Author: Gulf News Week

The country’s biggest electricity distributor flagged the rise of ‘guerrilla installations’ and called for stricter regulations to prevent improper setups that may result in fireA village chief in the coastal town of Casiguran in Aurora province in the Philippines made an unconventional decision. Instead of building another basketball court in his village – a popular albeit unimaginative project among politicians – he invested in an 8kW solar-powered electricity station with internet connectivity.Today, the station powers Barangay Dibet’s village hall, child development center, streetlights, and serves as an emergency charging and communication center whenever typhoons and power outages hit. Village chief…

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Dozens of suspected scammers and romance fraudsters have been arrested after specialist financial investigators uncovered organised networks of criminals operating across the UK and Nigeria.In just one of a series of raids this month, police detained a man suspected of selling personal banking information online and enabling fraud through money laundering. Two Rolex watches and £3,000 in cash were seized from his home, in the Midlands.A total of 31 arrests have now taken place in Europe and Africa as part of Operation Seraphim.BBC News has been given exclusive access to the City of London Police operation, which involves investigative work…

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Estonia has said a Nato fighter jet shot down a drone, which it suspects was a Ukrainian projectile knocked off course by Russian electronic jamming, over its territory.Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said a Romanian F-16 fired a missile and drone debris fell in a marshy area in central Estonia on Tuesday. No damage was reported.Ukraine reacted by accusing Russia of deliberately redirecting Ukrainian drones launched at “legitimate military targets” in Russia, apologising to “Estonia and all of our Baltic friends for such unintended incidents”.Russia has not commented on the latest in a series of recent drone incursions over Nato members…

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Warning: contains details of alleged sexual offences and misconductFrench star Patrick Bruel has fiercely denied allegations he sexually assaulted a number of women during his 50-year career as a singer and actor.Bruel, 67, has in recent weeks been the subject of a wave of accusations – some of which are now being examined by prosecutors with a view to possible court action.Among his latest accusers is the well-known TV and radio presenter Flavie Flament, who alleges the singer drugged and raped her at his Paris home in 1991, when she was 16 and he 32. “Nor have I ever drugged,…

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A high-level people smuggler identified in a BBC investigation has been arrested in Iraqi Kurdistan.A network run by Kardo Jaf, who operates under the alias Kardo Ranya, is believed to have transported thousands of illegal migrants in small boats across the English Channel into the UK in recent years.He was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking offences by officers of the Kurdistan Regional Security Agency and remains in custody as investigations continue.The 28-year-old Iraqi Kurd had operated for several years under a number of aliases. By keeping his real name a closely guarded secret, Jaf made it more difficult for…

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The country’s preparedness and health monitoring measures are continuously evaluated and reviewed in line with approved standards, authorities saidUAE’s top health authorities have confirmed readiness to address any health developments or emerging situations, particularly those related to Ebola. The country’s preparedness and health monitoring measures are constantly reviewed in line with approved standards, the National Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Authority, and Ministry of Health and Prevention noted. Bahrain, Jordan suspend travel from some African countriesOn Tuesday, Bahrain imposed a 30-day travel suspension on foreigners arriving from South Sudan, the DRC and Uganda due to the ongoing Ebola outbreak.Jordan has also…

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