Criminals linked to Iraq are among the first to be placed under sanctions for their part in the people-smuggling industry.
The sanctions are the first of a new set of measures to be imposed by the UK as part of a global crackdown on people smuggling aimed at stopping the flow of migrants across the English Channel in small boats.
Those involved in the illegal trade in Europe, the Middle East and beyond face having their assets frozen and being banned from travelling to the UK.
Among the 25 people named by the Foreign Office are nine with links to Iraq, who have had sanctions imposed for their part in equipping and financing the multibillion-dollar people-smuggling business.
Their activities include supplying small boats solely for people smuggling, sourcing fake passports and facilitating illicit payments.
They include Muhammed Khadir Pirot, who controls payments from people being smuggled from Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region to Europe via Turkey using the Hawala system of shadow banking.
Also sanctioned are Mariwan Jamal, who controls money movements through a Hawala banker, who handles payments to people smugglers from migrants in Iraq.
Rafiq Shaqlaway, involved in hawala banking as an adviser to migrants looking to pay smugglers operating routes into Europe via Turkey, has also been sanctioned.
Other Iraqis sanctioned over their involvement in the movement of migrants include Goran Assad Jalal, who was part of an organised crime group which carried migrants in refrigerated lorries from France to the UK at least 10 times between January and March 2019.
Hemin Ali Salih helped smuggle migrants into the UK in the backs of lorries. Dedawan Dazey runs safe houses for migrants in northern France before they are smuggled to the UK.
Roman Ranyaye, an Iraqi people-smuggler, is responsible for the smuggling of migrants from Asia to Europe.
Azad Khoshnaw, Nuzad Khoshnaw and Nihad Mohsin Xoshnaw, all from Iraq, have been sanctioned for their part in supplying boats, engines and other maritime equipment for the flimsy boats used to transport migrants.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy first announced back in January that the UK would become the first country to bring in a sanctions regime targeting organised immigration and irregular migration.
“This is a landmark moment in the government’s work to tackle organised immigration crime, reducing irregular migration to the UK," he said.
“From Europe to Asia, we are taking the fight to the people smugglers who enable irregular migration, targeting them wherever they are in the world and making them pay for their actions.
“My message to the gangs who callously risk vulnerable lives for profit is this – we know who you are, and we will work with our partners around the world to hold you to account.
Others sanctioned include Alen Basil, a former police translator who the Foreign Office says went on to lead a large smuggling network in Serbia, terrorising refugees, with the aid of corrupt policemen.
Basil, reportedly a Syrian-Serb, was found to be living in a house in Serbia worth more than €1 million ($1.17 million), bought with money extorted from countless desperate migrants.
Also sanctioned is Mohammed Tetwani, the self-styled “King of Horgos”, who brutally oversaw a migrant camp in Horgos, Serbia and led the Tetwani people-smuggling gang.
Tetwani and his followers are known for their violent treatment of refugees who decline their services or cannot pay for them. The North African gang has also been sanctioned.
Another North African network, the Kazawi Gang, which controls people-smuggling routes from North Africa into the EU, has also been sanctioned. The gang is known to deal out harsh punishments to migrants who are unable to pay, according to the UK Foreign Office.
Sanctions have also been brought against a company in China that advertised its small boats on an online marketplace explicitly for the purpose of people smuggling.
The boats advertised are of the type often used by criminal gangs in which migrants are packed, before being sent across the English Channel at huge risk to those on board.
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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The biog
Favourite book: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Favourite music: Classical
Hobbies: Reading and writing
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
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The Indoor Cricket World Cup
When: September 16-23
Where: Insportz, Dubai
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
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HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Fernandes pen 2') Tottenham Hotspur 6 (Ndombele 4', Son 7' & 37' Kane (30' & pen 79, Aurier 51')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
We Weren’t Supposed to Survive But We Did
We weren’t supposed to survive but we did.
We weren’t supposed to remember but we did.
We weren’t supposed to write but we did.
We weren’t supposed to fight but we did.
We weren’t supposed to organise but we did.
We weren’t supposed to rap but we did.
We weren’t supposed to find allies but we did.
We weren’t supposed to grow communities but we did.
We weren’t supposed to return but WE ARE.
Amira Sakalla
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Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
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MATCH INFO
Argentina 47 (Tries: Sanchez, Tuculet (2), Mallia (2), De La Fuente, Bertranou; Cons: Sanchez 5, Urdapilleta)
United States 17 (Tries: Scully (2), Lasike; Cons: MacGinty)
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The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE
Price, base / as tested Dh274,000 (estimate)
Engine 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 245hp @ 4,200rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
The Bio
Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959
Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.
He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses
Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas
His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s
Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business
He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery
Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
WWE Evolution results
- Trish Stratus and Lita beat Alicia Fox and Mickie James in a tag match
- Nia Jax won a battle royal, eliminating Ember Moon last to win
- Toni Storm beat Io Shirai to win the Mae Young Classic
- Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley beat The Riott Squad in a six-woman tag match
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Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
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Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead
Jack Moore: Why the assassination is such a monumental gamble
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Hussein Ibish: Trump's order on solid constitutional ground
Simon Waldman: Cautious Israel keeping a low profile
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
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RESULTS
Bantamweight: Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) beat Hamza Bougamza (MAR)
Catchweight 67kg: Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) beat Fouad Mesdari (ALG)
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) beat Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)
Catchweight 73kg: Mosatafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) beat Yazid Chouchane (ALG)
Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) beat Badreddine Diani (MAR)
Catchweight 78KG: Rashed Dawood (UAE) beat Adnan Bushashy (ALG)
Middleweight: Sallah-Eddine Dekhissi (MAR) beat Abdel Enam (EGY)
Catchweight 65kg: Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG) beat Rachid Hazoume (MAR)
Lightweight: Mohammed Yahya (UAE) beat Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 79kg: Souhil Tahiri (ALG) beat Omar Hussein (PAL)
Middleweight: Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Laid Zerhouni (ALG)
