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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Activists called for a cease-fire in Gaza, marching through the site of the UN climate summit on Saturday.</li><li>Protests are rare in the United Arab Emirates, an autocratic state that tightly controls speech.</li></ul>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Hundreds of climate activists joined the global protests calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war on Saturday, marching through the site of the ongoing UN climate summit in Dubai.People wore the black and white checkered keffiyeh and held up watermelon signs, both symbols of Palestine, while chanting, "Cease-fire now!" and "Climate justice is a right, not just for the rich and white!" Signs saying "End the occupation" rose above Indigenous groups wearing colorful feather headdresses and drumming.It was a rare sight in the United Arab Emirates, an autocratic country of seven sheikdoms led by one ruler in Abu Dhabi. Speech is tightly restricted and dozens of dissidents have been jailed, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/04/12/uae-detainees-held-beyond-sentences">according to human rights groups</a>. The media is largely state-owned. One local reporter told Business Insider that they could have their work visa revoked for printing anything critical of the government.Ahead of the climate summit in Dubai, known as COP28, the United Nations and the UAE agreed that free expression would be allowed. But protesters on Saturday said authorities still placed limits on what activists could say during the march."From the river to the sea," for example, was banned, Lidy Nacpil, coordinator of the Asian Peoples' Movement on Debt &amp; Development, told Business Insider. Nacpil helped organize the pro-Palestinian march, which involved a coalition of more than 350 climate justice and human rights groups from 75 countries.The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-from-river-to-sea-means-israel-palestine-rashida-tlaib-2023-11">phrase is controversial,</a> especially after Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent months-long bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The phrase refers to the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, or historical Palestine, which now is broken up into Israel, the occupied West Bank, and Gaza. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators say it's a call for freedom from oppression. But Israel and its supporters say it's a call for their destruction.Nacpil said protesters risked losing their badges and getting kicked out of COP28 if they chanted the phrase."It doesn't violate any UN rules," Nacpil said. "This decision was made for political reasons. They should acknowledge that."A COP28 spokesperson said in an email that the organization is committed to an inclusive event with dedicated spaces for all voices to be heard. People are assembling peacefully across the venue, the spokesperson said.Nacpil said there is no climate justice without human rights and called the United States and Europe hypocritical for "using the human rights card" against other countries while being "complicit" in Israel's war on Gaza.Hamas and other Palestinian fighters killed about 1,200 people during its attacks on Israel on October 7. Israel has responded with a now two-month-long air and ground campaign that has killed more than 17,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them civilians and many of them children.Kevin Buckland, an artist and activist with the Artivist Network, which advocates for climate action and human rights, described himself as a Jew from the United States who could no longer stay silent about the atrocities in Gaza.Speaking through tears during a press conference ahead of the march, Buckland said Israel uses the Jewish identity to enforce an apartheid regime.<div type="image" title="Kevin Buckland of the Artivist Network speaks at a press conference at the UN climate summit in Dubai." height="3389" width="2694" msid="105866741" hostid="261"></div>The protest wasn't the first time the Israel-Hamas war spilled into the COP28 summit.During the first few days, the Iranian delegation left Dubai in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.irna.ir/news/85308217/%D9%87%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%AC%D9%85%D9%87%D9%88%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%DB%8C-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84-%DA%A9%D9%86%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B3-%D8%AA%D8%BA%DB%8C%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%82%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%85%DB%8C-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%AA%D8%B1%DA%A9-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF">protest of Israel's presence</a> and world leaders, including Jordanian King Abdullah II, used their speeches to the United Nations to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.Following meetings with Arab leaders in Dubai, Vice President Kamala Harris <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpoUONMF1Wk">said that too many Palestinians were being killed</a> and urged Israel to do more to protect civilians, but also reiterated that the United States supports Israel's "legitimate military objectives to eliminate the threat of Hamas."On Friday, the United States — for the third time — blocked a resolution at the 15-member UN Security Council calling for a humanitarian cease-fire. The United States was the sole veto, while the UK abstained and 13 other countries voted in favor.US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood called the resolution "imbalanced," <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-un-resolution-ceasefire-humanitarian-6d3bfd31d6c25168e828274d96b85cf8">the AP reported</a>, because it didn't condemn Hamas' attack on Israel or acknowledge Israel's right to defend itself.

Climate activists join the pro-Palestinian cause during a rare protest in Dubai

<ul><li>The UAE government has launched a recruitment drive in India to attract talented teachers to work in Emirati government schools. </li><li>The government is looking to hire 3,000 new teachers to fill vacant positions. </li><li>The reported salaries of the hired Indian teachers will be Dh16,000 (nearly ₹304,017) per month — 10 times more than the average salary in India.</li></ul>In a bid to boost its national economy and the development of schools in United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Emirati government has rolled out a recruitment drive to attract teachers from India. The government is wooing them by offering significantly higher salaries to teach in UAE’s government schools. The drive is reportedly set to <a href="https://www.thenational.ae/uae/education/uae-government-raises-teacher-salaries-as-it-launches-hiring-drive-in-india-1.852826">hire</a> for nearly 3,000 vacant positions, attracting a large chunk of candidates to attend its open days in Mumbai and Delhi. It includes assessment of potential candidates via written examinations and interviews. The reported salaries of the hired Indian teachers will be Dh16,000 (nearly ₹304,017) per month — 10 times more than the average salary in India, the experts noted. The contracts are likely to come into effect from the end of July. The drive opens in the backdrop of the country’s <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/working-in-uae-you-can-now-take-your-spouse-with-you-conditions-apply/articleshow/68681675.cms">new visa guidelines </a>extending an ‘expat visa’ for the family members of foreign citizens — including Indians working in UAE, fulfilling the income standards. However,<a href="https://www.thenational.ae/uae/education/uae-government-raises-teacher-salaries-as-it-launches-hiring-drive-in-india-1.852826"> according to a recruitment firm</a> conducting the drive, while they were able to captivate Indian teachers interested to land a job in Dubai, the challenging part was to convince them regarding the authenticity of the program since it offers tax-free pay packets. Moreover, several lucrative offers have turned out as fraudulent schemes. “We’re now at the stage that people have been getting the offers after the interviews, and they’ve been very slow in giving their documents, because they’re still thinking it’s too good to be true,” a Dubai based newspaper The National reported citing Roddy Hammond, the founder and CEO of World Teachers Recruitment. Given that the government schools stand significantly poor, compared to the private institutions in UAE, the move is aimed at nourishing the condition of state-run schools in the country. Traditionally, the salaries of the teachers employed in government schools have been lower than that of Private school teachers. However, the government is taking measures to correct the situation. While the private institutions have been offering Dh12,500 as the average starting salary, a job as a government teacher in Indian state of Maharashtra will earn over Dh2,585 per month, reported Mumbai Mirror. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/working-in-uae-you-can-now-take-your-spouse-with-you-conditions-apply/articleshow/68681675.cms">Working in UAE? You can now take your spouse with you -- conditions apply</a>

The UAE government is wooing Indian teachers — offering 10 times higher pay than their current

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A US veteran detained near Dubai for five years is desperate to return home to Wisconsin.</li><li>But a convoluted financial dispute prevents Robert Dobbs, 55, from leaving the country.</li></ul>An American veteran <a href="https://www.insider.com/texas-woman-influencer-detained-dubai-screaming-rental-car-scam-uae-2023-7">detained in the United Arab Emirates</a> for more than five years on what he calls bogus charges says he's losing hope that he'll ever return home to his family.Local authorities are preventing Robert Dobbs, 55, from either leaving the UAE or securing a new work visa. He told Insider he felt "stuck like a hamster on a wheel," reliving the same day over and over again."People want to forget about it," said Dobbs, who served eight years in the US Army. "It can't be shrugged off. I'm a human being."Dobbs' plight stems from a disagreement over money with a former employer, which led to a legal case he says was retaliatory and unfounded. He says he now lives in fear of local authorities, who have had an outstanding warrant for his arrest for three years.Without being able to leave the country or work legally, Dobbs, a father of five children in a blended family, has relied on his loved ones and worked odd jobs under the table to sustain himself.Dobbs has been lobbying for his release through <a href="https://www.detainedindubai.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detained in Dubai</a>, an organization that helps foreign travelers who have issues with law enforcement or the court system in the UAE. Some of those travelers have been the victims of well-known scams in the country, Insider has previously reported.A Houston woman was detained in Dubai, for instance, in April after car-rental employees claimed she screamed at them, violating a broadly defined law against offensive behavior in the UAE. As she tried to resolve the claim, her <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dubai-detained-texas-woman-influencer-rental-car-company-scam-screaming-2023-8">accusers demanded thousands of dollars</a> to drop the case.She was eventually <a href="https://www.insider.com/texas-influencer-tiera-allen-detained-dubai-shouting-flies-home-2023-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allowed to fly home</a> in early August after agreeing to pay more than $1,000 to local police to lift the travel ban against her.The dispute at the center of Dobbs' case revolves around his former employer, a private school in Sharjah, a city about 20 miles outside of Dubai. Dobbs worked there for four years, and it's where four of his five children attended school.Dobbs said the school withheld his <a href="https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/jobs/end-of-service-benefits-for-employees-in-the-private-sector" target="_blank" rel="noopener">end-of-service benefit</a> — a bonus in the UAE for employees who complete a term of employment — after his contract ended. He also said the school refused to release him from his work visa, which was tied to his employment at the school.In 2018, Dobbs took the school to court, which ruled in his favor, forcing the school to pay him his benefit, according to court documents seen by Insider.The school quickly responded by filing a civil suit against Dobbs that claimed he owed them tuition for his children who attended the school, which amounted to about $100,000, according to Detained in Dubai.Though he said the claim was unfounded, Dobbs missed his opportunity to make that argument. The hearing took place just as the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a stop, and Dobbs said he was never informed of the court date. While he has since tried to appeal to local officials, the case remains closed, he said.When reached for comment by Insider, the school maintained that Dobbs still owed them the tuition money."I've been stuck in this open-air prison for five years, three-and-a-half years away from my family," Dobbs, who hails from Wisconsin, said in a <a href="https://www.detainedindubai.org/post/american-detained-in-dubai-calls-for-senator-help" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. "I am a veteran with PTSD as well. I'm at the end of my life, basically."Radha Stirling, a UK-based legal advocate and CEO of Detained in Dubai, said Dobbs had been jailed dozens of times and even beaten by local law enforcement. She said his situation was growing increasingly dire."Robert has no legal avenue to appeal or to show evidence to the court that he does not owe the money," Stirling said in a press release. "He was not even told there was a court date and was unable to defend himself. US diplomats must work with UAE authorities to resolve this miscarriage of justice."Dobbs has been in contact with Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and has requested assistance from the US Department of State. Baldwin's office declined to comment on the record for this story. "If diplomatic efforts are not made, the veteran will likely die in Dubai," Stirling said.A spokesperson from the US Embassy in the UAE said they were limited in what they could say on specific cases but noted the country's strict exit controls, which are outlined on <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/UnitedArabEmirates.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the State Department's website</a>: "Travelers both departing the UAE and transiting will be barred from exiting the UAE if there are any criminal or civil legal cases against them. Travelers have been arrested at the airport and have had their passports seized due to outstanding financial cases, unsettled legal disputes, and late credit card payments, including for cases that were previously unknown to the traveler."<h2>A family missing him from an ocean away</h2>Dobbs moved his family to the UAE more than a decade ago. But as his legal situation grew more opaque and a global pandemic loomed, he sent his wife and children home to the US."It was pretty stressful when we came here. We had nothing. We didn't know anything about the country," Dobbs' stepdaughter, who is 23 and had spent half her life in the UAE when she moved to the US, told Insider. "So our dad, he guided us, and we would just talk to him on the phone and miss him badly."Dobbs' stepdaughters spoke about his detention on the condition of anonymity due to privacy concerns.<div type="image" title="Dobbs with his wife and son." height="768" width="1024" msid="103325778" hostid="261"></div>Since his family left in 2020, his wife has only been able to visit twice. Even then, it's a risk, Dobbs said. He said on her most recent visit, he noticed a local police officer following them."I'm looking over my shoulder all the time," Dobbs said. "That's one thing I think that really gets you — after a point — is that hypervigilance."Dobbs says he has grown desperate to get home to his family. His children say they are also losing hope — and patience. His homecoming, his stepdaughter says, rests on the willingness of US diplomats to take action."My stepdad has reached out to a lot of people who are in power. They have let him down, as well," another one of his stepdaughters, 20, said. "He was a veteran, so he served for his own country, and the country's not helping him out to come back to his own country."

A US Army veteran has been detained in Dubai for 5 years because his ex-employer says he owes $100,000: 'I'm at the end of my life'

<ul><li>Nine Indian working professionals have been stranded in the United Arab Emirates(UAE) after being assured on WhatsApp that they will get jobs in the country. </li><li>The victims claimed that they paid over ₹70,000 to get visitor visas for UAE. </li><li>According to the Indian embassy in Dubai, there are nearly 40 such cases and police investigations are on. </li><li>The UAE extended 2,394 new licenses to foreign nationals in June this year — including Indians. </li><li>Fake recruiters duped over 75 Indian employees in Qatar in the month of April.</li></ul>In the backdrop of rising unemployment in India, the desperation for jobs has led to many scams and fake job scams. Lured by such <keyword id="462967" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="fake-job-offers">fake job offers</keyword> in Dubai, nine Indian working professionals have been left stranded in the <keyword id="6354870" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="United-Arab-Emirates">United Arab Emirates</keyword> (UAE). The job seekers were assured jobs in Dubai via social media platforms like WhatsApp. "A WhatsApp message that promised jobs in the UAE within 15 days was being widely shared in Kerala, and I also received the forwarded message. I really thought it was genuine as many people were showing interest," <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/nine-indians-stranded-in-uae-after-accepting-fake-job-offers/articleshow/70315412.cms">TOI reported</a> citing one of the victims, Fazil. Claiming to be jobless at the moment, the victims said that they spent over ₹70,000 to get visitor visas for UAE by racketeers in Kerala. "I chatted with the agent who convinced me that I will have a job in a supermarket as soon as I land. He told me I will get Dh1,200 as monthly salary and free food and accommodation. I was going through tough times, and thought it would be a good start for me," said Fazil, a qualified technician. When they landed in Dubai, that they realised they had been tricked. According to the victims, a local agent took them to Ajman and Al Ain. The Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi has now pitched in to send them back home. This is, however, not the only case. Last month, five men were left without jobs in Dubai, who moved on visitor visas to the country. "We have reported about 40 such cases to Indian authorities and police investigations are on. That is important to deter these illegal agents from duping more people," the embassy told The Khaleej Times. The embassy has thus warned the jobseekers to use official channels and follow immigration rules. On the flipside, the <a href="https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/dubai/7600-jobs-created-in-dubai-last-month-">UAE extended 2,394 new licenses</a> to foreign nationals in June this year — including Indians. Fake recruitments have duped over <a href="https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/nri/fake-recruitment-to-qatar-75-including-keralites-duped-1.3974659">75 Indian employees</a> in Qatar as well, in the name of a company Ceprotec. The candidates gave their passports to the recruiters and also paid nearly ₹65,000 for visas. Company job portals and embassies have now started to warn potential job seekers on their website about fake job offers. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-uae-government-is-wooing-indian-teachers-offering-10-times-higher-pay-than-their-current/articleshow/69021762.cms">The UAE government is wooing Indian teachers — offering 10 times higher pay than their current</a>

Caution! WhatsApp job scams leave Indians stranded in Middle East

February is the month of romance, dinner dates and maybe even dreamy destinations. With <keyword id="6426726" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="valentine">Valentine</keyword>’s Day just around the corner, you must be planning some quick getaways with the person you love. However getting some good deals while travelling is what we all look forward to. And if you can actually save on your V-day travel, it’s definitely a good gain before you meet your boss for appraisal. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Time-taken-to-reach-office-in-traffic-to-be-counted-as-office-hours-rules-a-European-court/articleshow/54380810.cms">ALSO READ: Time taken to reach office in traffic to be counted as office hours, rules a European court</a> 
 <keyword id="824043" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Business-Insider">Business Insider</keyword> consulted <keyword id="227170" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Skyscanner">Skyscanner</keyword>, a leading <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Time-taken-to-reach-office-in-traffic-to-be-counted-as-office-hours-rules-a-European-court/articleshow/54380810.cms">global travel search</a> company to find out how Indians can save more while holidaying during <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/breakfast-diet-of-successful-people/articleshow/53976519.cms">Valentine’s Day week</a>. Skyscanner looked at search data from Indian travellers from the past three years that reveal how couples can save up to 43% (depending on terms and conditions) the trips. 
 
Here’s how you can save your pocket while traveling 
 
Travel a bit later 
The global travel search engine recommends travelling two weeks after Valentine’s Day to get the best deal on flights. Looking at data from the past three years Skyscanner can reveal, couples can save up to 43%* on getaways by delaying trips with their Valentine to the end of February. 
 
Save on flights 
Couples travelling on the weekend closest to Valentine’s Day can save up to 27% on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/breakfast-diet-of-successful-people/articleshow/53976519.cms">flight bookings</a>. 
 
<keyword id="6354539" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dubai">Dubai</keyword> and <keyword id="6357117" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="bangkok">Bangkok</keyword> 
Looking at the dreamy international destinations most popular with Indian travellers in February over the past three years, Skyscanner spots two <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/breakfast-diet-of-successful-people/articleshow/53976519.cms">bargain destinations</a> for couples desperate to get away closer to Valentine’s Day; Dubai and Bangkok are 27% to 15% cheaper to travel to, respectively on the weekend closest to Valentine’s Day. 
 
<keyword id="6372507" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kuala-Lumpur">Kuala Lumpur</keyword> and <keyword id="19988" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bali">Bali</keyword> 
Couples can also make big savings of up to 31% and 23%, respectively on 2017’s trending destinations, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/breakfast-diet-of-successful-people/articleshow/53976519.cms">Kuala Lumpur </a>and Bali. These visa-friendly destinations have been on the rise with Indian travellers for the past three years and with recently relaxed visa-requirements, look set to continue to grow in popularity in 2017. 
 
Here's how to save the most:

Here’s how to save 43% on your international trips during the Valentine Day’s week

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The United Arab Emirates wants to become an AI leader by 2031.</li><li>It's leveraging its oil wealth to attract new talent and fund new research initiatives.</li></ul>The AI revolution is expanding far beyond Silicon Valley.From the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/malta-ai-startups-artificial-intelligence-hub-destination-travel-2024-5">shores of Malta</a> to the streets of Paris, hubs for AI innovation are forming worldwide. And the United Arab Emirates is emerging as a key center in the Middle East.Last week, the UAE made headlines by participating in the most lucrative funding round in Silicon Valley history: the $6.6 billion <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-investors-latest-funding-round-2024-10">deal closed by OpenAI</a>. The investment was made through MGX, a state-backed technology firm focused on artificial intelligence and semiconductors.The move was part of the UAE's bid to become a global AI leader by 2031 through strategic initiatives, public engagement, and research investment. Last year, the country's wealthiest emirate, Abu Dhabi, launched Falcon — its first open-source large language model.Another indication of the UAE's commitment to AI is its appointment of Omar Sultan Al Olama as the country's AI Minister in 2017.The minister acknowledges that the UAE faces tough competition from powerhouses like the United States and China, where private investment in AI technology in 2023 totaled $67.2 billion and $7.8 billion, respectively, according to Stanford's Center for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence.So he says he is embracing cooperation over competition."I don't think it's going to be a zero-sum game where it's only going to be AI that's developed in the US, or only going to be AI that's developed in China or the UAE," Al Olama said at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council, a DC think tank, in April. "What is going to happen, I think, is that we're going to have centers and nodes of excellence across the world where there are specific use cases or specific domains where a country or player or a company is doing better than everyone else."The UAE's strengths are evident.It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, mostly due to its vast oil reserves. The UAE is among the world's 10 largest oil producers, with 96% of that coming from its wealthiest emirate, Abu Dhabi, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/united-arab-emirates-oil-and-gas">according to the International Trade Administration</a>.Abu Dhabi's ruling family also controls several of the world's largest <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-and-biden-us-should-have-a-sovereign-wealth-fund-2024-9">sovereign wealth funds,</a> including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Mubadala Investment Company, a founding partner of MGX.These funds have been used to diversify the country's oil wealth and could now be diverted to funding new AI companies. AI could contribute $96 billion to the UAE economy by 2030, making up about 13.6% of its GDP, according to a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/publications/potential-impact-artificial-intelligence-middle-east.html">report</a> by PwC, the accounting firm.But capital is only part of the equation. The bigger question is whether the tiny Gulf nation can attract the requisite talent to keep up with Silicon Valley.Recent developments show promise. Between 2021 and 2023, the number of AI workers in the UAE quadrupled to 120,000, Al Olama said at the Atlantic Council event. In 2019, it rolled out a 'golden visa' program for IT professionals, making entry easier for AI experts. It's also making the most of its existing talent. In May, Dubai launched the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wam.ae/article/b39jbfx-hamdan-bin-mohammed-launches-%E2%80%98one-million">world's biggest prompt engineering initiative</a>. Its goal is to upskill 1 million workers over the next three years,Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, has — over the last decade — become a nexus for AI research and education.In 2010, New York University launched a branch in Abu Dhabi that has since developed a focus on AI. And, in 2019, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence opened as a "graduate research university dedicated to advancing AI as a global force for good." Professors from the university also helped organize the inaugural <a target="_blank" href="https://ioai-official.org/1st-international-olympiad-in-ai-founders-we-have-a-record-number-of-participating-countries/">International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence</a> in August, which drew students from over 40 countries worldwide."Abu Dhabi may not directly surpass Silicon Valley, however, it has the potential to become a significant AI hub in its own right," Nancy Gleason, an advisor to leadership on AI at NYU Abu Dhabi and a professor of political science, told Business Insider by email. Its "true strengths lie in the leadership's strategic vision, substantial investments in AI research and compute capacity, and government-led initiatives in industry. The UAE has also made strategic educational investments in higher education like the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and NYU Abu Dhabi."Beyond that, she noted, it's "very nice to live here."

Want to get into the AI industry? Head to Abu Dhabi.

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11994967" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="novak-djokovic" source="Orion">Novak Djokovic</keyword> told Australian authorities he did not travel in the 14 days before flying there.</li><li>However, social media footage suggests that he travelled from Serbia to Spain in late December.</li></ul>The Australian Border Force is investigating whether Novak Djokovic shared inaccurate information about his movements before arriving in Australia on a form he filled in as part of his entry to the country.Djokovic claimed on his Australian Travel Declaration (ATD) form, which he said was filled out on his behalf by his agent, <a href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/tennis/late-twist-as-novak-djokovic-accused-of-lying-on-border-entry-form/news-story/209550cb1eae4d6d5c240b0b23397223">that he had not and would not have travelled to a different country in the 14 days prior to his trip to Australia.</a>The Serbian flew to Australia from Spain, via Dubai, on January 4.Djokovic, however, was seen in his hometown, Belgrade, on December 25, meaning that he must have travelled between Serbia and Spain at some point in the 14 days before flying to Australia.A Twitter post from <keyword id="11897437" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tennis" source="Orion">tennis</keyword> reporter Jose Morgado on December 25 showed Djokovic alongside Serbian handball player Petar Djordjic in the Serbian capital. Footage posted to <a href="https://twitter.com/NDjokofan/status/1474763883751657477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1474763883751657477%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.essentiallysports.com%2Fwatch-novak-djokovic-plays-tennis-on-belgrade-streets-on-christmas-atp-tennis-news%2F">Twitter the same day also showed Djokovic casually playing tennis on a Belgrade street.</a>Days later on December 31, he was filmed practicing at a training camp in the south of Spain, directly contradicting his claim that he did not travel in the two weeks prior to flying to Australia. Here he is on December 25 in Belgrade:And he here is on December 31 in Spain:It is unclear exactly when and how Djokovic moved from Serbia to Spain.Djokovic arrived in Melbourne at 11.30 p.m. on January 5 on a flight that had stopped over in Dubai after leaving Spain.Following a series of interviews with border forces about the medical exemption he had been given, that would have allowed him to compete in the <keyword id="12003353" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="australian-open" source="Orion">Australian Open</keyword> without a COVID-19 vaccine, <a href="https://www.insider.com/novak-djokovic-australian-open-posts-smiling-photo-release-from-detention-2022-1">his visa was revoked.</a>The 20-time Grand Slam champion was held at an immigration detention facility until Monday, when he was then released and his visa reinstated after a judge ruled that the cancellation of his visa was "unreasonable."The latest revelations about the accuracy of his travel declaration form, however, throw fresh doubt as to whether Djokovic will be able to compete in the Open. Asked if the form could provide fresh grounds to cancel Djokovic's visa, a spokesman for Alex Hawke, Australia's minister for immigration and migrant services, said the minister was still considering whether to exercise his power to do so."It remains within [Hawke's] discretion to consider canceling Mr Djokovic's visa under his personal power of cancellation within section 133C (3) of the Migration Act," said the spokesman on Monday night, <a href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/tennis/late-twist-as-novak-djokovic-accused-of-lying-on-border-entry-form/news-story/209550cb1eae4d6d5c240b0b23397223">according to News.com.au.</a>"In line with due process, minister Hawke will thoroughly consider the matter."Djokovic is also facing questions <a href="https://www.insider.com/novak-djokovic-brother-adjourns-press-conference-serbians-public-appearance-covid-2022-1">about a public appearance he made in Belgrade less than 24 hours after he had tested positive for COVID-19.</a>Court filings released on Saturday showed that the Serbian tennis star had tested positive for coronavirus on December 16.On December 17, he then attended an awards ceremony for young tennis players at the Novak Tennis Center in Belgrade, Serbia, <a href="https://www.insider.com/djokovic-covid-19-attended-maskless-event-a-day-later-report-2022-1">where he was photographed with several attendees while not wearing a mask.</a>Djokovic's family was asked about the incident in a press conference on Monday. They confirmed that he had tested positive for COVID on December 16, <a href="https://www.insider.com/novak-djokovic-brother-adjourns-press-conference-serbians-public-appearance-covid-2022-1">but adjourned the event when asked about his appearance in Belgrade the next day.</a>

Novak Djokovic is now being investigated over claims he misled authorities about his movements before he flew to Australia

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In 2017, Marius Schmidt sold all his stuff and left Münster, Germany, to travel the world full time.</li><li>Schmidt used to stay in Airbnbs, but discovered house sitting in 2020 and now his stays are free.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Marius Schmidt, 34, about what he's learned as a house sitter over the past two years. Schmidt uses sites including <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=73f9a411d417a821b558655596bf513d4d951dbc40692c65601496e107000c30&amp;postID=644be67bc5b0ce697b3b04a6&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.trustedhousesitters.com%2F%3Fgad%3D1%26gclid%3DCj0KCQjw3a2iBhCFARIsAD4jQB2ZaqJ5p4Mla3MOwPJi2GfANNWd-ZpVXxLVzfB-HeKHi2VUjOTiRbYaAt_8EALw_wcB">TrustedHousesitters</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.nomador.com/?gad=1&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjw3a2iBhCFARIsAD4jQB1T1egXVAQTnTp-IY87LEc_2yy6kBe5UHi64z9yGfig3uvO24t-6qkaAmknEALw_wcB">Nomador</a> to find stays throughout the world, though those following in his footsteps should be <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/australian-woman-says-denied-entry-us-house-sitting-plans-2022-10">aware of visa rules in each country they enter</a>. The following has been edited for length and clarity.I am originally from Münster, Germany, a university town.In November 2017, I started traveling full time. I sold all my stuff at home and traveled with only two backpacks. Since then I've been traveling all the time — I don't have a home.Then COVID-19 hit, and I went back to Germany.My ex-girlfriend taught me about this thing where people house sit for other people. At first I didn't understand it. I thought, "How does that even work?"When COVID began to relax in Europe, I thought maybe I'll try house sitting out and see if I can actually do it myself. And that's how it started.I've been house sitting now for 2½ years. I've done 27 sits in places like Dubai, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Germany, and Bulgaria.Normally I go out and explore everyday. This life is no different than when I traveled with Airbnb.<div type="image" title="A man sitting on a couch with two cats draped on him" height="1215" width="2500" msid="99888616" hostid="261" sizebytes="188060"></div>It's only housing for free. That's always the deal. Sometimes the host says you can have all of the food or sometimes a car because they don't take it with them. But there's normally no payment involved.Ninety-nine percent of the time there are animals. There's rare occasions where it's a big compound, so there's a lot of work for the garden and pool, but it's normally always with animals.<h2>Tip 1: Be selective</h2>From the start, I would be very selective. Don't go for everything.Basically, make the choices of where you want to visit and how long you want to visit for, which takes it down to only a few houses, normally.Being selective makes your experience better because you will like the house at the end more if it's exactly what you're looking for. <div type="image" title="A man sitting in a spring with a snowy background" height="1250" width="2500" msid="99888618" hostid="261" sizebytes="837386"></div>It's a bit harder at the beginning because <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=713e138675214a15a1cea6df29e1feb88cb2531633de3bb726b07c87e120cf10&amp;postID=644be67bc5b0ce697b3b04a6&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.trustedhousesitters.com%2Fhouse-and-pet-sitters%2Fgermany%2Fnorth-rhine-westphalia%2Fmunster%2Fl%2F1576605%2F">you want to get reviews</a>. In the beginning I started doing a lot of short sits, like a week or a few days, to get my reviews up.Once you have the reviews, then it's easier to get the longer-term houses. I mostly stay long term, or not less than a month — two to three months, preferably.<h2>Tip 2: Treat it like a job application</h2>One thing that you can do is post an Airbnb profile on your house-sitter page. I already had 40-something reviews on Airbnb, which helps a lot. It shows you're a more trustworthy person. You can also put in a nice LinkedIn profile.Otherwise it's important to be very open about everything: what you do, what you would provide to them, and what you did in the past — like your experiences with animals and that kind of stuff. Try to mention as much as possible to make yourself look credible.Your profile is like a CV that you make for yourself, basically.<div type="image" title="Two selfies of a man traveling" height="1040" width="1386" msid="99888620" hostid="261" sizebytes="84580"></div>Normally, you do a video chat with the hosts beforehand, and it's good to ask questions and get the feeling of the house, and how it actually is.I've heard from a few other house sitters that sometimes it is really messy or not a very nice house.Only recently have I had a bad experience. There was a person that drove to work everyday. She still was living there, but needed someone to stay over during the day.I don't do that anymore. They need to go and I need to be alone there. That was a key lesson.Ask a lot of questions in regards to what is allowed and what is not allowed. And if you don't feel right about the host, don't be greedy and take it. Sometimes I've felt weird about the hosts and then decided not to take it.And what a lot of people are not doing is asking for reviews at the end. When you're finished, after one or two days, say "I would appreciate a review from you." That's important.<h2>Tip 3: Constant communication is key</h2>For the host, I try to do the best I can to make them feel very taken care of when they're gone. There's a lot of communication and I also try to leave the house better than it was before.If you see something that can be fixed, fix it. If something can be cleaned, clean it.Every weekend I try to send a video of the whole home so that they can see everything is alright. Then normally I do daily videos and photos of the cat whenever I play with it.<div type="image" title="A man in bed looking at a cat" height="1836" width="3264" msid="99888622" hostid="261" sizebytes="57890"></div>I only choose sits with cats because it's so easy compared to dogs or anything else.With cats, you give them food in the morning, give them some water, and play with them in between a bit. That's it. Dogs are more needy. You actually need to go out two to three times at specific times. You don't have the freedom to travel freely while still being a house sitter. With cats you can go out whenever you want and do stuff.

I've stayed in 13 countries for free by house sitting. Here are 3 tips for starting your own house-sitting journey.

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11994967" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="novak-djokovic" source="Orion">Novak Djokovic</keyword>'s family said the <keyword id="11897437" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tennis" source="Orion">tennis</keyword> star's deportation by <keyword id="11897977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="australia" source="Orion">Australia</keyword> was "scandalous."</li><li>Djokovic is now out of the Australian Open and won't be able to pursue his 21st Grand Slam title.</li></ul>On Sunday, the family of tennis star Novak Djokovic and <keyword id="12202139" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="serbia" source="Orion">Serbia</keyword>'s top leaders criticized the sports icon's deportation from Australia, saying the ruling was "scandalous."The day before, a three-judge panel <a href="https://www.insider.com/serbian-tennis-star-novak-djokovic-loses-his-visa-appeal-australia-2022-1">overruled Djokovic's visa appeal,</a> barring him from the Australian Open and squashing his chances of winning his 21st Grand Slam title. The ranked no. 1 player had his visa canceled over concerns from the Australian government that he could pose a health risk and encourage anti-vax groups."We are very disappointed by a federal court ruling and the fact that Novak has to leave Australia," Djokovic's family said in a statement <a href="https://www.rts.rs/page/sport/ci/story/33/tenis/4666481/novak-djokovic-australija-sudjenje-pritvor-odluka-deportacija-viza">reported by Serbian media.</a>"Despite the scandalous behavior towards Novak, we believed that sport would win," the statement read.Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić voiced a stronger opinion when speaking to reporters in Belgrade. "I find it unbelievable that we have two completely contradictory court decisions within the span of just a few days," she said, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jan/16/serbias-leaders-hit-out-at-scandalous-treatment-of-novak-djokovic">per The Guardian</a>, also calling Australia's decision "scandalous."<a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/serbia-says-australias-decision-deport-djokovic-scandalous-2022-01-16/">As Reuters reported</a>, Brnabić also said: "I am disappointed... I think it demonstrated how the rule of law is functioning, or better to say not functioning, in some other countries."The country's sports minister, <a href="https://twitter.com/VanjaUdovicic/status/1482634938042232834">Vanja Udovicic took to Twitter</a> to heap praise on the Djokovic, calling him "the best in the world ever, someone who writes the history of the planet in sports.""That is and will be forever Novak Djokovic!" he wrote. "Everything else is nonsense and shame, absurdity, and a display of hypocrisy! Legend, Pride of Serbia, We are with you!"<div type="image" title="Novak Djokovic walks through Dubai Airport surrounded by his team" height="1378" width="1838" msid="88945742" hostid="261"></div>Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić blasted Australia's decision, calling Djokovic's hearing a "farce with a lot of lies," <a href="https://www.espn.co.uk/tennis/story/_/id/33076998/novak-djokovic-loses-deportation-appeal-australia">ESPN reported.</a>"They think that they humiliated Djokovic with this 10-day harassment, and they actually humiliated themselves. If you said that the one who was not vaccinated has no right to enter, Novak would not come or would be vaccinated," Vučić said, per ESPN.Djokovic himself said he was "extremely disappointed" with the Australian court's ruling, but said he would respect its decision and leave the country. He flew on Sunday from Melbourne Airport and landed in Dubai en route to Serbia.Back in his home country, the <a href="https://twitter.com/Slavica_NoleFam/status/1482806015783493635">Belgrade Tower lit up</a> with a message in support of Djokovic, displaying his nickname "Nole" with Serbia's national colors.

Novak Djokovic's family and the Serbian government condemned Australia's deportation of the tennis star as 'scandalous'

<ul><li>Global startups and young companies in the US, Germany, and Southeast Asia — including Dubai, Indonesia, Singapore — are reportedly ramping up the hiring of Indian techies, wooing them with professional exposure and salary hikes. </li><li>Global startups including GrabTaxi, Go-Jek, Delivery Hero are hiring Indian engineers. </li><li>Skills that global startups are looking for include data science, Stack development and project management.</li></ul>As<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/hiring-tcs-infosys-wipro-and-others-up-12-months-in-a-row/articleshow/69019342.cms"> IT hiring picks up</a> in India, even global startups appear to be eyeing Indian talent for mid-level and senior-level hires. While tightened visa norms have largely affected Indian workforce overseas, global startups and young companies in the US, Germany, and Southeast Asia — including Dubai, Indonesia, Singapore — are ramping up the <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/trend-tracking/global-startups-rope-in-indian-engineers/articleshow/69104600.cms">hirings Indian techies </a>wooing them with professional exposure and salary hikes. Global startups including GrabTaxi, Go-Jek, Delivery Hero are hiring Indian engineers skilled in data science, Stack development and project management, Times of India <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/yeti-footprints-indian-army-tweets-these-pictures-as-evidence-5701837/?pfrom=HP">reported.</a> Calling Indian engineers as a premium talent, Adithya Venkatesan, marketing specialist in Go-Jek tech reportedly told TOI “The engineers that we have hired have sound knowledge in programming languages like Clojure, Ruby and Golang and the process takes three weeks at minimum.” These young companies in the US have been open to hiring freshers as well, despite stricter <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/us-immigration-denial-of-h1-b-visas-raises-legal-questions/articleshow/68844794.cms">visa rules</a>. While some startups are looking to establish their offices in India to expand globally, several companies are hiring Indians for offshore locations. However, for the experienced positions, the average salary hikes offered by the companies is reportedly 15%-20%. According an Indian firm tracking hiring cycles, Skillenza, “These are the startups that are looking to ramp up their team after sealing a series-B or -C round so they have enough bandwidth to look outside their market for talent. They are on the lookout for people with 3-10 years of experience,” Times of India <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/trend-tracking/global-startups-rope-in-indian-engineers/articleshow/69104600.cms">reported</a> citing its co-founder Subhendu Panigrahi. Domestic demand India is the world's third largest startup ecosystem after the US and the UK. Given the growth in hiring by startups, Indian startups have been offering strikingly impressive salaries for the top-level roles. Over 8,000 tech startups in India are looking to hire IT talent and it will last for the next 18 months, according to <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/it-hiring-picks-up-domestic-demand-and-startups-key-drivers-3877501.html">TeamLease</a>. Indian unicorns — Oyo, Zomato, Swiggy — have been the key employers across sectors for top roles. According to a recent <a href="https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/industry/article/oyo-zomato-swiggy-on-hiring-spree-offer-average-salary-of-over-rs-60-lakh-for-top-level-recruits/409196">report</a>, the unicorns -- who have also set eyes globally — have hired nearly 214 people with an average salary of ₹6 million, annually. In fact, food delivery platform Swiggy is presently looking for experienced tech candidates for data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence in order to build their business and expand in the delivery space. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/here-are-the-25-most-popular-workplaces-in-india-according-to-linkedin/articleshow/68704338.cms">Here are the 25 most popular workplaces in India, according to LinkedIn</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/swiggy-delivery-does-1-5-million-orders-on-cycles-pilots-use-of-electric-vehicles/articleshow/69094004.cms">Swiggy rides the green wave, delivers 1.5 million orders on cycles; electric vehicles are next</a>

These global startups are reportedly on a hiring spree for Indian talent

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr_mys5CCtY">YouTube/WELT</a>Footage broadcast by Germany's WELT <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> channel shows police investigators at the scene of a killing in Berlin, suspected to be linked to Russia.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>The daylight killing of a Chechen militant in Berlin looks increasingly like the work of Russia, though the Kremlin denies it.</li><li>Investigators recently published evidence they say proves the suspect had a fake ID which only the Russian state could provide.</li><li>A longtime Israeli intelligence operative, speaking anonymously, told Insider that the cover provided would not withstand much scrutiny - a common feature in Russia-linked killings.</li><li>Extensive databases and new technology, the source said, mean that techniques once used to falsify identities no longer work.</li><li>For Russia to continue such work, knowing the likelihood of getting caught, is tantamount to saying that it does not care.</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Insider's home page for more stories.</a></li></ul>An apparent assassination in a park in Berlin appears increasingly likely to be tied to the Russian government - and the case appears to show the Kremlin's increasingly brazen methods for dealing with its enemies.A Russian man - named by German authorities as Vadam S. - was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-zelimkhan-khangoshvili-berlin-g7-2019-8">apprehended as a suspect in the killing of former Chechen rebel leader Zelimkhan Khangoshvili</a>, who fought Russia in the past.The man was caught shortly after the killing on August 23, carrying a passport with the name Vadim Andreevich Sokolov.He was caught by police while in the processing of putting on a wig and trying to escape by electric scooter, according to multiple media reports.<h2>Suspect's ID points to Russian security service</h2>According to a newly-published investigation, however, "Sokolov" was using a fake name, and carrying documents issued in a way that has the hallmarks of the Russian security services.Russia has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/28/russia-denies-ordering-assassination-of-zelimkhan-khangoshvili-chechen-exile-in-berlin">denied having anything to do with the killing</a>.One intelligence source told Insider that modern counter-intelligence methods almost guarantee that most attempts to give operatives a fake ID will now be found out.Security services know this, the source said. His conclusion was that Russia has decided that it doesn't care if its agents are unmasked.A similar situation occurred in the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/sergei-skripal">2018 attempted killing of double agent Sergei Skripal</a> in the UK.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Google Maps/Business Insider.A map showing the Kleiner Tiergarten park in Berlin, where a Georgian man was killed in August 2019.</div></div></div>There are clear signs that "Sokolov" was traveling on fake papers that could have only been issued by the Russian state, experts on the country's security operations have said. Investigators from the open-source investigations group Bellingcat <a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2019/08/30/suspected-assassin-in-the-berlin-killing-used-fake-identity-documents/">published a joint project</a> with Russian outlet The Insider (which has no relation to this publication, Insider), and Der Spiegel in Germany. It centered on tracking the passport found on the suspect at the time of the murder.They say that they used a variety of leaked databases from inside Russia, as well as with the cooperation of sources with access to official Russian government registrations.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-zelimkhan-khangoshvili-berlin-g7-2019-8?r=US&amp;IR=T">A suspected Russian scooter assassin who shot a man in broad daylight in Berlin shows why Trump's dream of seeing Putin back at the G7 won't happen soon</a>Details on "Sokolov" <a href="https://www.kyivpost.com/world/bellingcat-suspected-assassin-in-the-berlin-killing-used-fake-identity-documents.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kyivpost.com/world/bellingcat-suspected-assassin-in-the-berlin-killing-used-fake-identity-documents.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1567678659906000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFjAfvZUuc_W1woxWhTCNM8JQ05eA">pointed to</a> the Russian security services having issued the passport in his possession as a way to hide his identity, the researchers said.The investigators say that "the assassin travelled to Berlin via France under a validly issued, non-biometric Russian passport in the name of Vadim Andreevich Sokolov, born in August 1970."However, the identity did not withstand scrutiny.The Bellingcat story said: "Despite the fact that he used a legitimate passport, we have determined that no such person exists in Russia's sprawling, comprehensive national citizen database."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">ITV NewsSergei Skripal.</div></div></div>"In addition, no trace of such a person exists in a trove of hundreds of leaked residential databases, previously obtained and aggregated by Bellingcat."They concluded that: "This discovery makes Russia's claims that the killer is not connected to the Russian state implausible, as no person in Russia is in a position to obtain a valid Russian passport under a fake identity without the involvement of the state bureaucratic and security apparatus."<h2>A familiar playbook</h2>Such an approach has been used with Russia-linked killings in the past. The most recent was when two suspected Russian agents were accused of using nerve poison to try to kill Skripal, the defected spy, and his daughter last year in Salisbury, England.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/skripal-poisoning-suspect-identified-as-russian-intelligence-officer-2018-9?r=UK">Putin's 'tourist' accused of nerve agent attack turns out to be a highly decorated Russian intelligence officer</a>A source with a background in Israeli intelligence told Insider that the advent of vast online databases mean that even secret services struggle to make convincing false identities for agents.The source - a former undercover intelligence agent who now works as a contractor for the Israeli government -spoke on condition of anonymity due to his past work in intelligence.He said: "These blunders will continue because, with the linking of national databases as well as the use of both biometric data embedded in passports as well as the constant scanning and storing of images in facial recognition software, it's basically impossible to just issue someone a new identity as we did in the recent past.""All the great technical tricks we can use to track our enemies and targets are no longer the province of states.""All those same things are often commercially or openly available to anyone and thus very effective at identifying intelligence teams operating abroad."Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mi6-head-alex-younger-russia-wont-be-trusted-2018-12" data-analytics-position="1">The head of MI6 says Russia broke one of the primary rules of espionage, and won't be trusted again</a>The source said that even in the past few years the process of establishing covers for intelligence operators has become significantly harder.Former tactics focused on finding operatives with secondary passports from Western countries like Canada and Australia, he said.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Pool/Yuri Kadobnov via Associated PressRussia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during a press conference with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, Saturday, June 29, 2019.</div></div></div>He continued: "We used to recruit someone and train them then we could establish a proper cover for them, get them a Canadian passport from someone in the Israeli diaspora and then forge a bunch of visa stamps to 'season' the cover so that it looked legit."<h2>'Bulls--t passports will not hold up to scrutiny'</h2>"Now none of those skills - forging, human intelligence, networking - can make up for the facial scans of people traveling through airports, or that, for a passport to truly be a legitimate cover and travel document it has to be more than good looking, it has to be properly linked to all the right databases."Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/former-british-spy-mi6-how-to-remember-information-without-writing-2017-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">Former British MI6 spy reveals how to remember information without writing it down</a>But even then, said the source, the passport won't hold up if the host nation decides to truly scrutinize the documents, pointing to <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/an-eye-for-an-eye-the-anatomy-of-mossad-s-dubai-operation-a-739908.html">a 2010 assassination of a Hamas financier in a Dubai hotel room</a>. "That team got into Dubai, tracked and eliminated the target and left the country... no problem," he said. "But the second the police realized what happened and began to investigate, all of the team members' covers completely collapsed."We were lucky they'd left because, in the modern networked environment, bulls--t passports will not hold up to scrutiny."But what concerns the Israelis, in terms of international opinion, doesn't seem to bother Russia.In 2006, Russia made its policy clear when <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2018/03/08/what-authority-does-putin-have-to-order-extrajudicial-killings-abroad-">it legalized killing internal enemies who fled the country</a>.Shortly after the new law was approved, suspected Russian agents killed former agent, Alexander Litvinenko, with a lethal dose of radioactive material.Since Litvinenko's murder in 2006, hits against Russia's former and current enemies have taken place at a steady clip - and show no sign of slowing. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/megyn-kelly-details-sexually-harassed-roger-ailes-fox-news-2017-11">Megyn Kelly details how she was allegedly sexually harassed by Roger Ailes, then advised to 'just steer clear of him'</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

An apparent assassination in Germany has all the hallmarks of the Kremlin - and Russia doesn't seem to care

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">APImages of Robert Levinson in captivity that his family said they received some time in 2011.</div></div></div>On January 16, the US <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-prisoner-swap-with-iran-nuclear-deal-2016-1">secured the release of five American citizens</a> who were, in the words of President Barack Obama, "<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/29/john-kerry-release-us-marine-vet-iran">unjustly detained</a>" in Iran.Their freedom came at a steep price: The US pardoned or dropped charges against seven Iranian citizens accused of violating US sanctions against the country, effectively swapping criminals for hostages.The US dropped all charges against 14 additional regime-linked figures, including the CEO of Mahan Air, a state-owned airline <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/this-iranian-airline-is-one-of-the-assad-regimes-lifelines-2015-10">accused of ferrying arms and fighters to the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria</a>. An Iranian general has also claimed that the US <a href="http://freebeacon.com/uncategorized/iran-u-s-bought-freedom-citizens-1-7-billion-cash-release/">made a $1.7 billion direct payment to the Iranian government</a> on debts stemming from the 1979 break in diplomatic relations as a condition for the prisoners' freedom.Even this wasn't enough to secure the release of two other Americans still held in Iran: Siamak Namazi, an oil executive and longtime proponent of closer relations between the US and Iran who was <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/10/iran-us-siamak-namazi/413305/">arrested in Tehran in October</a>, and Robert Levinson, a security consultant, former FBI agent, and CIA contractor who disappeared on the island of Kish, in the Persian Gulf, on March 9, 2007.In 2013, Levinson became the longest-held hostage in American history, passing Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson, who was held by Lebanese Hezbollah during the 1980s.Levinson's situation is thorny - for both countries. Levinson - a longtime veteran of the FBI's money laundering division and specialist on Russian organized crime - was doing work for the agency that fell outside the scope of the analytics division that had him under contract, as a 2013 <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/14/world/middleeast/a-disappearing-american-spy-and-the-cia.html?_r=0">New York Times report uncovered</a>. The CIA's Illicit Finance Group was using Levinson for freelance source recruitment and information gathering.The Times reported that Levinson informed his CIA bosses that he intended on going to Kish. At the time, Levinson was in Dubai investigating cigarette smuggling in the Persian Gulf region on behalf of a private client. And although CIA investigators never firmly established that Levinson was traveling on agency business, the episode cost three CIA officials their jobs, according to the Times.The failure to free Levinson under the January 16 deal owes in part to the Iranian government's claims that he isn't in their custody. That might technically be true. But the best public explanation of what happened to him suggests the Iranian government was responsible for his capture. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image">Google MapsLocation of Kish, the Iranian island where Levinson disappeared. Foreigners can enter Kish without a visa, and the island is popular with tourists.</div></div></div>In December of 2013, shortly after the Associated Press and The New York Times published the details of Levinson's CIA affiliation, Time Magazine published an interview with Dawud Salahuddin, the person Levinson planned on meeting in Kish. Salahuddin was born in New York and converted to Islam as a young adult. He fled the US in 1980 after assassinating Ali Akbar Tabatabaei, an Iranian dissident and a former diplomat under the deposed Shah on Iran, in Potomac, Maryland.Salahuddin is an almost unique figure in the Middle East: A fluent English speaker who has killed on behalf of the Iranian regime and has a deep knowledge of Iran's government and society - as well as a certain exhaustion towards a country where he's been stuck for the past 36 years. A former employee of Iran's state-owned Press TV, he is both well-connected and somewhat free to speak and travel within Iran. (Salahuddin also had one of the leading roles in "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1NaHFB08I0">Kandahar</a>," Mohsen Makhmalbaf's acclaimed 2001 film about a woman's search for her sister in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan).Levinson must have realized that Salahuddin made an ideal intelligence source. But due to Salahuddin's high profile, American citizenship and links to the regime, he was an asset who ran the risk of attracting the wrong kind of attention. And as The New York Times report noted, Levinson had no experience working in Iran and little knowledge of the country.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Kai Pfaffenbach/ReutersJason Rezaian (2R), one of the U.S. citizens recently released from detention in Iran, walks to meet media together with his wife Yeganeh Salehi (2L), mother Mary Rezaian (R) and brother Ali Rezaian (L) outside the Emergency Room of the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in the southwestern town of Landstuhl, Germany, on January 20, 2016.</div></div></div><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/14/world/middleeast/a-disappearing-american-spy-and-the-cia.html?_r=0">According to the Times</a>, Levinson was put in touch with Salahuddin through Ira Silverman, a retired NBC News producer who knew Levinson during his FBI days, and had <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2002/08/05/an-american-terrorist">profiled Salahuddin for The New Yorker in 2002</a>. <a href="http://world.time.com/2013/12/16/american-born-assassin-in-iran-robert-levinson-never-said-he-was-working-for-the-cia/">Salahuddin told Time</a> he agreed to meet Levinson after speaking with him on the phone three times. They met at Kish's Maryam Hotel, "where Levinson had booked them into the same room - a fatal error, Salahuddin came to realize." According to Time, "The presence of two Americans drew the attention of the Interior Ministry, whose officials routinely check hotel registrations. Both men were detained by ministry officials; Salahuddin spent the night in jail, and never saw Levinson again."In the Time interview, Salahuddin denied he knew Levinson was attempting to recruit him as a CIA source. He also pushed back against the insinuation that Iranian intelligence services had used him as bait for Levinson."The notion that it was some kind of brilliant move on the part of Iranian intelligence is bull---t," Salahuddin told Time. "It was dumb luck. I've been around these guys long enough to know when they're on to something and when they get lucky. And those guys were lucky." In context, Salahuddin's "those guys" refers to security officials connected to Iran's Interior Ministry.Salahuddin has plenty of reason not to be entirely truthful about his meeting with Levinson. As Salahuddin told Time, "over the years I have lost a lot of respect for the Iranian system ... It relies on blunt force. Iranians are afraid of their government. The basis of their rule is not love and respect for their rulers, it's fear." He met with Levinson's family in Iran in 2007 and might have been looking for a way out of the country - an objective that would become a lot more complicated if it ever turned out he knowingly lured a US intelligence contractor into a state-sponsored kidnapping.Regardless of his motives, Salahuddin told Time that he was kept in Interior Ministry custody the night he met Levinson. It's reasonable to assume the Iranian state held Levinson as well, at least at the outset of his captivity.What exactly happened to Levinson after that? As late as 2012, then-Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made what experts interpreted as a "<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mahmoud-ahmadinejad-drops-clue-about-robert-levinson-ex-fbi-agent-who-vanished-5-years-ago-in-iran/">tacit admission</a>" that Levinson was in Iranian state custody. The fact that the Iranian government claims it can no longer account for Levinson's whereabouts suggests that he's either considered too important of a prisoner to release even as a gesture of cooperating or goodwill, or that he was transferred at some point to a paramilitary group with ties to the Iranian regime.The latter possibility seems the more likely of the two. Shortly after the swap, high-ranking US Middle East diplomat Brett McGurk told PBS that <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/why-was-robert-levinson-not-included-in-iran-prisoner-swap/">the US suspects Levinson is no longer being held in Iran</a>.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Thomson ReutersIran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei departs after casting his ballot in the parliamentary election in Tehran</div></div></div>Levinson's disappearance highlights an uncomfortable reality about the nature of the Iranian regime.The Iranian government is highly factionalized, consisting of a national security and intelligence elite that often acts independently of the country's political leadership.The relationship between the regime's various centers of power is never entirely clear, and this uncertainty gives the regime's most dangerous elements an alarming degree of freedom. It's not obvious how much control Iran's current president, Hassan Rouhani, has over Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite special forces unit, <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/30/the-shadow-commander">the Qods Force</a>. However, it's clear Suleimani has broad ability to aid and coordinate Shiite militia groups throughout Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria.Iran's boosting of militants and terrorist groups is enabled partly through the regime's compartmentalization. Iran doesn't just have external proxy groups that act as an extension of the regime's policy, or at least the preferred policies of certain regime elements. There are also government-supported paramilitaries acting within the country as well - entities like the <a href="http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/basij-resistance-force">Basij militia</a>.The dangers of the regime's closeness to militia groups was on display when <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-kidnapping-idUSKCN0UX2HY">Iran-linked militants in Baghdad kidnapped three American contractors</a> earlier this month.America's recent nuclear deal with Iran might have built unprecedented degrees of trust and confidence between the countries, reframing and de-escalating their relationship for decades to come. But as Levinson's ordeal and the kidnapping in Baghdad each demonstrate, the thaw hasn't changed the composition of the Iranian regime, or dissuaded it from stopping some of its most provocative behavior. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/footage-el-chapo-drugs-mexico-arrest-joaquin-guzman-2016-1">Here's footage of El Chapo being escorted on a plane after being recaptured</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="c3YXgyMDE6KzoTU956Eep-1l6YJOWdGZ" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

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