Orwellian implantable human microchip called the VeriChip in the early 2000s with the express purpose of identifying patients in the medical setting as well as identifying children.

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Meteorologist warns of ‘weather wars’ between countries after Dubai floods were blamed on ‘cloud seeding’ – with ‘catastrophic’ consequences

A meteorologist has warned of looming ‘weather wars’ between countries if ‘cloud seeding’ gets out of hand – after flooding in Dubai spawned concerns about artificially manipulating the rainfall.

Johan Jaques, a senior meteorologist at environmental technology company KISTERS, warned there could be ‘unintended consequences’ to using the relatively young technology, potentially leading to ‘diplomatic instability’.

‘Any time we interfere with natural precipitation patterns, we set off a chain of events that we have little control over,’ he said.

‘Interference with the weather also raises all kinds of ethical questions, as changing the weather in one country could lead to perhaps unintended yet catastrophic impacts in another. After all, the weather does not recognise international borders.’

Extreme weather, and concerns about climate change and possible manipulation, have received attention in recent days with flooding in Dubai causing widespread disruption and damage to infrastructure.

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Elites Meet: 70,000+ Attendees Flying to Dubai for COP 28 Climate Summit

Ladies and gentlemen, please return your seats and tray tables to an upright position, fasten your seatbelts and prepare for landing… That is the order more than 70,000 people will hear as they arrive mostly by private and commercial jets to attend the COP 28 climate conference that begins Thursday in Dubai.

The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP28, in the United Arab Emirates is expecting close to a record turnout for the annual gathering of the globalist elites to vent their never-ending call for international climate action.

King Charles will be flying in especially to deliver the opening address as he joins tens of thousands of others who have eschewed the benefits of video conferencing in favour of boarding carbon-spewing aircraft for their travels even as flying creates more carbon emissions than any other form of transportation.

According to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the massed 70-000-plus attendees will be double the number of COP21 delegates in Paris, the landmark summit during which the Paris Agreement was adopted.

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Dubai makes its own RAIN to tackle 122F heat: Drones blast clouds with electrical charge to produce downpours

The United Arab Emirates is creating its own rain using drones that fly into clouds and unleash electrical charges to beat the sweltering 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius) heat. 

The rain is formed using drone technology that gives clouds an electric shock to ‘cajole them’ into clumping together and producing precipitation. 

The UAE is one of the most arid countries on Earth, and it hopes the technique could help to increase its meagre annual rainfall. 

And it is working. Video footage released by the UAE’s National Center of Meteorology shows monsoon-like downpours across the country which create a sheet of rain on the highways. 

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