The Times • 2nd September 2021

Afghan refugees in UAE ask: ‘Who will be left to rebuild our country?’

Nasreen Aziz was 12 when the Taliban first took hold of Afghanistan. While she was educated at home, music gave her solace — as it does now. Dancing to the Arabic, Persian and Hindi tunes being played on her phone gives her a brief window of joy in the small room that she shares with her niece and two other single women in Abu Dhabi’s Humanitarian City, where 10,000 Afghan evacuees are waiting in transit.

The Times • 28th August 2021

Mental crisis waits for Afghan children who know too much

There’s an air of maturity far beyond her years about Afri. As her mother weeps for the hopes and dreams she left behind in Kabul, the five-year-old tells her not to cry, gently pulling the hair from her eyes. It has been three days since they landed in Doha from Kabul and here, in a four-bedroom villa where they will live until their next move, the pair often talk of home. Afri’s mother, Lima, cries frequently.

The Daily Mail • 19th August 2021

I Didn't Steal £123m, Vows Ousted President Who Fled To Billionaires' Playground

AFGHAN president Ashraf Ghani broke cover last night to say that he hoped to return home soon – and to deny claims that he had fled with £123million in cash. Days after escaping Kabul and leaving his people to the wrath of the Taliban, he said he had been forced to do so to avoid further bloodshed and to make sure he was not lynched.

The Sunday Times • 1st August 2021

Antwerp loses its sparkle as Dubai lures diamond trade

For most of the past five centuries, Antwerp in Belgium has been the global capital of the diamond trade, but the combined effects of the coronavirus and a historic diplomatic agreement last year have turned Dubai into a serious rival.

The National • 13th July 2021

What it's like to travel to Tbilisi now: 'Georgian people have a strong spirit'

In July, Tbilisi’s old town is full of life. Buskers bring joy to passers-by; the long summer days mean locals meander the streets late into the evening; and families and friends gather for picnics in the city’s green spaces, or sit and chat on bench-lined pavements. But look a little closer and it is impossible to ignore the havoc the pandemic has wrought on Georgia's tourism industry, which accounts for 20 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Daily Mail • 2nd June 2021

Inside the Israeli clinic that 'teaches sex' for £11,000

Surrogate sex therapy is a controversial topic, but in Israel it's become a vital tool to help rehabilitate the likes of those injured in traffic accidents and serving in its military.

The Sunday Times • 9th May 2021

‘This is a better place for a Jew to live than London’

Seven months after the United Arab Emirates and Israel signed the Abraham Accords, establishing a raft of diplomatic and commercial ties between their countries, Peterfreund and other members of Dubai’s small Jewish community are preparing for an influx of thousands of Jewish expats from around the world, drawn by the weather, the business opportunities and the newly minted tolerance.

The National • 26th March 2021

How the coronavirus pandemic is affecting friendships: 'I question whether we share the same values'

The loss of personal freedoms, travel and loved ones aside, the pandemic has also caused rifts in several relationships, as people realise their friends may not share the same values as them nor be there through emotionally testing times.

The Jerusalem Post • 12th March 2021

Day trips from Dubai: How to see the Emirates like a local

As restaurants open up to the vaccinated, Israelis are also looking to the skies. Dreaming of the time they may travel freely again, many are casting their eyes toward the United Arab Emirates.

The Jerusalem Post • 1st March 2021

Gulf states anxiously await results of upcoming Israeli elections

It has been a historic year for the Middle East, which has seen United States-brokered normalization agreements signed between Israel and both Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Sudan and Morocco in North Africa. A new US president makes a potential change at the top in Israel all the more uncertain.

The Telegraph • 21st February 2021

Rabbis head to nurture Jewish faith in United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates is becoming an unlikely training ground for the next generation of orthodox rabbis.

The Telegraph • 7th February 2021

Palestinians are signing up to UAE peace deal, claims Israel's first ambassador in the Gulf

Palestinians stand to reap major benefits from Israel’s peace agreements with the Arab world, the Jewish state’s first official ambassador in the Gulf has claimed, as he began his historic posting in Abu Dhabi.

CNN • 6th February 2021

How Dubai is paying the price for letting in tourists

(CNN) — Take a passing glance at Dubai, and you may think life is back to normal. In recent weeks, the bustling city has been a sparkling attraction for tourists, especially from Europe, trying to escape the brutal winter and strict coronavirus lockdowns. But as tens of thousands of visitors flocked there during its peak year-end season, the virus inevitably caught up with the city despite precautions aimed at limiting its spread. Cases began to rise, nearly quadrupling since November.

The Telegraph • 1st February 2021

Israel exports settlement wines to United Arab Emirates in latest stage of Abraham Accords

Israel has begun exporting wine, olive oil and honey from West Bank settlements to the United Arab Emirates, a major deal secured by the Abraham Accords which has delighted Jewish expats but alarmed Palestinian leaders. Tura Winery, in the Rehelim settlement, and Paradise Honey in Hermesh, have sent shipments to Emirati clients which they hope will quench a thirst in the Gulf state’s Jewish community for kosher wines.

The National • 20th January 2021

How the cost of Covid-19 testing varies around the world

As Covid-19 testing for travel becomes compulsory around the world, disparities in pricing, availability, speed and service levels remain significant. Residents returning to Dubai over the festive period report paying up to Dh900 for a Covid-19 PCR test, which added huge costs and logistical issues to their travel arrangements. Even within a single country, states and provinces can have different protocols and prices, making it difficult to plan this leg of a trip.

The National • 12th January 2021

Emirati businesswoman donates Dh1m to neonatal unit at West Bank hospital

The Emirati businesswoman and philanthropist, Muna Al Gurg, donated Dh1m to a neonatal intensive care unit in Jenin, a Palestinian city in the West Bank. The support is desperately needed in the occupied territories where newborns lack adequate access to specialised care. The project is being managed by the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, which has been working in the Palestinian territories for 25 years.

Al-Fanar Media • 8th January 2021

Artists in Saudi Arabia Gain New Recognition and Support

Five Saudi artists were recently chosen as winners of the first Misk Art Grant, claiming prizes worth more than $25,000 each. The new grants come as artists are gaining new visibility and recognition in a kingdom experiencing social and cultural changes, and they signal significant new support for the creative arts.

The Jerusalem Post • 6th December 2020

Israeli tourists in Dubai remain defiant in face of security threats

Despite security warnings, Israeli tourists continue to flood into Dubai with Flydubai, the United Arab Emirates’ first airline to offer direct routes, now adding a third daily flight between Dubai International and Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion starting December 10, due to the massive demand.

The National • 22nd November 2020

'It's not a cute way of saying you don't like mess': why OCD needs to be treated more seriously

Colloquially, the term OCD has come to refer to people who like things done “just so”, but experts say obsessive-compulsive disorder is misunderstood. They believe it’s often mocked and not taken seriously enough, given that in the World Health Organisation’s 2017 report Depression and Other Common Mental Disorders, anxiety disorders, of which OCD is one, are listed as “the sixth largest contributor to non-fatal health-loss globally”.

The Jerusalem Post • 18th November 2020

Emiratis unperturbed by fatwa banning them from prayers on Temple Mount

Emirati worshipers remain defiant in the face of a fatwa banning them from praying in al-Aqsa Mosque, claiming it is their religious right to do so. The fatwa was issued by the grand mufti of Jerusalem after the August announcement of normalization of relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel under the Abraham Accords.