#How to Get European PR from Dubai

[canserves]

How to Get European PR from Dubai

Securing European Permanent Residency (PR) offers numerous benefits, including the freedom to live, work, and travel across the European Union (EU). For residents of Dubai considering this life-changing step, understanding the process and requirements is essential. This comprehensive guide aims to provide all the necessary information to navigate the path to European PR successfully.

Understanding How to Get European PR from Dubai

How to Get European PR from Dubai grants non-EU nationals the right to reside in a European country indefinitely. Unlike citizenship, PR does not grant the right to vote in national elections, but it does offer many of the same rights as citizens, such as access to social services and the ability to work without additional permits. The advantages of European PR include stability, enhanced travel freedom, and access to high-quality healthcare and education systems.

Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria for European PR vary by country but generally include:

A valid long-term visa or residence permit

Proof of stable and sufficient income

Adequate housing

Health insurance

A clean criminal record

Specific requirements can differ, so it's essential to check the criteria for the country you're interested in.

Initial Steps to Take from Dubai

Research European Countries for PR: Start by researching which European countries offer PR programs and their specific requirements.

Consult with Immigration Experts: Seek advice from immigration consultants to understand the best pathways and options.

Set Realistic Goals and Timelines: Establish a clear plan with achievable milestones.

Choosing the Right Country

Popular European destinations for PR include Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Greece. When choosing a country, consider factors such as:

Quality of life

Economic opportunities

Language and cultural fit

PR program requirements and benefits

Documentation and Paperwork

Essential documents typically required include:

Valid passport

Proof of income or financial stability

Health insurance coverage

Housing documentation

Background checks

Country-specific requirements may include additional documents, so it's crucial to organize and submit everything correctly.

Application Process

Step-by-Step Application Procedure: Follow the official guidelines provided by the immigration authority of the chosen country.

Common Application Mistakes to Avoid: Ensure all forms are filled out correctly and all required documents are included.

Timeline and Waiting Period: Be prepared for the processing time, which can vary from a few months to over a year.

Costs Involved

The costs associated with obtaining European PR can include:

Application fees

Legal fees for immigration consultants

Travel expenses

Miscellaneous costs (translations, notarizations, etc.)

Proper financial planning is essential to cover these expenses.

Employment-Based PR Options

Dubai residents can explore job opportunities in Europe, focusing on in-demand industries such as IT, engineering, and healthcare. Transitioning from a work visa to PR often involves meeting specific employment criteria and residency duration.

Investment-Based PR Options

Investment programs, such as Portugal’s Golden Visa or Greece’s investment visa, allow individuals to obtain PR through financial investments in real estate, business, or government bonds. While these programs offer a faster route to PR, they also come with risks and substantial financial requirements.

Family Reunification

Bringing family members along is possible through family reunification programs, which generally require proof of sufficient income and accommodation. PR holders' family members enjoy similar rights, including access to education and healthcare.

Study-Based PR Options

Studying in Europe can be a pathway to PR. Countries like Germany and the Netherlands offer student visa holders the chance to transition to PR after completing their studies and securing employment. Top universities and programs enhance this pathway's attractiveness.

Lifestyle and Cultural Adjustment

Adapting to European lifestyle and culture involves learning the local language, understanding social norms, and integrating into the community. Tips for smooth cultural adjustment include participating in local events and making an effort to meet new people.

Living Costs in Europe

Living costs vary widely across Europe. Research and compare the cost of living in different countries, considering housing, food, transportation, and other daily expenses. Budgeting effectively ensures a smooth transition to life in Europe.

Healthcare System

European healthcare systems are known for their quality and accessibility. PR holders have access to public healthcare services, but private health insurance may be required initially. Understanding the healthcare system in your chosen country is crucial for your well-being.

Education System

PR holders can access both public and private education options. Public education is generally free or low-cost, while private institutions offer alternative choices. Benefits extend to the children of PR holders, ensuring quality education.

Legal Rights and Responsibilities

PR holders enjoy many rights, such as the ability to work, access social services, and travel within the EU. However, they also have legal responsibilities, including tax obligations and compliance with local laws. PR can also be a step towards citizenship, offering additional benefits.

Case Studies and Personal Stories

Hearing from those who have successfully transitioned from Dubai to European PR can provide inspiration and practical insights. Success stories highlight the challenges faced and the strategies used to overcome them, offering valuable lessons for aspiring PR applicants.

Expert Insights

Immigration experts can offer invaluable advice on navigating the complex PR process. Legal and financial consultants provide perspectives on the best pathways, while personal advisors help with planning and preparation.

FAQs About How to Get European PR from Dubai

Q: How long does the PR application process take? 

A: The timeline varies by country and individual circumstances, ranging from several months to over a year.

Q: Can I work in any EU country with PR? 

A: PR generally allows you to work in the country that granted you PR, but you may need additional permits to work in other EU countries.

Q: What are the main financial requirements? 

A: Requirements include proof of stable income, sufficient savings, or investment in the host country.

Q: Is language proficiency mandatory? 

A: Some countries require proficiency in the local language, while others do not.

Q: Can my family join me? 

A: Yes, through family reunification programs, family members can join you, provided you meet certain criteria.

Conclusion

Securing How to Get European PR from Dubai is a multifaceted process that requires careful planning, research, and adherence to specific requirements. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can navigate the complexities and embark on a new chapter of life in Europe with confidence.

[pogueman]

Look up! A dozen 'air taxi' flying cars are readying for takeoff

Well, it may have been 56 years since “The Jetsons” was first on TV, but flying cars are finally about to become real.

The last few months have been filled with news of companies that unveiled, demonstrated, or released videos of their “air taxis,” as they’re often called. They’re basically giant-sized versions of drones — giant enough to carry a person, or two, or five.

Why now? Because all the necessary ingredients have aligned: Batteries with high enough energy density to carry these copters into the air; composite materials like carbon fiber light enough to work; avionics (aircraft software and electronics, developed for regular drones) cheap and reliable enough to adapt; and collision-avoidance systems advanced enough to keep these things from crashing.

The beauty of these personal copters is that since they’re all electric, they’re really quiet. They could fly at low altitude without becoming a nuisance to people on the ground. And, of course, they’re pollution-free: zero emissions.

All of these models can be autonomous. You plug in your destination, and the thing flies you there. Some have a joystick so that you can seize control of it if you want, and most can also be remote controlled.

These air taxis are built with redundancies of the major elements, so even if something goes wrong, you won’t drop out of the air. Many have low-altitude parachutes, too.

Now, don’t get all excited. You can’t buy a passenger drone yet — that moment will probably come in 2020 at the earliest, and they’ll cost hundreds of thousands apiece. Even then, nothing will happen in the U.S. until the Federal Aviation Administration comes up with rules to govern how these things use the airspace.

Oh, and by the way: Even with all the advances in batteries and materials, these things are still super limited in flight time. You’re lucky to get 20 minutes in the air.

But the trend is unmistakable: A lot of companies have working prototypes that are taking real people on real flights.

Who’s taking off first?

Here are some of the flying machines that have surfaced recently:

eHang 184

This Chinese drone maker has been working on the eHang air taxi for four years, and it’s fairly far along. Since the capsule holds only one person, it’s small — about the size of a car. The prototype has made over 1,000 tests in China, sometimes in high winds and at even at night.

Here are the specs:

10-mile range

80 mph top speed

Partnered with the Dubai government, who wants to develop air taxis to service its cities

Lands automatically in case of a malfunction

A two-passenger model is on the drawing board.

Volocopter

One of the highlights of CES 2018 was watching this gigantic, 18-rotor craft land on the stage during Intel’s keynote presentation. (Also at CES: The Volocopter’s first passenger was Intel’s CEO, Brian Krzanich.)

The details:

Designed and built in Germany, where it has approval to fly

Autonomous, joystick-operated, or remote controlled

Carries two passengers

18 rotors, parachute

70mph cruising, 17-mile range

Conducting test flights in Dubai

Estimated price $300,000

Passenger Drone

Weirdly enough, this California passenger-drone company is called Passenger Drone, and so is its product — the Passenger Drone. It carried its first passenger in November.

16 rotors on 8 spindles

Autonomous, joystick-operated, or remote controlled

Carries two passengers

Top speed: 45 mph

25 minutes per charge

20-minute flight time

Joby

This copter is the brainchild of JoeBen Bevirt, who made his fortune from selling — I kid you not —flexible-arm GorillaPod camera tripods. Now, with the help of $100 million in investments from Toyota, JetBlue Technology Ventures, and Intel, it’s preparing a sleek VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) copter that can carry four passengers and a pilot for 150 miles. (Full disclosure: My wife does PR work for JetBlue Tech Ventures.)

A couple of weeks ago, Joby invited a pair of Bloomberg reporters to witness an unmanned flight. They weren’t allowed to take pictures or even describe the thing, which is a bummer. But they watched it fly, remote controlled, for a 15-minute flight. “Bevirt says thousands of these sky cabs will one day shuttle people around cities, soaring above the conventional traffic below,” goes the article.

Vahana

This prototype, developed by European plane maker AirBus, has propellers that point upward for takeoff, like a helicopter’s, and then rotate forward, like a plane’s. The company flew it, unmanned, for the first time last month.

Details are sketchy — they don’t even have a website (only a blog) — but here’s what we know:

Single-passenger

“Productzable prototype” in 2020

Parachute

Illium

Unlike most air taxis, which are propeller planes, this one is an electric jet with a 180-mile range.

Here’s the video of its maiden (unmanned) flight:

The bullet points:

Holds two people

180-mile range

275 mph

Vertical take-off and landing

First manned flight planned for 2019; on-demand flights by 2025

Based in Germany

And the rest

Just about any deep-pocketed company who’s anyone is diving in. For example:

Uber Elevate, its self-driving air taxis, are nothing more than a white paper and a killer CGI video at this point. But clearly, they’re all in on the concept; they expect to launch the air-taxi service within a decade.

Boeing bought Aurora Flight Services, maker of VTOL planes, in hopes of exploring the air-taxi concept.

Larry Page, CEO of Alphabet, has spent $100 million to fund two electric-craft companies. There’s Zee.Aero, which has prototypes for two VTOL electric passenger planes, and Kitty Hawk, which is making a no-license-required personal hovercraft for use over water.

Zunum Aero is working on electric versions of traditional passenger jets (700-mile range).

The Zunum Aero will be an all-electric jet.

We know this much about technology and disruptive change: Everything takes longer than we think, everything has unintended consequences, and everything’s subject to government regulation.

But with this much money and so many companies all chasing this dream, it seems likely that air taxis really will take off — at some point.

David Pogue, tech columnist for Yahoo Finance, welcomes non-toxic comments in the Comments below. On the Web, he’s davidpogue.com. On Twitter, he’s @pogue. On email, he’s poguester@yahoo.com. You can sign up to get his stuff by email, here.  

[sekerenews]

Cannes Lions: The Complete List of 2019 Grand Prix Award Winners

This year’s Cannes Lions Festival recently rounded up and many awards were given out. This year a total of 26 Grand Prix awards were given throughout the weeklong festival. On this post, we would share the complete list of 2019 Grand Prix Award winners.

2019 Grand Prix Award Winners

Titanium, Direct and Mobile Grand Prix: Burger King’s Whopper Detour

The 2019 Grand Prix Award winner for Titanium, Direct and Mobile went to FCB New York’s sassy update of The Burger King app. The update allowed users to get a 1 cent coupon for a Whopper when in proximity to a McDonalds. Film and Film Craft Grand Prix: The New York Times

Droga5’s series of five harrowing videos for The New York Times was among the 2019 Grand Prix Award winners. They won the Grand Prix for film and film craft. The five videos highlighted the importance of investigative, well-researched reporting. Outdoor and Inaugural Entertainment for Sport Grand Prix: Wieden + Kennedy’s Dream Crazy for Nike

Not surprisingly Wieden +Kennedy’s ad for Nike was among 2019 Grand Prix Award winners. The highly controversial ad won the outdoor and inaugural entertainment for sport Grand Prix Award. Social & Influencer Grand Prix: Wendy’s Keeping Fortnite Fresh

This campaign was created by VMLY&R, it rode on the popularity of video game Fortnite. It embedded Wendy’s into the gameplay to spread a message about the evils of frozen beef. Media Grand Prix: AKQA São Paulo for Nike Air Max

AKQA São Paulo created the campaign for Nike Air Max. They commissioned local graffiti artists to add Nike Air Max sneakers to the feet of characters in their existing artworks around the city. Customers were encouraged to visit the artwork locations to buy the IRL trainers using their geolocation. PR Grand Prix: The Tampon Book

This campaign was created by Scholz & Friends, they protested the 19% luxury tax on feminine hygiene products in Germany. They did this by publishing a book (which are taxed at just 7%) with 15 tampons packed into it. Creative Data Grand Prix: Black & Abroad’s Go Back to Africa

This campaign was created by FCB/Six Toronto and they decided to reframe the conversation around race. They did this by flipping the expression ‘go back to Africa’ on its head. They posted a series of stunning photos of the continent with the hashtag #GoBackToAfrica. Creative Strategy Grand Prix: Volvo’s The E.V.A. Initiative

This campaign from Sweden-based Forsman & Bodenfors was created to raise awareness about gender bias in road safety. It did this by shining a light on the fact that women are more likely to die in an accident because crash test dummies are male. Entertainment Lions for Music Grand Prix: This is America by Childish Gambino

Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America’ viral political video was about 2019 Grand Prix Award winners. The video which was directed by Hiro Murai won the entertainment lions for music. Entertainment Lions for Music Grand Prix: Bluesman by Baco Exu do Blues

Baco Exu do Blues released a short film for his concept album. The short video titled Bluesman is a powerful exploration of racism and black identity. Entertainment Grand Prix: Johnson & Johnson AIDS Documentary

The documentary which was directed by Dan Kraussv tells the story of a group of nurses in San Francisco. These nurses refused to stigmatize AIDS patients from the beginning of the epidemic (this was not common at the time)  Industry Craft Grand Prix: Nike Just Do It HQ at the Church

Nike in partnership with Momentum Worldwide transformed a vacant church in Chicago into a pop-up basketball court. The basketball court gave the local youth a safe space to play and train off the streets. Digital Craft Grand Prix: Carlings

It was created with creative agency Virtue Copenhagen, they took on fast fashion with its ‘adDress the Future’. The campaign (address the Future) is an all-digital clothing collection that can be virtually ‘tried on’. Innovation Grand Prix: See Sound

Area 23 was among the 2019 Grand Prix Award winners for a household device for the hearing impaired that alerts them of potentially dangerous sounds. For example, a fire alarm or a shattering glass. Radio and Audio Grand Prix: Westworld: The Maze by HBO

The campaign was created by 360i, it was created to promote the second season of the HBO series. The campaign allows fans to enter Westworld from the comfort of their sofa, simply by saying “Alexa, Open Westworld”. Design Grand Prix: Google’s Creatability

Google’s creatability was among 2019 Grand Prix Award winners. The creative suite how creative tools like drawing can be made friendly for people with disabilities. They used an open source programme where the community is encouraged to participate in their development. Print & Publishing Grand Prix: BBDO’s Blank Newspaper

This campaign was created by BBDO Dubai for Lebanese newspaper An-Hanar. The blank newspaper was used to send a message to the government about failing to form a government. Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix: Carrefour’s Black Supermarket

The campaign was created to put pressure on the European Union to change its regulations on organic farming. It was created by creative agency Marcel. E-commerce Grand Prix: Doconomy, Do Black

Swedish fintech company Doconomy in partnership with Mastercard created an innovative payment solution which limits users’ carbon footprints. Brand Experience & Activation Grand Prix: Microsoft Xbox Adaptive Controller

This was handled by McCann New York, they won the award for its promotion of Xbox’s new controller. Health and Wellness Grand Prix: Ikea’s ThisAbles

The campaign showed how some of IKEAs popular products have been made to be more accessible with a series of disability-friendly add ons. Disease Awareness Grand Prix: GSK’s Breath of Life

GSK’s Breath of Life app was among the 2019 Grand Prix Award winners. McCann Shanghai created an app for the brand which lives within WeChatt. It allowed people to test for the often mistakenly diagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Additional Awards:

Sustainable Development Goals: The Lion’s Share for Mars Australia

The initiative was launched in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme and fronted by David Attenborough. It asked advertisers to contribute a portion of their media spend to wildlife conservation and animal welfare projects. Glass – The Lion for Change: The Last Ever Issue

Creative agency VMLY&R and Polish newspaper Gazeta.pl teamed up to buy Poland’s longest running and most controversial adult magazine. They then turned its final issue into a powerful platform to discuss why women shouldn’t be objectified. Glass – The Lion For Change: Viva La Vulva by AMV B

The ad featured lip-syncing vulvas in the form of conch shells, fortune cookies and coin purses. Read the full article

[phooll123]

New top story from Time: Prisoners for Peace: Trump Administration Mulls Releasing Taliban Drug Kingpin in Push for Afghan Peace Talks

In 2005, Taliban financier and Afghan drug lord Haji Bashir Noorzai flew from Dubai to New York City to strike a deal with American officials seeking peace with the Taliban. Or so he thought. It was a trap. DEA officials met him, and arrested him for his global heroin trafficking operations that had been funding the Taliban’s war machine for years. He was tried in the Southern District of New York and sentenced to life in U.S. federal prison.

That was then. Now, the Trump Administration is considering letting Noorzai out. Trying to make good on its Feb. 29 peace deal with the Taliban, the Administration is entertaining the militant group’s request to release Noorzai — and every last Taliban detainee in Guantanamo Bay — in order to get the former rulers of Afghanistan to sit down with the country’s current ruling elite for talks. When the Taliban’s co-founder Mullah Akhund Baradar asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for the prisoners’ release at the end of July, U.S. envoy to Afghanistan Amb. Zalmay Khalilzad quietly recommended setting Noorzai free, a senior administration official and a senior western official say, though it would mean putting one of the world’s top drug kingpins back on the street.

The request is of a piece with the U.S. envoy’s successful push to get the Afghan government to release a final tranche of 400 Taliban prisoners from detention, fulfilling one of the Taliban’s conditions in the U.S.-Taliban agreement, current and former U.S., Afghan and western officials say. All of the officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the confidential discussions.

The Afghan government has already released 4,600 of the 5,000 detainees that were part of the deal. President Ashraf Ghani had balked at setting the remaining group free, some of whom carried out deadly attacks on U.S. and NATO troops, Afghan forces and Afghan civilians. After Khalilzad’s prodding, Ghani finally agreed to their release after securing approval from Afghan tribal leaders on Aug. 9.

The tandem moves demonstrate the Trump Administration’s willingness to unleash potentially dangerous Taliban actors back into the country in order to get the next round of peace talks started and, in turn, deliver enough of a reduction in violence to justify the drawdown to between 4,000 and 5,000 U.S. troops that President Donald Trump announced in a recent AXIOS interview. It would be the smallest contingent of U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan since the U.S. invasion following 9/11, and if Trump can make it happen before Nov. 3, potentially popular among voters who want American soldiers out of long, messy wars. Trump agreed to a conditional withdrawal all U.S. troops by May 2021 in the February deal.

Many of the prisoners that Ghani has agreed to release are convicted murderers, and some have ties to al-Qaeda, the group the U.S. went to war to eliminate, current and former Afghan officials tell TIME. Putting Noorzai back in action as well would add one more skilled player to the global drug trade, with Afghanistan already the world’s largest producer of heroin, the proceeds of which western officials say will end up funding the Taliban. “They are trying to go back to business as usual,” says Gretchen Peters, who studied the Afghan drug trade, and now runs the private intelligence organization CINTOC that tracks hidden criminal networks. “Haji Bashir Noorzai was the original financier and protector of the Taliban,” skilled in exporting heroin and importing weapons, she says.

For U.S. allies, the Afghan prisoner release is the latest in a string of gut-punches and foreign policy surprises. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters that he’d asked Trump to stop the release of an Afghan soldier convicted of an insider attack that killed three Australian soldiers. Those men and other NATO troops were only in the country because, after 9/11, the U.S. invoked NATO’s Article 5, a clause that requires other members to come to its aid.

Now NATO members fear Trump will announce an early complete drawdown that could leave their nations vulnerable, two senior European officials say, speaking anonymously to discuss their frustrations with what they call a once-reliable ally. “We went to war for them, and we can’t stay in the country without them,” says one of the officials, adding that Europeans are worried that they will bear the brunt of future attacks if Afghanistan once again becomes a safe haven for terrorists as U.S. troops depart.

For Ghani’s government, the push to release the prisoners has been one more in a series of what Afghan officials describe as bullying demands by the Trump Administration, which multiple Afghan officials say is driven by Khalilzad’s personal ambition to burnish his reputation and legacy by delivering on Trump’s pledge to “bring our troops home” — or at least to bring the numbers lower than the 8,600 troops left there by the Obama Administration when Trump took office.

Like the European officials, many Afghan officials fear Trump could suddenly withdraw U.S. troops in the coming months, leaving them at the mercy of the Taliban, or simply follow through with the Feb. 29 deal’s requirement to withdraw fully by May 2021, whatever the status of intra-Afghan negotiations. They are putting their hopes in a win by former Vice President Joe Biden, who they believe would insist on keeping a small U.S. counterterrorism force in the country. Ghani has been slow-rolling each step of the process as the U.S. election nears, current and former Afghan and western officials say.

With the Noorzai and Guantanamo prisoner request, the Taliban also seems to be dragging its feet, or trying to squeeze the last possible wins out of a Trump Administration that might be gone by January. “The U.S. would have to go through some serious contortions now to make this happen,” a former senior U.S. defense official says, speaking anonymously because he still works in the region. But he says adding one man back to the drug scene isn’t going to have that much impact on a country already leading in global heroin production. “It’s a power play on the Taliban’s part,” he says. “They’re just trying to make it as hard as possible to get to the table.”

The Taliban might regret their move if Biden wins, the official adds. “The Taliban should know Biden believed the right approach was ‘counterterrorism plus’ back in 2009. I don’t think that has changed.” If the Taliban doesn’t go through with negotiations under the current deal, the official says, “one possible outcome is a long-term but small U.S. counterterrorism presence,” that stays a decade or more.

Rush to the Exits

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said the U.S. military is prepared to drawdown to below 5,000 troops, per Trump’s interview. Two senior Afghan officials tell TIME that both the commander of the U.S. Forces in Afghanistan Scott Miller and the CIA assured their government that 4,500 U.S. troops would be sufficient to keep hunting ISIS and al-Qaeda, and supporting Afghan security forces to withstand Taliban and other militant assaults, with a combination of combat air support, drone and other surveillance, and U.S. special operators and intelligence officers.

The CIA declined to comment, but a senior U.S. military official confirms that Miller is “comfortable” that at the lower number, he can “deny terrorists safe haven and support Afghan military and national defense and security forces as they work to a political settlement.” Both the Afghan and U.S. military officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Trump Administration’s escalating pressure on the Afghan government to release all 5,000 Taliban prisoners shows just how badly the President wants to leave. The pledge to release them was in the U.S.-Taliban deal, but never agreed to or shared with Afghan officials until the deal was signed, Afghan officials say. That created some early friction, but by mid-March, Ghani reluctantly agreed to release “up to 5,000 prisoners” in batches of roughly 100, after Afghan officials reviewed each case, and 4,600 have been freed so far. The Taliban claims to have released 1,000 Afghan security personnel it held across the country in exchange.

The last 400 or so includes many who Afghan and NATO officials consider to be irreconcilable: not just death–row inmates, kidnappers and drug traffickers, but bomb-makers and a handful of al-Qaeda-allied foreign extremists that were most likely to return to the battlefield, according to current and former Afghan officials. The Afghan National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib said publicly that at least five of the prisoners were behind major terrorist attacks.

As months dragged on and the last group of prisoners stalled the next phase of peace talks, National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien spoke with Ghani in a July 17 phone call. Listening to Ghani’s concerns, O’Brien agreed he didn’t have to release them, three senior Afghan officials and one senior western official tell TIME. A senior Administration official confirmed the O’Brien-Ghani call took place, but declined to comment on the issue of Taliban prisoners.

But when Khalilzad visited Kabul later that month, after stopping first to meet the Taliban delegation in Doha, he explained to Ghani that the Taliban were still insisting on the release of the last group, otherwise the militants would “intensify violence,” one of the senior Afghan official says. If Ghani agreed to their release, however, Khalilzad said the Taliban had agreed they would immediately start the intra-Afghan dialogue in Doha, Qatar, that’s designed to end the fighting between the Taliban and the Afghan government, according to all three Afghan officials.

Pompeo reiterated Khalilzad’s request in a follow-up phone call to Ghani, two of the officials say. Soon after, the Afghan president convened a Loya Jirga of senior Afghan elders to vote on the matter, an opaque process that gave him political cover domestically, even as those elders complained they never saw a list of who they were voting to release. Ghani’s spokesman Sediq Sediqqi has since told Afghan media that there were no foreigners among the Taliban prisoners to be freed, but the government hasn’t released the list of names. Sediqqi did not respond to requests for comment.

One of the senior Afghan officials says prisoners will start to be released “in a couple of days,” but they will hold out on releasing all of them until the Taliban reports back on the whereabouts of roughly two dozen missing Afghan soldiers, mostly commandos — and/or sign a declaration for the families of the missing that the men aren’t in their custody, so the families get some peace.

That could mean further delays for talks that were tentatively slated to begin around mid-August.

A Taliban spokesman rejected the characterization of the last 400 detainees as dangerous to coalition forces, adding that there were no foreigners among them either. “This is what the spoilers of the peace agreement say and claim in order to create hurdles in the way of peaceful solution of the Afghan issue. They are political prisoners like other prisoners,” Suhail Shaheen tells TIME from Doha. “There was resistance against foreign occupation. Both sides were attacking each other every day but our losses are many times more than them because we were lacking advanced weapons. However, now we have an agreement.”

As for Noorzai, Shaheen confirmed that Mullah Baradar requested his release, as well as the Guantanamo prisoners.

A representative for Khalilzad declined to comment on whether he had recommended freeing the notorious drug dealer, who once promised the CIA after 9/11 that he’d help them track down Osama bin Laden, only to return to running his drug empire upon gaining his freedom. The State Department did not respond to request for comment on Noorzai or Pompeo’s conversations with Ghani.

A senior DEA agent involved in Noorzai’s capture was resigned to him being freed, pointing out that Khalilzad already secured the release of another Taliban drug kingpin, Haji Juma Khan, to help get the Taliban to the table in 2018. The agent called Noorzai “the single largest heroin trafficker in the world and one of the founding fathers of the Taliban shura in Afghanistan.”

“My concern is that if anyone thinks they are going to go back home and bag groceries…they’re not,” the former senior DEA official says. “They’re going to pick up where they left off with a vengeance — and it’s going to be directed at the United States of America.”

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[kassielord607794-blog]

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[fadingfartconnoisseur]

Bucharest is Fabulous and Fun

There are a number of countries where it’s recommended to arrive in the capital city and then get out as soon as possible.

The Philippines? Yeah, I’d get on board with that. I find Manila vile, but the rest of the country is lovely.

Nicaragua? Agreed. Managua has nothing to offer — you’re best off skipping town and heading to nearby Granada.

But what about Romania? Well, lots of travelers treat Bucharest, Romania’s capital, the same way, only passing through briefly before heading to the towns of Transylvania. But they really shouldn’t do that.

And this is where I raise my hand and admit that I’m guilty, too. Back in 2013, I found cheap flights from Istanbul to Skopje and, two weeks later, from Bucharest to Dubai, so I planned a big Macedonia-Kosovo-Bulgaria trip and only planned to arrive in Bucharest the night before my flight.

So what did I do on that first trip to Bucharest? I arrived off the train ride from hell, took a shower, got some pizza, slept in a dorm, and shared a taxi to the airport the next day. Not exactly hardcore tourism.

For years, I hated the fact that I counted Romania as a visited country but hadn’t done anything of value in Bucharest. But then I got a perfect opportunity to make up for that.

#ExperienceBucharest: A New Kind of Travel Influencer Campaign

Earlier this spring, my friend Monica told me about a new campaign taking place in May: #ExperienceBucharest. Several bloggers would be invited to a conference and event to show off the city.

Now, this was different than other blog trips. Most of the time, a PR agency rakes in the big bucks while the bloggers, the people who create the actual content, are undercompensated. In this circumstance, however, #ExperienceBucharest was put together by a team of volunteers who work in the travel industry in Bucharest.

This major campaign was put together by volunteers. They worked their asses off and made no money doing it — they just wanted to share Bucharest with the world and get more people to travel here.

They did it for love of their city.

When I heard that, I knew I wanted to be part of this campaign. And not only because it would give me a chance to visit some new Eastern European countries. I really enjoy trying to find the nicer places in less-appreciated cities like Colombo and Johannesburg.

So did this trip pay off? Did it ever.

Bucharest is an awesome city.

Bucharest is like Berlin. Alternative and gritty with epic nightlife.

Bucharest is like Paris. Grand and elegant and pulsating with style.

Bucharest is like Budapest. Weathered and proud and cultured.

And on top of that, Bucharest is a very affordable European city, it’s well-connected in terms of flights, the food is delicious, and the people are absolutely lovely.

I found the defining aspect of Bucharest to be its look — so many beautiful and elegant buildings, only they were interspersed with ugly communist architecture and covered in graffiti. At one point, I turned to my friend and said, “Bucharest feels like Paris if they neglected themselves.”

I don’t mean that as an insult — just an observation. I saw pictures of Bucharest from the late 19th century and it looked just like Paris. Maybe they didn’t prioritize their beauty; maybe it was simply bad luck and having to prioritize safety over beauty in times of upheaval.

But that look isn’t everything.

Bucharest has alleys that turn into elegant arcades.

Bucharest has traditional restaurants with stained glass.

Bucharest knows how to peekaboo.

Bucharest has murals all over the place.

Bucharest hides cheese in its tomato soup.

Bucharest is very gray.

But Bucharest can be gold, too.

Cafe Culture

Like elsewhere in Central Europe, Bucharest is all about the cafes. You go in the morning or afternoon for coffee, and by nightfall, people have switched to beer and wine.

One that I loved in particular is a little place called Artichoke Coffee Shop. It’s got plants perched on spiral staircases, water served in gin bottles, chunky chocolate chip cookies, and smooth flat whites that transport you straight to Australia. In other words, it’s Instagrammable as hell but with the delicious goods to back it up.

Greenery Everywhere

Bucharest is covered with parks — something that I didn’t expect in an Eastern European city. But Bucharest is actually one of the greenest cities in Europe.

I went to see Mogosoaia Palace on the outskirts of the city. It’s actually a pretty small palace, so don’t devote a whole day to it, but it’s a really nice place to stroll around and experience the greenery of the city.

May happened to be an excellent time to visit — I’ve never seen so many irises in bloom in my life!

Rooftop Bars

If you feel like drinking on a rooftop in Bucharest, you’re in luck: Pura Vida Sky Bar has excellent views in the heart of the Old Town. The cocktails are fabulous, too.

Yeah, you’ll have to walk up five flights of stairs, but trust me, it’s worth it.

The nightlife in Bucharest is pretty insane — Romanians like to party hard. Do yourself a favor and stay away from the bars catering to British stag dos and instead head up to Pura Vida for an Aperol spritz or some blue wine.

Want something crazier? Head to the Player Club to dance all night long with Romanians dressed to the nines.

Seeing Bucharest Through the Eyes of the Homeless

One activity in Bucharest that interested me the most was the Outcast Bucharest Tour from Urban Adventures, which is led by a guide who was once homeless in Bucharest.

Our guide Sergiu, dark and thin and in his late twenties, lived on the streets of Bucharest for years. He was an addict. He lost many loved ones to drugs. He did everything he could to survive. And eventually an NGO helped him climb out of homelessness and build a life for himself. Today he lives in an apartment and has a job.

A lot of poverty-focused tours, like slum tours and visits to impoverished villages, can venture into exploitative territory, but this one does everything the right way. It treats the homeless with dignity and respect, it’s not remotely voyeuristic, it creates jobs for the formerly homeless, and all net proceeds go to the Parada Foundation, a local NGO that gets children off the streets.

Sergiu’s story moved me deeply, and I’m so grateful that he’s getting his life together.

If you want to have an unforgettable experience in Bucharest, please go on this tour. You’ll never forget it.

The World’s Largest Collection of Irons

I love a few quirks in a city, and the best one I found in Bucharest was at the Museum of Romanian Records. They are home to the world’s largest collection of irons.

Yes. Irons.

I love crazy things like this — the weirder, the better. There are more irons there than you have ever seen in your life (well, I guess by being the world’s largest collection, that’s kind of obvious) — just when you think you’ve seen them all, they keep on going!

   Get your mind out of the gutter. Those torpedo-shaped irons are for shaping collars and hats.

The Loveliest Chill-Out Spot in Town

On my final night in Bucharest, we had a going-away party at Podstel/Ceainaria 5, a combination hostel, tea house, and community meeting space. I had the most wonderful time here, and if you’re visiting Bucharest, you need to drop by.

I spent my time getting to know the owners and not only are they awesome people, but they were so smart in creating a hostel that ticks all the boxes. Not only did they optimize the (beautiful and modern) hostel itself, it was also important to them to have community.

So they have donation-based group dinners once a week. They have board game nights. Local musicians perform. There are yoga classes and all kinds of workshops. If you’re looking to meet people while traveling in Bucharest, I can’t imagine a better place to come than here.

In an age where hostels have gone from social gathering spots to places where people sit with their faces in their phones, it’s nice that Podstel is trying to bring back the community part of backpacking.

I think Podstel was my favorite place I discovered in Bucharest. So if you want to stay at a hostel, I encourage you to stay there. If you’re not into hostels, at least drop by for some tea (they have dozens of varieties) and a chance to hang out in that comfy outdoor room. Tell the guys that I say hi!

The Takeaway

I had such a nice time in Bucharest — an even better time than I was expecting.

I also feel like I didn’t see a fraction of what the city had to offer. Several of my friends arrived earlier and stayed later and got to take in a lot more — racecar driving, architecture photo hunts, communism tours, dance parties, dinners where a whole lamb was roasted on a spit.

A lot of people skip Bucharest in favor of other Romanian destinations, but now that I’ve experienced it, I hope that more people get the chance to explore Bucharest. If the rumblings are true, perhaps some of us will be back for an #ExperienceRomania trip next!

Essential Info: In Bucharest I stayed at the Radisson Blu. I absolutely loved this hotel, its design its luxurious touches, and the business areas. It’s also in a central location near the Old Town. If you’re looking for something on the luxury end but still surprisingly affordable, this is a great choice. Rates from 89 EUR ($100 USD). Just know that they put a hold of 89 EUR per night on your card until you check out — that’s the most I’ve ever had held by a hotel and it gave me a brief heart attack when I saw nearly $500 withdrawn on my bank statement!

You can find more hotels in Bucharest here.

Rates at Podstel start at 12 EUR ($14) per night. Thanks to Podstel for letting me use their photos of their property in this post.

The Outcast Bucharest Tour from Urban Adventures costs $47.38 per person.

Don’t visit Bucharest without travel insurance. Whether you get appendicitis and need to be hospitalized, or your phone gets stolen, or an injury means you need to cancel all or part of your trip, travel insurance will help you out. I use and recommend World Nomads as travel insurance for trips to Romania.

Many thanks to the #ExperienceBucharest team for hosting me in Bucharest. They covered my flights to Bucharest, accommodation, tours, and most meals and drinks. All opinions, as always, are my own.

Have you been to Bucharest? What did you think?

via Travel Blogs http://ift.tt/2r1xMXe

[silkysonia-blog]

#MyDubai: The Rise of Highbrow PR Practices

BACKGROUND

The United Arab Emirates is comprised of seven emirates that were freed from British occupation in 1971. Royal tribal families maintained their ownership of power during British rule so the Sheiks were in a position to think about their country’s future with a clear head because no one questioned their right to rule. Resulting in this, the UAE reflects the innovative nature of the monarchy and its innate trust with its public. They are a beautiful example of combining the East and West mannerisms and traditional and modern politics. The official language is Arabic and English is secondary.

            Geographical characteristics include only desert and shoreline. Materially speaking, they are extremely limited in resources with only having oil. The Sheiks realize this and leveraged that opportunity to build up an economy of knowledge and hospitality instead of the traditional tangible based economy like the rest of the world. They are located right in the center of North Africa, Middle East, and Asia which makes them strategically the common center view and reach of all Arabs. This adds a layer of being the Arab face to their already unique niche. This caused the monarchy to value the function of PR in a way never embraced in the Arab world before and is therefore become a highly utilized sector to strategically position their international image and attract business.

POLITCAL ATTRACTORS

            Though they are a monarchy, they have a constitution that outlines the functions of each government sector, goals, and gives each seven sultans individual freedom to rule in their style. Interestingly, on their own they recently added an electoral college so that the public can now take political positions in the parliament. Technically, the government owns every sector in society, but it does not feel so suffocating because businesses have easy entry.

            Demographics of UAE are peculiar in that only 10% of the population is local Emirati’s. The 90% of expats are Indian, Pakistani, European, and more all of whom can never gain citizenship or attain any political rights. This is clearly a result of successful government PR in attracting international business in their knowledge-based economic structure. It’s remarkable considering the political turmoil unfairly projected towards all Muslims in the media these days. Something the Sheiks are determined to fix.

            Vision 2021 is the governments strategic plan to project themselves as “one of the best countries in the world by 2021.” They use PR to meet the objectives of achieving a sustainable socio-economy, maintaining a common destiny and balanced development, creating a knowledge-based economy, and ensure prosperity for locals.” PR has heavy value because they believe that a democratization of information to enhance transparency and accountability of the government is the key to a cohesive, highly educated, competitive knowledge economic, sustainable society, according to their UAEinteract government website. They nailed it because Dubai is considered a hospitality, media, technology, and tradeshow hub representing the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) and international business.

            The Freedom House denies them press freedom status as they have the most restrictive media laws in the region. However, they are trying to allow more freedom so international media outlets will want to move their headquarters into their media cities. The National Media Council “provides the appropriate regulatory framework, assisted by a consulative council of academics and representatives of media organisations” which technically allows free speech but it is highly regulated to maintain public order. Defamation of royalty, Islam, and social norm results in harsh punishments, which has ked to heavy self-censorship among journalist, editors, and so on. However, their media sector is relatively free politically, economically, and legally.

            Media Free Zones are media hubs that attract business with very pro-business policies. Example are Dubai Media City and Twofour54 Abu Dhabi. Companies are totally internationally owned and the only catch is that the UAE has to be the middleman between the business and customers. The provides the sphere for PR to make visible its vitality.    

  CULTURAL ISSUES

PR practitioners need to be acutely aware of the cultural assumptions to avoid deportation; family honor, sense of family is extended past nuclear unit, strong personal relationships, return hospitality, group stability, understand humans do no control events, and submission to Allah. It follows that they have high power distance, collectivistic, neutral masculine values, and high uncertainty avoidance. The high power distance means PR is used to reinforce power. High uncertainty avoidance means PR promotes stability. Being collectivistic means PR needs to appeal to social relationships. Their communication style is high context, indirect, expressive, and analogous. All according to Geert Hofstede.

Their business styles were studied by IORworld. Problem solving is based on intuition, vision, or insight instead of methodology. Source of motivation is honor and conformity. Praise is informal and personal. Expectations are on group harmony, subjective, social, and economic concerns. Negotiating looks more combative than it is because they are expressive. Business meetings last longer than time set, do not stay on agenda, and get interrupted. Meeting are information giving. Relationships, networks, and obligations are counted.   

PROFESSIONAL ISSUES

Historically, PR has been a major function for the “teachings of Islam as a way to disseminate a new way of thinking, behaving, and living peacefully with other when PR was perceived and conceived within the confines of Islam, democracy, and the respect of man and other people and nations no matter what their color, race, and religion” (Kirat 1). However, the past 30 years of PR followed the Press Agentry Model and that was a tough threshold to pass. Issues included executive management ignoring PR’s input, strategic use, understanding its tasks. Issues provided by the practitioners included lack of study, quality of manpower, and lack of resources (Kirat 4). That being said, UAE has gone beyond that and passed a threshold the U.S is in too.

Their PR is seen through a relationship-oriented and content-oriented lens and actively trying to go away from mass production style PR like the U.S mostly uses. Their key is strategic engagement instead of mass exposure for they “always hand-pick our media to make sure that we maximize impact of any media opportunity we work on. We look at the medium that we want to penetrate and tailor our stories accordingly” (Weber Shandwick). They pitch only to journalists that have their key target audience and research what they write and are interested in lately. It’s on PR’s shoulders to pitch the right story, not the journalist to decipher through a list of emails. Pitching the story is tailored according to the outlet used. Being that most of the audience is online; “this has helped us to be more creative in how we engage. We now look at creative campaigns that touch these people’s lives… we begun to advise our clients to stay way from sending out news releases and consider a focused approach…” (Weber Shandwick).     

The key to engagement is maintaining good relations with the media. They only have one news source, the government’s official news agency, so they is a lot of space for them to fill space with new ideas and messages to stay fresh. The relationship is based on learning about them and their business goals. From there they offer their own client’s input or angle based upon what that outlet or channel needs. Recovering from being spin-doctors, the focus is on “transparency about processes and delivering on promises in a timely manner” (Weber Shandwick). The media and business professionals value personable interactions and a physical presence. They understand the value of meeting in person because it shows respect by giving individual attention. This is reflected in the fact that they are the expo and tradeshow hub of the world (Dubai Expo, Global Village). Media outlets operate in Media Free Zones in each Emirate.      

Emirati’s and expats have almost 100% Internet penetration, with 56% having social media accounts. A significant amount even own multiple smart phones. Twitter is considered the most prominent. So much so, there was a study specifically dedicated to studying the Twitter use of local Emirati woman, as they are expected to become the new wave of leaders and are seen as the model Arab woman, according to the Strong’s Social Media Fashion among Digitally Fluent Young Arabic Women.

Case Study

            #MyDubai is a PR campaign studied by MEPRA, Middle East Public Relations Association. This campaign reflects their trend and demand of more locally generated content. Conducted by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, the Crowned Prince wanted to “increase the awareness of Dubai to global audiences and attract tourists and inward investment into the emirate”, says the article. The concept is “creating the world’s first autobiography of a city” and was launched on Instagram. The people of Dubai are to share their lives, culture, and soul of the city. After 12 hours 25,000 had the #MyDubai tag and in 6 months it hit 1 million. It now incorporates other social media like Twitter, FaceBook, and YouTube. Even international brands and businesses are using this to promote their business. It inspires communal activity, interests, and competitions to promote and celebrate its people. In celebration of success they even display a giant LED screen to showcase the most compelling images.

The Prince utilized his anointed centralized power to reinforce his economic objective using the advantage of the high social media penetration. (cp 75). Their technique utilized the social structure to attain local content, thought-leaders, and crowd-sourcing (cp 76). The used Instagram first because a high context society already understands the need for context and demands it to feel authentic. Social media allows them to behave naturally because the egalitarian nature of social media allows for non-linear thinking (cp77). The unlimited amount of hastags allows them to express many ideas and feelings regarding their post. It does not feel like “simultaneous bombardment and processing of a variety of stimuli” that “to the linear individual may appear random or chaotic” as the article insensitively puts (cp77). This campaign is the mascot for their emphasis of interpersonal communication having the highest value.