UAE and Seychelles Boost Parliamentary Cooperation

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  In a step toward deepening international collaboration, the UAE Parliamentary Friendship Committee recently held a pivotal meeting with Waven William, Chairperson of the International Affairs Committee of the National Assembly of Seychelles. The agenda: enhancing parliamentary cooperation and forging stronger bilateral relations between the two nations. The dialogue, marked by mutual respect and shared interests, focused on the importance of inter-parliamentary exchange in fostering diplomatic and developmental ties. Both sides emphasized the need for collaborative approaches to global challenges such as climate change, economic diversification, and sustainable development — issues that resonate deeply with both countries given their strategic geographic locations and shared ambitions. Waven William lauded the UAE’s rapid progress in governance and innovation and expressed interest in learning from the UAE’s successful models of economic and social development. The UAE representa...

Why a million Americans a year risk Mexico medical tourism

 

Americans

Four Americans were kidnapped by heavily armed men in Mexico on March 3, with two now confirmed dead and the remaining alive and back in the US hospitals for treatment. They were driving through the Mexican border town of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, in a white minivan with North Carolina licence plates.

While the investigation is still in the early stages, officials have confirmed that the victims were transferred to numerous locations between the kidnapping on Friday and their discovery this Tuesday. Investigators think an organised crime group is potentially behind the incident, a US law enforcement source told CBS.

One of the survivors was said to have been travelling to Mexico for a cosmetic surgery procedure to remove abdominal fat. Medical tourism isn't uncommon, especially among Americans living in the US border states. Tens of thousands of US citizens take on the risk every year and travel to the Mexican border towns for low-cost medical services.

Price and proximity have made Mexico one of the top medical tourism destinations for Americans who cannot afford healthcare in the US.

Medical shoppers familiar with the region have learned to take certain precautions, such as avoiding wandering around these border towns on foot and registering their automobile in Mexico, which enables them to use a Mexican licence plate after entering the country so they will be less of a target.

The kidnapping and subsequent killing of the Americans is "out of the norm", said Nestor Rodriguez, an immigration studies expert and professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. But this is a reminder that the border is not really safe, he further mentioned.

The US State Department has shared bits of advice for travellers on not visiting six Mexican states, including Tamaulipas, because of "crime and kidnapping". Matamoros in Tamaulipas is one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico as large areas of the state are controlled by drug cartels, who might even yield greater power than local law enforcement.

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