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The number of asylum seekers from Saudi Arabia has tripled, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The UN agency says there were more than 800 cases reported in 2017. There were less than 200 in 2012. A number of Saudi men and women have reportedly fled the kingdom due to fear of persecution or retaliation against them for political activism. The recent case of Saudi teenager Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun who was granted refuge in Canada has drawn international attention. Bessma Momani is a professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada and senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. She joins us on Skype from the city of Waterloo to discuss this.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has ordered concerned government entities to speed up the execution of projects related to Hatta's comprehensive development plan, that seeks to turn the city into a key touristic and investment hub that offers all requirements for decent life to its residents. During his visit to Hatta today, His Highness stressed the importance of giving priority to service, environmental and heritage-related projects, given its significance in preserving the national identity and heritage. Sheikh Mohammed was accompanied by H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Mohammed bin Rashid

The commander of Iran's air force, Brigadier Aziz Nasirzadeh, said that Iran will “eliminate Israel from the Earth” in a fiery statement to the Young Journalist Club, a website supervised by state television. This comes after Israel's military said on Monday it struck Iranian Quds targets inside Syria and warned Syrian forces not to attack Israeli territory or forces. The Israeli air strikes and ground-to-ground missiles killed at least 11 fighters including two Syrians, a Britain-based war monitor said.

Shakeel Ladak, Amrita Arora, Malaika Arora and Karisma Kapoor Inaaya Naumi Khemu and mother Soha Ali Khan Taimur Ali Khan Susanne Khan Sania Mirza Karisma Kapoor, Malaika and Amrita Arora Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal Ranveer Singh Janhvi Kapoor Mira Kapoor Taimur Ali Khan Katrina Kaif and sister Isabelle Kaif Malaika's son Arhaan Deepika Padukone at a book launch in Mumbai. Taimur Ali Khan visits Inaaya Akshay Kumar, Twinkle Khanna and Bobby Deol spotted at Soho house. Varun Dhawan, Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal Rohit Shetty and Katrina Kaif Jahnvi Kapoor Karan Johar Kareena Kapoor and Taimur (Instagram) Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra (Instagram) Esha Gupta poses for photographs during the launch

UAE authorities have denied social media rumours that a commercial plane in distress landed on the Fujairah Corniche and clarified that it was there for commercial purposes before being shipped to Bahrain. On Monday night, social media was abuzz with rumours about the wingless Boeing 747 after pictures and video were taken of the aircraft being transported by trucks along the corniche. According to the state-run WAM news agency, the Fujairah government has clarified that the out-of-service aircraft was there with the government's knowledge “for commercial purposes”. In the coming days, WAM added, the aircraft will be transported to Bahrain. Additionally, UAE officials have urged local residents

ISTANBUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Turkey is ready to take over security in Syria's Manbij, where four US citizens died in an Islamic State-claimed bombing last week, President Tayyip Erdogan told US President Donald Trump in a telephone call on Sunday, the Turkish presidency said. Erdogan told Trump that the suicide bombing in Manbij, a town in northeast Syria controlled by a militia allied to US-backed Kurdish forces, was a provocative act aimed at affecting Trump's decision last month to withdraw US troops from Syria. Trump confounded his own national security team with a surprise decision on Dec. 19 to withdraw all 2,000 US troops from Syria, declaring the Islamic State militant group had been