UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The UAE is making it more difficult for immigrant laborers to enter the country on tourist and other short-term visas in a bid to prevent foreign criminals from entering the country under the guise of looking for work. The rapidly developing country has been built up with immigrant labor mostly from South Asia, who form a majority of the Gulf nation's 8 million plus population.

Turkey is increasing security along its southern border while it tries to get a handle on the stream of refugees fleeing Syria's bloody conflict.

Dubai International is rapidly becoming a major international connection. For ailing Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) the move of its European hub from Singapore to the UAE will help lower the cost of shuttling travelers back and forth between Melbourne or Sydney and London.

The UN passed a new set of international standards designed to protect the rights of domestic workers, who often suffer from abuse at the hands of their employers.