Latest news with #culturaldifferences
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
How a camel herder from Qatar who can't speak a word of English ended up living in London's smartest street - then tried to rape a woman in a private heart clinic where HE was being treated
Standing in the dock at Southwark Crown Court this week was Nasser Al-Gherainiq who was convicted of two counts of attempted rape which left his victim 'frozen with fear'. Her words. The appearance of this foreign national in court – a scene replicated up and down the country – has become frighteningly common, with foreign offenders now representing nearly one in eight (12 per cent) prisoners in our overcrowded jails. But surely few have a story quite like 27-year-old Al-Gherainiq who was, until his arrest at least, a camel herder from a conservative Bedouin tribe in the deserts of Qatar. According to his barrister, he had little contact with the outside world or any experience of modern or urban life before his arrival in the UK to receive treatment for a rare heart condition at a private health unit linked to the renowned Royal Brompton Hospital in south-west London. Al-Gherainiq, dressed in standard prison 'greys' (grey sweatshirt, grey trousers), was effectively from a different age, in other words. It was the reason why, when asked how he was going to plead, Al-Gherainiq, who spoke no English, answered in Arabic and an interpreter next to him then replied: 'Not guilty.' Profound cultural differences, the defence argued, meant he did not know how to interact with women. He was 'equivalent to an immature and inexperienced adolescent' who 'completely failed to understand' his victim's 'true feelings'. Put bluntly, they argued that he did not know the woman had not consented to sex when he pulled her into a toilet cubicle at the medical centre and assaulted her. The jury flatly rejected that version of events. He might have come from a remote corner of the earth, but the judge told Al-Gherainiq: 'You knew perfectly well what you were doing,' before jailing him for seven years. The case left a number of puzzling and troubling questions. How did he get here? Who paid for his treatment and the trip? Where did he stay when he came to London? The last of these is perhaps the key to unlocking this quite extraordinary saga. Al-Gherainiq, who spent more than a year on remand before going on trial, came to the country sometime in 2023, the first time he had ever left Qatar. He appeared before Westminster Magistrates' Court in August of that year following his arrest. His address was given as 79 Mount Street. Mount Street, currently perhaps the most glamorous address in London, is in the heart of Mayfair. It's home to Scott's restaurant as well as George, an ultra-exclusive private members' club, and Toteme, the chic Swedish fashion brand which has also opened a signature store there. It is also an area which is sometimes known as 'Little Doha' or 'Qataropolis' because of the number of multi-million-pound Qatari-owned properties in the highly exclusive enclave. Number 79 is a six-storey Victorian townhouse that was once the London residence of homeware tycoon David Meller, a former vice chairman of Watford Football Club. When he sold the mansion for more than £40million in 2015, it was among the most expensive domestic property deals in the capital at the time. The stamp duty payment alone was in excess of £4.7million. Hard to imagine then what connection an apparently lowly camel herder – and now convicted sex attacker – had with such a place. The connection, however, is revealed at the Land Registry where the current owners who purchased the property from the Mellers (for precisely £44.25million) are listed as the 'State of Qatar', effectively the Thani dynasty, the ruling family of the oil and gas rich Gulf state. Qatar is one of the few countries in the world that offers near free universal healthcare to all its citizens which includes sending them overseas if certain specialised services are unavailable at home. Among the foreign cities where Qatar has medical offices is London which is linked to the Hamad Medical Corporation back in the Middle East, Qatar's main not-for-profit health care provider. In 2023, 53,000 Qataris applied to receive treatment abroad. Al-Gherainiq was one of them. After a series of medical checks in his homeland, he was flown to London, a Qatari official with knowledge of the case revealed, and was initially given a daily allowance to cover his accommodation costs. His private housing arrangements fell through at the last minute, though, and the Qatari Embassy stepped in to help him. No 79 Mount Street, once a family home with a swimming pool in the basement, and now split up into separate rooms and apartments, is managed by the embassy and used for functions and events. On rare occasions, as in this instance, ordinary Qatari citizens can temporarily be given a room as 'emergency accommodation'. This is how a camel herder from the desert came to be living on Millionaire's Row. 'The Embassy of the State of Qatar in London is aware of a criminal case involving one of its citizens and his subsequent conviction,' the official said. 'The Embassy has had no contact with the individual since the time of his arrest and has not provided legal representation or support beyond standard consular assistance, in accordance with international consular norms.' Al-Gherainiq was evicted from Mount Street after the police contacted the embassy following his arrest. Locals say residents at the palatial property which occupies 10,000 square feet and is close to the private health unit in Wimpole Street where Al-Gherainiq was a patient, are not long-term, staying a maximum of a few months before moving on. They are often picked up by luxury cars such as Ferraris, Aston Martins and Lamborghinis. A team of security guards monitor comings and goings from the property next door, which the Qataris also own. Relations between the Qatari contingent and neighbours are often strained. 'They think they own the street,' said a builder carrying out work at a house on the opposite side of the road. They probably do, given that even a few years ago, a quarter of Mayfair's 279 acres and more than 4,300 residential properties, were reportedly owned by Qatari investors. The contrast between this world and the world Nasser Al-Gherainiq inhabited couldn't be more stark. He belonged to the Al Murrah tribe – the 'People of the Camel' – the largest and most powerful in Qatar, which has strong relations, including marital ties, with the ruling House of Thani. Qatar might combine Arab culture with Western luxuries epitomised by the bling, glamour and gleaming skyscrapers of the capital Doha, but it remains a deeply patriarchal society. Polygamy is legal, meaning a Muslim man is allowed up to four wives at once provided he treats them equally. Opaque male guardianship rules leave women without basic freedoms, such as travelling on their own with women needing permission to travel abroad from the male head of the household, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). And only 45 minutes from Doha and its surrounding suburbs is the desert. Many of the Al Murrah tribe, which is made up of various clans, have joined government sponsored resettlement programmes in urban areas. But a hardcore, like Al-Gherainiq, remain in the wilderness, claiming, among other things, historic nomadic rights. Many elders here still expect women to organise their lives around domestic chores, such as weaving, shearing sheep and crafting goat-hair tents and carpets for which they have become famous. Al-Gherainiq himself, the court heard, had almost no contact with women outside his family and his only really 'meaningful contact' with a female in the family was with his mother. 'Limited visits to Doha and a preference for a desert environment curtailed his exposure to urban and modern societal norms,' said Jane Bickerstaff, KC, defending. It might explain his unhealthy attitude to women but how could it possibly justify dragging a woman into a toilet cubicle and attempting to rape her twice? 'I was so scared,' his victim said in a statement read to the court. 'I felt frozen with fear. I couldn't go anywhere. Although the incident lasted a few minutes it felt like ages to me... my life has never been the same... I am not the outgoing woman I used to be. I am withdrawn and highly anxious and overly cautious, especially when I'm on my own in an unfamiliar environment.' The fact this incident happened in a top medical centre is particularly chilling. The woman, who is receiving therapy, still has difficulty sleeping and has nightmares and flashbacks. She has withdrawn from work and church, 'two things she loved', Judge Adam Hiddleston said. 'Clearly what you did has had a devastating effect on her,' he told Al-Gherainiq. 'There is evidence of severe psychological harm.' He added: 'I appreciate the cultural differences between the world in which you grew up and in the United Kingdom.' But he rejected any suggestion that his sentence should therefore be reduced. The judge made a recommendation that he should be deported to Qatar 'as soon as possible' once he has served his sentence. In fact, he wants to go back, his barrister said, because 'there is no reason for him to apply to remain here'. While it's not known if Al-Gherainiq got his heart treatment, this statement suggests it is not an outstanding issue. The Qatari Embassy, which housed Al-Gherainiq after he first arrived in London, has been at the centre of controversy itself in the past and has a history of claiming diplomatic immunity when staff bring legal actions. One sexual harassment case made headlines in 2019. Mother-of-two Deanne Kingson, 58, a personal assistant, recalled how she was pestered for sex, pressed to host orgies for diplomats and go on holiday to Cuba with one of them. She told the tribunal the then deputy ambassador Fahed Al-Mushairi repeatedly tried to sleep with her and then turned his attention to her 19-year-old daughter when she refused, even offering to marry her. The case was not contested by the Qatari Embassy. A panel of tribunal judges concluded that Ms Kingson – sacked after rejecting such advances and awarded £388,920 for unfair dismissal – was seen by diplomats as being 'liable to be willing to engage in sexual conduct with male employees' because she was not Muslim. Might this then have also been the reason why camel herder Nasser Al-Gherainiq tried to rape a woman at a private clinic before sexually assaulting her on his first trip outside Qatar?
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
American living in the UK says she was mortified after using a 'normal' US word that has a very different meaning in Britain
An American woman has revealed three of the 'spiciest' US-based slang words that would leave most Brits mortified. California-born Devin, has spent the last two years living in London, where she has picked up on subtle language differences between the US and the UK. In a video shared to TikTok, Devin, who uses the handle @devinguccii, admitted she ha 'learned the hard way' that certain words have vastly different meanings in the UK to back home in the States. Offering her advice to fellow Yanks, she began the video by announcing that there were three words in particular that had landed her in hot water in Britain. 'These are three American words I've discovered you should not be using in the UK, and what to use instead,' she said at the start of the clip. Introducing the first word, which she prefaced was the 'most PG' one was 'pants', typically referring to trousers in the States, but more commonly used to describe undergarments in a British context. 'In the US, it's a more general word for trousers, so it can be used in terms of tracksuit bottoms, jeans, slacks, khakis, anything that's a long version of a trouser,' she explained. 'But in the UK, it generally refers to men's boxers, so if you say 'Oh, I like your pants,' they'll take that as you can see my underwear, and you like my underwear'. Though, some in the comments disputed the claim that Brits don't refer to pants as trousers. 'Pants mean trousers in the north of the UK,' one wrote, while another pointed to a third meaning, when pants is used derogatorily. 'Pants can also mean something is rubbish. eg this film is pants,' the linguaphile wrote. Second on the list, and one which Devin said was 'a little spicier', was a phrase used by Americans to describe a bum bag - or as the they refer to it, a 'fanny pack'. 'In the UK the term is bum bang,' she retorted, explaining that 'fanny in the UK refers to a woman's genitalia'. 'Although, now they're more popular, you can usually get away with using the word fanny pack in the UK,' she added. Third and final on the list was one term that she discovered through 'trial and error' in the UK, and one which is perfectly normal when expressed in the States. 'Its the term that Americans use when you're holding two drinks at the bar or party or something and that is ... You're 'double fisting',' the TikToker explained sheepishly. British viewers were in stitches after hearing of Devin's dialectal blunders, with many expressing themselves in the comments 'Obviously it means something way dirtier in the UK and you should not use it, that's not the term. 'The term they do use is 'double parked',' she said, referring to the phrase commonly used to refer to an individual who has two drinks at the same time. 'Now of course, there's lots of other words that English and American people use differently but these are a little bit spicy that you could get yourself in a bit of trouble if you say them in the UK,' she concluded. British viewers were in stitches after hearing of Devin's dialectal blunders, with many expressing themselves in the comments. 'We say what we want in UK,' one joked. 'Definitely thought you were going to say the whole rubber/eraser thing! But yeah, double fisting doesn't sound great to a British ear,' said another 'Holding 2 drinks is Irish handcuffs,' a third said. Amused by what they'd discovered, one Brit wrote: 'I think it was a world record. How far I spat my coffee when you said double fisting.' 'May I thank you for causing me to spray a perfectly good mouthful of red wine across my keyboard and desk with your third one,' another joked. A fellow America sympathised with the linguistic faux pas, writing that she had made a similar mistake while travelling. 'My Europe hostel group have multiple chats called 'double fisters' now because they were so shocked by it but ended up using the phrase the whole rest of the trip because they loved it so much,' she said. Pointing out that pants had multiple meanings, another viewer wrote: 'Pants are underwear, not just boxers. Like when they say to girls, 'he just wants to get into your pants'.'
The Sun
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
I'm an American living in the UK, here is the common US habit that is considered ‘crass' in Britain
AFTER moving to the UK, one American woman noticed a big cultural difference. She revealed a common US habit that is considered to be "crass" by Brits. 2 The TikTok user, know as Yorkshire Yank, often discusses the cultural quirks she has noticed between the two locations. And while things such as tipping culture and humour are widely known to differ between the nationalities, there is another significant difference, according to the American. Talking about money is something which the British and those living in the States approach in opposite ways. "One thing that you'll hear in the States is how much somebody paid for a house, or whatever," the TikToker said. She recalled how a friend of hers in the US spoke openly about how much she paid for her sofa and stove among other things during a "house tour". On the other hand, she pointed out how people in the UK tend to be a little more reserved when it comes to financial matters. "Brits just don't talk about differences in money because, honestly, it's crass and why do I need to know how much your sofa cost? It's like you're bragging or something," she explained. The influencer went on to say that she thinks people in UK are "more mindful of others". According to her, Brits are aware that not everyone has the same things as them whereas most Americans tend to take a "Well, I have this and you don't" approach. Her British followers shared their thoughts on the observation in the comments section. "We brag more about how cheap we got it. I'm a charity shop shopper," said one viewer. "Whereas in Britain you might tell me you like my dress and I'll immediately brag about getting it on sale, or the pockets," agreed another person. "It's not classy to talk about money, and I personally don't want anyone to know my financial situation," commented a third TikTok user. "I don't want people to borrow money or feel sorry for me because I don't have any lol." "We don't talk personal money in the UK. It's just not on," added another follower. "Old money whispers, new money shouts," pointed out one commenter. Another American based in the UK shared the biggest cultural differences she has noticed. Meanwhile, a Brit living abroad shared the five things she misses the most about the UK. 2
Daily Mail
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
American woman living in the UK reveals common US habit considered 'crass' in Britain
An American woman living in the UK has revealed the everyday habits from back home that Britons find baffling - including one US tendency she claims is seen as 'crass'. The woman, known on TikTok as Yorkshire Yank, regularly shares her take on the cultural quirks she's noticed since settling in the UK. In a recent video that's already gained plenty of traction, the expat took a deep dive into the subtle differences between British and American life. And the most notable difference between the two nationalities is the inclination to talk openly about money. 'One thing that you'll hear in the States is how much somebody paid for a house, or whatever,' she began. 'I remember going around a house tour once and being told, "We got this sofa from Ethan Allen and it was $1,500… and here's our beautiful stove and this is how much it cost." 'Brits just don't talk about differences in money because, honestly, it's crass and why do I need to know how much your sofa cost? It's like you're bragging or something.' In her view, this difference reflects a broader cultural mindset: 'I think UK people are more mindful of others… more mindful of how others do not have things, while in the US, it's more like, "Well, I have this and you don't".' The candid clip also touched on other staples of American life that simply don't exist, or don't translate, in Britain. 'Another thing that we don't do in the UK that's really common in the United States is we don't have tailgating parties,' she explained, referring to the pre-game gatherings in car parks (often fuelled by hot dogs, lawn chairs and portable grills) before American football games or college sports. 'Could you really imagine a bunch of football supporters having a tailgating party prior to the actual match?' She continued: 'Another thing that we don't really do in the UK is we don't really have cheerleaders to the extent that we do in the United States. 'I mean, in the US we would have kids doing cheer when they were tiny. I was a cheerleader when I was very young - I was from the YWCA cheerleading days, so that will tell you how old I am.' The YWCA, or Young Women's Christian Association, runs youth programmes across the US. The TikToker also mentioned how rites of passage in American schools simply don't carry over to British education. 'As far as I know, the UK doesn't really have the senior picture thing… we don't have the graduation parties, the yearbooks, the senior pictures to the extent that we have in the US.' When she says yearbook, she means a huge, photo-packed book that captures the full high school experience, including extracurriculars, friendships, class photos and embarrassing hairstyles. 'It literally covers everything that we did in our high school years - it was fantastic and it's an amazing memory.' She reminisced about one event in particular: 'Another thing we did in the high school I graduated from, which you would probably not have here, is we had a locked-in party. 'They locked us into the school and it was fantastic - it was one of the best parties I ever had.' She added: 'Another thing you don't do is you don't have the high school graduations. We had your uni graduation but for high school - kind of cool, actually.' Yorkshire Yank went on to show off some throwback photos from her own high school graduation, complete with a towering 1980s perm and an impressive celebratory cake. Wrapping up her list of observations, she said: 'This is my final thing - we don't really have the yellow buses like we do in the United States. 'They do use city buses [in the UK] but you're not going to see the yellow buses like we do in the US.' In the States, the yellow school bus is a symbol of childhood itself. Britons rushed to the comments to clarify their position on discussing money, confirming the TikToker's idea British commenters were quick to weigh in, with many confirming that openly discussing money remains firmly off-limits in UK culture. One viewer wrote: 'We brag more about how cheap we got it. I'm a charity shop shopper.' Another agreed: 'Whereas in Britain you might tell me you like my dress and I'll immediately brag about getting it on sale… or the pockets.' One person reflected on the British distaste for financial disclosure, writing: 'It's not classy to talk about money, and I personally don't want anyone to know my financial situation. I don't want people to borrow money or feel sorry for me because I don't have any lol.' Another said simply: 'We don't talk personal money in the UK. It's just not on.' While the US and UK may share a language, certain customs don't always cross the Atlantic.
CNN
18-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Juneteenth scale backs, how the world swears, a singer's protest: Catch up on the day's stories
👋 Welcome to 5 Things PM! Swear words can act as social glue, playing meaningful roles in how people connect and express themselves. How often they're used, though, varies depending on region and cultural differences. Here's what else you might have missed during your busy day. 1️⃣ At risk: Job Corps centers provide housing and schooling for low-income students aged 16 to 24. The six-decade old program has provided a lifeline for more than two million young Americans, but its fate is now uncertain after the Trump administration ordered its operations to be paused. 2️⃣ Scaling back: Despite Juneteenth's status as a federal holiday, celebrations across the US are being toned down or canceled. Event organizers cite safety issues and political backlash as reasons for the changes. 3️⃣ AI analysis: Outcries about artificial intelligence replacing human jobs have become more common. CNN's Allison Morrow writes that it's CEOs' new way to keep their workers afraid of losing their jobs. 4️⃣ Trash stash: Viral videos of garbage captured by explorers in China's Zhangjiajie Forest — with one explorer describing waste piled seven to eight floors high — have prompted a mass cleanup. From 2010 to 2015, the local government banned trash burning, so dumping in caves became common. 5️⃣ 'I'm standing by them': At the LA Dodgers game this past Saturday, Nezza performed the National Anthem in Spanish in protest of the ICE raids in the city. Before she sang, an unidentified employee told her to sing the song in English. Get '5 Things' in your inbox If your day doesn't start until you're up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to your new favorite morning fix. Sign up here for the '5 Things' newsletter. 🏠 Home alone: The Goodsons have been living off the grid in an energy efficient home prefabricated in a factory. In a housing and construction labor crisis, these modern homes are a growing trend. Israel and Iran trade strikes as Trump weighs US involvement in conflict Supreme Court upholds Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth Fed holds interest rate steady for fourth time in a row 💵 That's how much money drug companies spent on TV ads in 2024 — but that may soon change as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. considers policies that would alter the ease and price of pushing products onscreen. 🏭 Smokestack impact: Human-caused climate change is not as new of an issue as previously thought. With the help of sophisticated computer models and scientific theory, researchers believe a clear signal can be detected as far back as 1885. 🏀 Caitlin Clark down: The larger-than-life basketball star suffered a poke in the eye following a testy game at the WNBA Commissioner's Cup final. Here's how it happened. 🥃 Liquid Death and WhistlePig partnered to create a new whiskey aged in what? A. SoilB. A water wellC. A casketD. An oak barrel⬇️ Scroll down for the answer. 🏃 It's a runderful life: Olympic gold medalist Karsten Warholm soared past his own world record time in the 300-meter hurdles last week in front of a home crowd in Oslo, Norway. Although shaving half a second may not sound like much, when the new world record is a mere 32.67 seconds, he's running with the stars. 👋 We'll see you tomorrow.🧠 Quiz answer: C. The new whiskey is partially aged in an actual casket at WhistlePig's Vermont distillery, and made with Liquid Death's mountain-sourced water.📧 Check out all of CNN's newsletters. 5 Things PM is edited and produced by CNN's Chris Good, Meghan Pryce, Kimberly Richardson and Daniel Wine.
