Timeline United Arab
Emirates (UAR)
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Seven city states (Abu Dhabi,
Dubai, Sharjah, Ras al Khaimah, Umm al Qaiwain, Ajman and Fujairah)
comprise the UAR. Ajman is the smallest.
(SFC, 6/19/00, p.A5)
Dubai is about the size of Rhode Island.
(SSFC, 7/24/05, p.C3)
2.2k BC In
what is now Bahrain settlements and temples of the city state of
Dilmun, known as the city of the gods in ancient Sumerian
literature, were found by Danish archaeologists in the 1950s. A
culture contemporary with the city state of Dilmun (now Bahrain) was
found in 1959 on the island of Umm-an-Nar off of Abu Dhabi.
(AM, May/Jun 97 p.48)
632-661 The Rashidun Caliphate, also known as the
Rightly Guided Caliphate, comprising the first four caliphs in
Islam's history, was founded after Muhammad's death. At its height,
the Caliphate extended from the Arabian Peninsula, to the Levant,
Caucasus and North Africa in the west, to the Iranian highlands and
Central Asia in the east. It was the one of the largest empires in
history up until that time.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashidun_Caliphate)
1400 From about this time Dubai
became a major crossing point on int’l. trading routes in silk,
pearls, spices and gold.
(WSJ, 6/20/06, p.C12)
1947 Jul 17, Sheik Saqr bin
Mohammed Al Qasimi (1918-2010) became the Ruler of Ras al-Khaimah
(UAR) when he overthrew his uncle and father-in-law Shaykh Sultan
Bin Salem (or Salim) al-Qassimi in a bloodless coup d'etat. Shaykh
Saqr exiled the Sultan to Sharjah. Ras al-Khaimah joined the United
Arab Emirates in 1972.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saqr_bin_Mohammad_al-Qassimi)
1962 Abu Dhabi began exporting
the oil it just discovered off its shores.
(AP, 11/3/04)
1965 Arab states signed the
Charter of Arab Honor, an Arab league ordnance designed to curb an
aggressive Lebanese press and to discourage mutually hostile regimes
from attacking each other.
(SFC, 6/19/00, p.A5)
1966 Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al
Nahyan (d.2004) became the ruler of Abu Dhabi. In 1971 he founded
the United Arab Emirates.
(www.uaeinteract.com/uaeint_misc/pdf_2005/zayed_tribute/zayed.pdf)
1966 Oil discovered in Dubai
(UAR) provided cash for modernization projects such as the world’s
largest man-made harbor at Jebel Ali.
(Econ, 5/29/04, p.61)
1970 Iran dropped its
territorial claims on Bahrain.
(Econ, 9/11/10, p.58)
1971 Dec 2, The British pulled
out of the Trucial States (7 coastal Arab sheikhdoms that included
Sharjah) in the Persian Gulf and these states formed the United Arab
Emirates (UAR). Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras al Khaimah, Umm al
Qaiwain, Ajman and Fujairah merged to form the new federation.
(NG, 5/88, p.662)(HFA, '96, p.20)(SFC,12/16/97,
p.B1)(WSJ, 5/7/98, p.B16)
1972 The UAR formed the Federal
National Council (FNC). It had no legislative powers and was set up
merely as an advisory board to the Federal Supreme Council, the
country's highest governing body, made up of the emirates' rulers.
Elections for half of the FNC members began in 2006.
(AFP, 9/24/11)
1973 Nov 25, Three Palestinians
hijacked a KLM B747 enroute to New Delhi to Abu Dhabi.
(www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Terrorism/incidents.html)
1973 Abu Dhabi had a massive
surge in revenue following an oil-price surge.
(WSJ, 10/21/05, p.A10)
1976 Sheik Zayed of Abu Dhabi
set up the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), which invested
heavily in real estate abroad. At the same time the government
tightened control of property at home. By 2006 the fund had accrued
an estimated $200-500 billion.
(WSJ, 10/21/05, p.A10)(Econ, 6/10/06, p.45)
1980 The Bank of England
licensed the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. BCCI
imploded in 1991 under the weight of fraud.
(Econ, 7/10/04, p.64)
1981 May 25, Sheik Zayed bin
Sultan Al Nahyan (1918-2004), United Arab Emirates President, urged
in 5 other Arab monarchies (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi
Arabia) to form the Gulf Cooperation Council. The unified economic
agreement between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council was
signed on 11 November 1981 in Riyadh.
(Econ, 11/20/04,
p.90)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Cooperation_Council)
1984 Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) members (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, UAR)
agreed on the creation of a two-brigade (10,000 troops) Peninsula
Shield Force, based in Saudi Arabia near the Kuwaiti and Iraqi
borders.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peninsula_Shield)
1985 Gulf Air, a joint venture
between Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar, decided to cut back its
services to Dubai. This prompted Dubai to launch its own airline.
The Emirates Airline began in the UAR with 2 rented planes and a $10
million investment from Dubai’s ruling family under the direction of
Maurice Flanagan. In 2005 the state-owned operation planned to
double its 73-plane fleet.
(WSJ, 1/11/05, p.A1)(Econ, 6/5/10, p.75)
1988 Jul 3, The US Navy USS
Vincennes shot down an Iranian Airbus A-300 in the Persian Gulf from
the cruiser ship Vincennes shortly after it took off from Bandar
Abbas for Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. All 290 people aboard
were killed after the crew of the Vincennes misidentified the plane
as an Iranian F-14 fighter. In 1996 the US paid $131.8 million in
compensation of which half would go directly to the families of the
people killed. Iran filed suit in World Court in 1989 and settled
out of court in Feb, 1996.
(WSJ, 2/23/96, p.A-1)(SFC, 4/26/96, p.A-14)(AP
7/3/97)(AP, 7/03/10)
1991 Mar 4, The Bank of Credit
& Commerce International divested itself of 1st American Bank.
BCCI was majority owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
(ADIA).
(SC, 3/4/02)(WSJ, 10/21/05, p.A10)
1991 Jul 5, A worldwide
financial scandal erupted as regulators in eight countries shut down
the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, charging it with
fraud, drug money laundering and illegal infiltration into the U.S.
banking system. BCCI, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates, failed. It was chartered in Luxembourg and the Cayman
Islands and had offices in 70 countries. The ruling family of Abu
Dhabi was the major investor and faced huge liability claims from
depositors around the world. In 1997 a British court convicted
Pakistani shipping tycoon, Abbas Gokal -chairman of the defunct Gulf
Group, of a 1.2 billion fraud that led to the collapse. Larry Gurwin
later co-authored “False Profits: The Inside Story of BCCI, The
World’s Most Corrupt empire.”
(WSJ, 6/11/96, p.A9B)(WSJ, 4/4/97, p.A1)(AP,
7/5/97)(SFEC, 10/11/98, p.A2)(WSJ, 5/1/02, p.AD7)
1991 Dec 19, The failed Bank of
Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) agreed to settle federal
racketeering charges by forfeiting all its U.S. assets.
(AP, 12/19/01)
1994 13 former BCCI officials
were tried and 12 were convicted and sentenced to jail and terms
with civil damages to $9 billion.
(WSJ, 6/11/96, p.A9B)
1995 Dec, A Lebanese Christian
man was flogged and imprisoned for marrying a Muslim citizen
studying in the US. The couple married in Lebanon.
(SFEC, 12/1/96, p.T9)
1996 The United Arab Emirates,
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan recognized the Taliban after they seized
the Afghan capital Kabul. All three countries cut ties with the
Taliban after it sheltered al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden following
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the US.
(AP, 2/24/06)
1996 The court acquitted 2
officials in the BCCI scandal but upheld sentences against 8 and
said they must pay $8.3 million in addition to the original $9
billion in civil damages.
(WSJ, 6/11/96, p.A9B)
1997 Dec 15, A Russian Tu-154
charter flight from Tajikistan crashed 9 miles from Sharjah and 85
people were killed.
(SFC,12/16/97, p.B1)
1998 Jan 11, A large oil spill
resulted when an oil barge ran aground. Some 4,000 tons spilled on
beaches and threatened marine and bird life.
(SFC, 1/12/98, p.A12)
1998 May 12, The UAE announced
that it would buy 80 F-16s from the US for about $7 billion.
(SFC, 5/13/98, p.A13)
1998 Sep, In Dubai the
construction of a new multi-million prison was set to begin. Crown
Prince Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum conceived of the
facility as a prison for 2,000 “guests” of white-collar crimes. The
prison will have a gym, theater, conference center, and be equipped
with internet access.
(SFC, 7/31/98, p.D8)
2000 Feb 26, It was reported
that hunters killed the last known Arabian mountain goat, known as
tahr, to restore their sexual potency. The last known Arabian wold
was also killed in the mountains of Ras al-Khaimah by shepherds who
feared for their flocks.
(SFC, 2/26/00, p.A8)
2000 Mar, The UAE signed a $6.4
billion contract to buy 80 Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets.
(WSJ, 3/13/00, p.A16)
2000 Oct 16, Israel announced
the kidnapping by Hizbullah of Elchanan Tannenbaum (b.1946), a
colonel in Israel’s reserves. He was kidnapped in Dubai and taken to
Lebanon. Tannenbaum was released in January 2004 as part of a
prisoner swap with Hezbollah. The swap exchanged 435 prisoners held
by Israel in return for Tannenbaum's release and the return of the
bodies of 3 soldiers killed during an ambush along the
Israeli-Lebanese border.
(Econ, 9/6/08,
p.99)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elchanan_Tennenbaum)
2000 Dec 31, Six Persian Gulf
nations (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates) signed a regional defense pact.
(SFC, 1/1/01, p.A10)
2001 Jul 28, Jamal Beghal (36),
a French-Algerian, was arrested in Dubai with a false French
passport while traveling to Europe from Afghanistan. He was
extradited to France in Sep 30. He told police of a plans to bomb
the US Embassy in Paris on orders from Abu Zubaydah, a top bin Laden
lieutenant.
(WSJ, 10/3/01, p.A18)(SFC, 10/23/01, p.A5)
2001 Sep 9, Mustafa Ahmed al
Hissawi, an associate of Osama bin Laden, retrieved about $5,000
sent by Marwan al Shehhi, a UAE citizen believed to be the Sep 11
pilot of US Flight 175.
(WSJ, 11/2/01, p.A13)
2001 Sep 11, The UAR emirate of
Ras al Khaimah was drawn into the international fallout as the
birthplace of hijacker Marwan al-Shehhi, who flew United flight 175
into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
(AP, 10/27/10)
2001 Sep 22, The United Arab
Emirates (UAR) cut relations with Afghanistan’s Taliban government.
(SSFC, 9/23/01, p.A14)
2001 Sep 23, The 6-member
Persian “Gulf Cooperation Council” (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, UAR) met in Jidda and pledged support for an int’l.
coalition against terrorism.
(SFC, 9/24/01, p.A7)
2002 Aug 25, In the UAR the
roof of a Dubai warehouse that was under construction collapsed,
killing seven people and injuring 19.
(AP, 8/26/02)
2002 Nov 18, It was reported
that Dubai was constructing the $5.5 billion Palm Island resort
project, scheduled for completion in 2006. The $4.9 billion
Dubailand tourist city included 45 theme parks, sports centers and
discovery zones.
(WSJ, 11/18/02, p.A1)(Econ, 12/6/03, p.42)
2002 Dubai began creating a
world-class financial centre as part of its diversification into
service industries before running out of oil and gas.
(Econ, 7/10/04, p.64)
2003 Mar 1, The United Arab
Emirates called for Saddam Hussein to step down, the first Arab
country to do so publicly.
(AP, 3/1/04)
2003 Mar 2, The United
Arab Emirates won support from Kuwait and Bahrain in its call for
Saddam Hussein to quit power to avert a war.
(AP, 3/3/03)
2003 Aug, In Switzerland Sheikh
Falah bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, the brother of the president
of the United Arab Emirates, hit an Italian-American, Silvano Orsi,
with the buckle of his belt in a hotel. in a trial in June, 2008, he
was ordered to pay 540,000 Swiss francs (337,000 euros, 532,000
dollars) by the court, suspended for three years. The sheikh was
also sentenced to pay legal costs of nearly 3,000 Swiss francs. In
2009 he was acquitted on appeal against the imposed fines.
(AFP,
3/28/09)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falah_bin_Zayed_bin_Sultan_Al_Nahyan)
2003 Sep 20, The annual
meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund began in
Dubai.
(AP, 9/21/03)
2003 Sep 22, It was reported
that Sol Kirzner, Sun King, had struck a deal to build a $650
million Arabian-inspired resort in Dubai.
(WSJ, 9/22/03, p.A1)
2003 Oct, Air Arabia, a Sharjah
government-owned airline, launched services from Dubai. It billed
itself as the Middle East's first budget airline.
(AP, 6/1/04)
2003 In the UAR Saqr bin
Mohammed Al Qasimi dumped his eldest son, Sheik Khalid bin Saqr Al
Qasimi, as the crown prince in favor of Sheik Saud to succeed him as
leader of Ras al Khaimah. The emirate's name means "top of the tent"
in Arabic in reference to the shape of the peninsula shared by the
UAE and Oman.
(AP, 10/27/10)
2003 The Saudi-owned news
channel al-Arabiya was launched from Dubai.
(Econ, 2/26/05, p.25)
2003 Abu Dhabi launched its
Etihad airline by royal decree. In 2004 it made an $8 billion order
for new airplanes.
(Econ, 6/5/10, p.76)
2004 Feb 10, An Iranian
Fokker-50 plane carrying mostly foreign workers crashed as it
approached Sharjah airport in the United Arab Emirates, killing 43
people aboard. 3 survived.
(AP, 2/10/04)
2004 Feb 22, Giorgio Armani
signed a $1 billion hotel venture with Dubai’s Emaar Properties.
(Econ, 2/28/04, p.61)
2004 Sep 27, In Dubai a wall
collapsed at an airport construction site, killing more than eight
workers and injuring many more.
(AP, 9/27/04)
2004 Nov 2, Sheik Zayed bin
Sultan Al Nahyan (86), United Arab Emirates President, died. Sheik
Zayed became the ruler of Abu Dhabi, the largest and wealthiest
emirate, in 1966, four years after the emirate first began exporting
the oil it just discovered off its shores. He left behind 19 sons
including 4 brothers known as the Bani Fatima, whose mother was a
favorite wife of Zayed. Eldest son Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed (b.1947)
succeeded his father.
(AP, 11/3/04)(Econ, 11/20/04, p.90)(Econ,
9/27/08, p.64)
2004 Nov 4, The UAR appointed
Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the eldest son of Sheik Zayed bin
Sultan Al Nahyan, as its president. Sheik Khalifa, crown prince of
Abu Dhabi since 1969, automatically became ruler of Abu Dhabi
following his father's death.
(AP, 11/4/04)
2004 Nov 15, The Bush
administration announced that it intended to negotiate trade
agreements with Oman and the UAR.
(Econ, 11/20/04, p.78)
2004 Dec 6, The Dubai Int’l.
Film Festival (DIFF) opened its first season.
(www.dubaifilmfest.com/en/about-diff/diff-facts-figures.html)
2004 DP World, a ports operator
owned by the government of Dubai (UAR), purchased the port
operations of CSX, a US railroad company, for $1.15 billion formerly
run by John Snow, US treasury secretary.
(Econ, 2/25/06, p.33)
2004 Dubai reported 34
site-related deaths of construction workers this year. Human Rights
Watch counted 880 bodies sent home by foreign embassies.
(Econ, 12/16/06, p.71)
2004 Sheik Issa bin Zayed Al
Nahyan (40), a half brother of the Emirati president, beat a man
said to be the Afghan worker in an empty stretch of the Abu
Dhabi desert. The beating was filmed by Texas
businessman Bassam Nabulsi. The victim, identified as Afghani grain
dealer Mohammed Shapoor, survived the beatings. In 2009 Nahyan went
on trial on torture charges.
(AP, 12/21/09)
2005 Mar 23, It was reported
that Dubai Holding, controlled by the ruler of Dubai, had reached a
deal to buy 21,000 rental apartments in the US Sunbelt for $1
billion.
(WSJ, 3/23/05, p.B6)
2005 Mar, Sheik Khalifa, ruler
of Abu Dhabi, issued a decree granting citizens the right to buy and
sell land.
(WSJ, 10/21/05, p.A10)
2005 Jul 5, The United Arab
Emirates (UAR), under international pressure to stop child abuse in
a traditional desert sport, banned the use of underage riders in
camel racing.
(AP, 7/5/05)
2005 Jul 23, In Umm Al-Quwain,
UAR, a $3.3 billion deal for the Khor al-Beidah lagoon complex was
signed. A few days later developers announced Umm Al-Quwain's desert
interior would be the site for a new city that could eventually
house as many as 500,000 people.
(AP, 8/7/05)
2005 Aug 11, Thirty-five
Bangladeshi children who worked as camel jockeys in the United Arab
Emirates arrived home to an uncertain future as part of a United
Nations-sponsored program. The UAE now plans to use robots to race
camels rather than children.
(AP, 8/11/05)
2005 Aug, Sheik Khalifa, ruler
of Abu Dhabi, signed Law No. 19, which formally abandoned the old
property regime and permitted the sale of freehold rights by
citizens and in certain areas 99-year leases by foreigners.
(WSJ, 10/21/05, p.A10)
2005 Oct 2, A Dubai-based
newspaper said it stands by a story in which it quoted Iran's
president as saying he might curtail oil sales if his nation is
referred to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions over its
nuclear program.
(AP, 10/2/05)
2005 Oct 4, The UAE Labor
Ministry announced that company executives will find their names on
a sheet of shame published by the government if they don't start
paying wages to their laborers.
(AP, 10/4/05)
2005 Oct, Workers in Dubai
broke ground on a $3.8 billion, 42-mile, light rail system to be
completed in late 2009.
(SSFC, 12/18/05, p.A23)
2005 Nov 16, Former President
Clinton in Dubai, UAR, told Arab students that the US made a "big
mistake" when it invaded Iraq, stoking the partisan debate back home
over the war.
(AP, 11/16/05)
2005 Nov 25, Newspapers in
Dubai reported that police had raided a hotel chalet in Ghantout and
arrested 26 men as they celebrated a wedding ceremony. 22 of the 26
arrested were from the Emirates.
(SSFC, 11/27/05, p.A23)
2005 Dec 1, The United Arab
Emirates announced it will hold a limited form of voting to pick
members of a consultative council, a small step toward widening
political participation in a country that has never held elections.
(AP, 12/01/05)
2005 Dec 14, In the UAR Abu
Dhabi overhauled business ownership laws allowing foreigners to own
100% of businesses in special economic zones.
(WSJ, 12/15/05, p.A16)
2005 Megaprojects under
construction in Dubai included The World, an artificial archipelago;
Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building; Hydropolis, an underwater
luxury hotel; the Restless Planet theme park, a domed ski resort;
and the Mall of Arabia.
(SSFC, 7/24/05, p.C3)
2005 Dubai put a 15% cap on
rental increases as other living expenses rose by double digits.
(WSJ, 6/20/06, p.C12)
2005 Dubai’s population
numbered about 1.5 million.
(SSFC, 7/24/05, p.C3)
2006 Jan 4, Sheik Maktoum bin
Rashid Al Maktoum (62), the emir of Dubai and prominent owner and
breeder of thoroughbred horses, died during a visit to Australia.
(AP, 1/4/06)
2006 Jan 27, British port
operator Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. switched
prospective suitors for the second time after Dubai Ports World
raised its offer for the company to almost $7 billion, trumping an
offer from Singapore's PSA International Ltd.
(AP, 1/27/06)
2006 Feb 11, Dubai Ports World,
a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates, won approval
from a secretive US panel for a $6.8 billion deal to take over
operations at six American ports.
(AP, 2/11/07)
2006 Feb 13, DP World, a ports
operator owned by the government of Dubai (UAR), paid $6.8 billion
to acquire P&O, a British firm which runs a global network of
maritime terminals including 6 American ports.
(Econ, 2/25/06, p.33)
2006 Feb 17, US-based Space
Adventures announced it plans to build a $265 million spaceport in
the United Arab Emirates.
(AP, 2/18/06)
2006 Feb 21, Pres. Bush said he
would veto any legislation blocking a deal for a state-owned company
in Dubai to manage port terminals in US cities. Bush was not aware
of the pending sale of the port operations until after aides
approved the deal.
(SFC, 2/22/06, p.A1)(WSJ, 2/23/06, p.A1)
2006 Feb 23, A United Arab
Emirates company volunteered to postpone its takeover of significant
operations at six major US seaports, giving the White House more
time to convince skeptical lawmakers the deal posed no increased
risks from terrorism.
(AP, 2/23/07)
2006 Feb 26, The Bush
administration said it has accepted a proposal from Dubai Ports
World for a 45-day review of national security implications of its
plans to take control of operations at 6 US ports.
(SFC, 2/27/06, p.A3)
2006 Mar 9, Dubai Ports World
bowed to pressure from the US Congress and announced that it will
sell off its US operations to a US owner.
(SFC, 3/10/06, p.A18)
2006 Mar 30, In the UAR hours
after a human rights group blasted the United Arab Emirates for what
it called wanton abuses of Asian workers, the country's labor
minister said a law in the works will give laborers the right to
form trade unions and bargain collectively.
(AP, 3/30/06)
2006 Mar, Persian Gulf stock
markets suffered their 1st serious correction after years of 6-7%
annual gains. Stock market reversals in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the
UAR, along with Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia triggered outrage
among local small investors.
(WSJ, 3/27/06, p.C1)
2006 Apr 26, About 2,500
foreign construction workers rioted over wages and working
conditions at a building site in Dubai, smashing equipment and
vehicles in the second violent protest by construction workers in a
month in the fast-growing city. "We get 450 dirhams ($123) a month,"
one worker said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he
feared retribution. "It's not enough. We can't save any money."
(AP, 4/27/06)
2006 Apr 28, President George
W. Bush approved Dubai's $1.24 billion takeover of Doncasters, a
British engineering company with US plants that supply the Pentagon.
(AP, 4/28/06)
2006 May 13, The United Arab
Emirates and South Korea signed a series of accords, including a
memorandum of understanding on stockpiling Emirati oil in South
Korea, on the second day of a visit by the South Korean president.
(AFP, 5/13/06)
2006 May 16, In Iraq gunmen
kidnapped UAR diplomat Naji Rashid al-Nuaimi (28) as he left the
home of the United Arab Emirates' cultural affairs attache in
Baghdad's Mansour district. On May 30 it was reported that Al-Nuaimi
was released.
(AP, 5/17/06)(AP, 5/31/06)
2006 May 24, Dubai hosted the
Middle East's first major international art auction.
(AP, 5/24/06)
2006 May 30, Emirati
authorities said Naji Nuaimi, an Emirati diplomat held hostage in
Iraq since May 16, has been released without ransom.
(AP, 5/30/06)
2006 Jun 14, India's largest
film festival kicked off in Dubai, as a number of Bollywood stars
descended on this booming Gulf city state where Indians make up the
largest community.
(AP, 6/14/06)
2006 Jul 6, A UAE freighter
sank in strong winds in the Indian Ocean off the Horn of Africa,
killing seven crew members. The ship was owned by al-Hufuf Maritime
Co., based in the United Arab Emirates, but it sailed under the flag
of Panama.
(AP, 7/6/06)
2006 Jul 8, The Guggenheim
Foundation announced it had commissioned American architect Frank
Gehry to build a new branch of the Guggenheim modern and
contemporary art museum in Abu Dhabi. The $400 million structure was
planned as a showpiece for Saadiyat Island’s Culture District.
(AP, 7/8/06)(Econ, 2/10/07, p.46)
2006 Jul, Oman and the UAE
completed the delineation of their 1,000-km (625-mile) shared
borders, in line with a June 2002 accord.
(AFP, 1/30/11)
2006 Oct 18, In Dubai Etisalat,
a state-controlled phone company, was reported to have soaring
profits. The Emirates' chief telecom and Internet provider, began to
block Skype and other Internet phone providers during the summer,
arguing they had no license to sell phone service. Calls for 2 cents
a minute went dead and customers were forced to pay 75 cents per
minute to phone Britain and 60 cents to call the United States
during peak hours.
(AP, 10/19/06)
2006 Oct 30, South African
miner Gold Fields announced it was listing on the Dubai
International Financial Exchange (DIFX), becoming the first African
company to list shares on the fledgling Gulf market.
(AP, 10/30/06)
2006 Dec 3, A Dubai-based
developer announced that it plans to build a new Russian city on
44,000 acres near Moscow.
(AP, 12/3/06)
2006 Dec 10, The oil-rich Arab
states on the Persian Gulf said that they will consider starting a
joint nuclear program for peaceful purposes. The six-nation Gulf
Cooperation Council included Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab
Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
(AP, 12/10/06)
2006 Dec 16, Some 6,000
hand-picked voters chose members of a government advisory panel in
the UAR’s first election, the Arab world's latest tentative step
toward democracy. This was the first of a three-day vote for 20 open
seats on the Federal National Council.
(AP, 12/16/06)(AP, 9/24/11)
2006 Dec 20, In the UAR
hand-selected voters cast the third and final round of votes to
choose members of a government advisory panel in this oil-rich
country's first-ever elections.
(AP, 12/20/06)
2006 Abu Dhabi’s government
Authority for Culture and Heritage launched The Million's Poet to
encourage poetry.
(AP, 3/23/10)
2006 In Abu Dhabi a diabetes
center was opened by the Imperial College of London. In 2008 almost
a fifth of the UAE’s native population suffered from diabetes.
(Econ, 4/26/08, p.37)
2006 Abu Dhabi initiated the
development of Masdar, a new smart city built on a raised platform
and expected to house 40,000 people.
(Econ, 11/6/10, SR
p.11)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masdar_City)
2006 Abu Dhabi, with a
population of about 250,000, sat on a tenth of the world’s oil.
(Econ, 6/10/06, p.45)
2006 Oil revenues in Dubai
dropped to 7% of GDP as economic development expanded to transport,
tourism and business. Dubai, ruled by the wealthy al-Maktoum family,
planned to become the main financial center between Europe and Asia.
(Econ, 3/4/06, p.56)(Econ, 12/16/06, p.13)
2006 The Saudi offshoot of
Emaar, one of Dubai’s big-three developers, raised 2.55 billion
riyals ($680 million) to build a metropolis on the Red Sea coast.
The King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) was due for completion in
2016.
(Econ, 4/26/08, p.38)
2007 Jan 18, In Dubai a
high-rise apartment building under construction caught fire,
injuring up to 25 workers and trapping others in thick smoke as
rescue crews scrambled to reach them.
(AP, 1/18/07)
2007 Mar 6, France and the
United Arab Emirates signed an agreement to open a branch of the
Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi, despite criticism that the French
government is peddling the country's artistic treasures.
(AP, 3/6/07)
2007 Mar 11, Halliburton CEO
Dave Lesar announced that his oil services company will soon shift
its corporate headquarters from Houston to the Mideast financial
powerhouse of Dubai.
(AP, 3/13/07)
2007 Apr 29, Japan and the
resources-rich United Arab Emirates agreed to launch a high-level
dialogue aimed at boosting economic ties and to speed up talks on a
free trade pact. Officials of the governmental Japan Bank for
International Cooperation decided to extend massive loans to Abu
Dhabi National Oil Co. in exchange for securing a stable oil supply
for Japan.
(AP,
4/29/07)(http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070430a2.html)
2007 Apr, The International
Prize for Arabic Fiction was officially launched in Abu Dhabi,
capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In 2008 the Philanthropy
in Abu Dhabi awarded the 1st annual Int’l. Prize for Arabic Fiction
to Bahaa Taher for “Sunset Oasis.”
(Econ, 3/26/11,
p.95)(http://librarian.lishost.org/?p=1064)
2007 May 10, US VP Cheney
arrived at Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to a red carpet
welcome. The vice president is on a weeklong tour of the Middle East
that will also take him to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan.
(AP, 5/10/07)
2007 May 19, Sheikh Mohammed
Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, launched a $10 billion
foundation to provide scholarships and promote research in the
Middle East, saying the region has neglected education despite its
oil wealth (www.mbrfoundation.ae).
(AP, 5/20/07)(WSJ, 5/31/07, p.A16)
2007 Jun 1, CNBC Africa was
launched from new headquarters in South Africa. Dubai investors put
in some $22.5 million for the 24-hour African business channel
broadcasting to 14 African countries.
(Econ, 6/9/07, p.75)
2007 Jun 12, It was reported
that the Hadzabe tribe of Tanzania, numbering fewer than 1,500,
faced a hastening extinction following a government deal to lease
2,500 square miles of tribal hunting land to members of the Abu
Dhabi royal family. Schools, roads and other projects were offered
in compensation.
(SFC, 6/12/07, p.A20)
2007 Jun 18, The Gulf emirate
of Dubai announced it had bought the Queen Elizabeth 2, one of the
world's most majestic cruise liners, and planned to turn it into a
luxury floating hotel.
(AP, 6/18/07)
2007 Jun 19, In Dubai a
Canadian UN official, who advised the Afghan government on
eradicating opium poppy crops, was sentenced to four years in prison
for smuggling and drug possession. Bert Tatham (35) of Vancouver,
British Columbia, was arrested April 23 during a one-hour stopover
at the Dubai International Airport, after being caught with a half a
gram of hashish, and two poppy bulbs.
(AP, 6/19/07)
2007 Jul 14, Alexandre Robert
(15), a French-Swiss youth, was raped by 3 UAR nationals in Dubai.
The case went to court in November. On Dec 12 a panel of judges
sentenced two Emirati men to 15 years in prison each in connection
with a kidnapping and sexual attack on the French-Swiss boy.
(Reuters, 11/7/07)(AP, 12/12/07)
2007 Jul 21, Developers of the
Burj Dubai, a 1,680-foot skyscraper still under construction in
oil-rich Dubai, claimed that it has become the world's tallest
building, surpassing Taiwan's Taipei 101 which has dominated the
global skyline at 1,667 feet since 2004.
(AP, 7/21/07)
2007 Jul 27, Pakistan’s Pres.
Musharraf held secret talks in Abu Dhabi with former PM Benazir
Bhutto. In Islamabad hundreds of students clashed with security
forces and a nearby bombing killed 13 people during the reopening of
the Red Mosque for the first time since a bloody army raid to oust
Islamic militants from the complex. In Quetta gunmen opened fire on
the vehicle of Raziq Bugti, the official spokesman for a provincial
government in Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan, killing him.
(AP, 7/27/07)(AP, 7/28/07)(SSFC, 7/29/07, p.A14)
2007 Aug 8, It was reported
that Dubai’s power and water demands are rising by an average of 20%
and 15% respectively each year and that the state-owned utilities
were having difficulty providing for the increasing demand.
(WSJ, 8/7/07, p.B4)
2007 Aug 17, Borse Dubai made a
$3.95 billion takeover bid for OMX AB, challenging US-based NASDAQ
Stock Market Inc. for ownership of the Stockholm-based Nordic stock
exchange operator.
(AP, 8/17/07)
2007 Aug 21, The board of MGM
Mirage approved a deal with Dubai World in which the holding company
for the Persian Gulf state will eventually acquire a 9.5%
stake and 50% ownership in the Las Vegas CityCenter project.
(WSJ, 8/22/07, p.A3)
2007 Sep 14, Developers in
Dubai said the Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building since July,
has also become the tallest free-standing structure on earth,
reaching 1,822 feet. The over 700-meter (2,313 feet) Burj Dubai
tower complex, a part of the Dubai Mall, was expected to be
completed this year. The design was by Skidmore, Owings &
Merrill of Chicago.
(Econ, 1/8/05, p.57)(SFC, 3/31/05, p.A2)(AP,
9/14/07)
2007 Sep 20, Borse Dubai and
NASDAQ, rivals to take over Nordic market operator OMX, said they
had joined forces to acquire it together in a deal that gives Borse
Dubai 19.99 percent of US-based NASDAQ and 28 percent of the London
Stock Exchange.
(AP, 9/20/07)
2007 Oct 28, In Dubai thousands
of South Asian construction workers went on strike over harsh
working conditions in the latest threat to a spectacular building
boom already endangered by a falling currency and labor shortage.
(AP, 10/29/07)
2007 Oct 31, In Dubai more than
4,000 south Asian workers who had been jailed since a weekend labor
strike were released, in an incident that has highlighted labor
tensions in this booming city.
(AP, 10/31/07)
2007 Nov 3, Abu Dhabi began
work on building the world's first Ferrari theme park, another step
in the Gulf emirate's ambition to become a global centre for
leisure, sport and culture.
(AP, 11/4/07)
2007 Nov 8, A bridge under
construction in a new development in Dubai collapsed, killing seven
workers and injuring 15.
(AP, 11/9/07)
2007 Nov 16, Mubadala
Development, an investment arm of Abu Dhabi, announced that it would
pay $622 million for 8.1% of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
(Econ, 11/24/07, p.70)
2007 Nov 18, MTV Arabia, an
Arab version of the pop-culture channel, began broadcasting from
Dubai.
(AP, 11/18/08)(www.freemuse.org/sw29678.asp)
2007 Nov 26, Citigroup
announced that the investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government will
take a 4.9% stake and provide a $7.5 billion capital infusion.
(WSJ, 11/27/07, p.A3)
2007 Dec 1, Dubai police
conducted a series of simultaneous raids on suspected brothels,
landing 247 suspects in jail in the emirate's biggest
anti-prostitution sweep to date. Human was trafficking rampant in
this wealthy Gulf city.
(AP, 12/5/07)
2007 Dec 17, Dubai ruling
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum pardoned 377 inmates of Dubai
prisons this week on the eve of Eid al-Adha, an important Islamic
holiday. The pardon included Bert Tatham, a Canadian UN official who
advised the Afghan government on eradicating opium poppy crops.
Tatham (35) was granted amnesty, six months after being sentenced to
four years in prison on a drug smuggling conviction. Tatham was
arrested April 23 during a one-hour stopover at the Dubai
International Airport, after being caught with a half a gram of
hashish, and two poppy bulbs.
(AP, 12/17/07)
2007 Dec 17, Japan and the
United Arab Emirates signed an accord to strengthen economic ties,
including a deal for Japanese banks to extend a multibillion-dollar
loan to a state-owned Abu Dhabi oil firm.
(AP, 12/17/07)
2008 Jan 13, In Abu Dhabi, UAR,
President Bush said that Iran is threatening the security of the
world, and that the United States and Arab allies must join together
to confront the danger "before it's too late."
(AP, 1/13/08)
2008 Jan 13, French President
Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed plans to sign a nuclear cooperation
agreement with the United Arab Emirates amid reports French firms
could construct up to two nuclear reactors there.
(AP, 1/13/08)
2008 Jan 15, The French
government announced during a visit by Pres. Sarkozy that it will
set up a permanent military base of up to 500 troops in the United
Arab Emirates.
(AP, 1/15/08)
2008 Feb, In Abu Dhabi ground
was broken on the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, the
1st step in an initiative to foster renewable energy and
environmental technologies. The Masdar Initiative was initially
unveiled in 2006.
(Econ, 4/26/08, p.40)(Econ, 12/6/08, TQ p.29)
2008 Mar 15, Officials said the
main telecom operator in the United Arab Emirates, Etisalat, has
launched mobile services in Nigeria, becoming the fifth operator
there.
(AP, 3/15/08)
2008 Mar 18, In the UAR South
Asian workers, striking over pay in the Emirate of Sharjah, torched
offices and vehicles.
(AP, 3/18/08)
2008 Mar 26, In Dubai a massive
explosion at a fireworks factory left two people dead and two
injured. Subsequent fires rapidly spread, sending thick clouds of
black smoke into the sky.
(AP, 3/26/08)
2008 Mar, Kholoud Ahmad Jua'an
Al Daheri was appointed the UAE’s first female judge.
(www.gulfnews.com/nation/Government/10298829.html)
2008 Apr 8, Dubai’s crown
prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum bought 16
camels for $4.5 million, including one female camel for $2.7
million.
(SFC, 4/9/08, p.A4)
2008 May 17, Somali pirates
hijacked a Jordanian-flagged ship, called the Victoria, in the
latest in a string of attacks off the lawless coast of Somalia.
Islamic insurgents in Somalia seized a major agricultural center
overnight in Jilib. 2 militia fighters were killed. The UAE-owned
ship was released on May 23.
(AP, 5/17/08)(AP, 5/18/08)(AP, 5/23/08)
2008 Jun 16, It was reported
that Texas businessman Bassam Nabulsi had a federal lawsuit against
Sheik Issa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a son of the late UAE president and
brother of Abu Dhabi's crown prince. Nabulsi said he safeguarded the
sheik's most important documents: financial records, investment
documents, and videotapes showing the sheik torturing people with a
cattle prod and a spiked plank.
(AP, 6/16/08)
2008 Jun 24, In NYC David
Fisher, an Italian architect, said he is poised to start
construction on a new skyscraper in Dubai that will be "the world's
first building in motion," an 80-story tower with revolving floors
that give it an ever-shifting shape.
(AP, 6/25/08)
2008 Jul 6, The United Arab
Emirates canceled all its Iraqi debt and moved to restore a full
diplomatic mission in Baghdad by naming a new ambassador.
(AP, 7/6/08)
2008 Jul 9, It was announced
that the Abu Dhabi Investment Council had purchased a 90% stake in
NYC’s Chrysler Building for $800 million.
(WSJ, 7/10/08, p.C3)
2008 Jul 28, Lebanese singer
Suzanne Tamim (30) was found stabbed and her throat slashed in
Dubai. On August 8 Egypt banned news coverage of the brutal slaying
following media reports in other papers that said a wealthy Egyptian
businessman ordered 3 men to carry out the killing. On Sep 2 Hisham
Talaat Moustafa, an Egyptian lawmaker and business tycoon, was
arrested in the death Tamim. He was accused of paying a former
police officer $2 million to kill her. On May 21, 2009, Moustafa was
sentenced to death for ordering Tamim’s death. Former officer,
Mohsen el-Sukkary, was also convicted and sentenced to death. In
2010 Moustafa was spared the death penalty after a retrial changed
his original death sentence to 15 years in prison.
(www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=21342)(AP,
9/2/08)(AP, 5/21/09)(AP, 9/28/10)
2008 Jul, Mubadala Development,
an investment arm of Abu Dhabi, announced that it intended to became
a major shareholder in GE.
(Econ, 9/20/08, SR p.24)
2008 Aug 7, It was reported
that the Dubai-based Al Yousuf Group has invested $10 million in
Zap, a Santa Rosa, Ca., firm that makes electric cars.
(SFC, 8/7/08, p.C1)
2008 Aug 7, It was reported
that two subsidiaries of government-owned Dubai World have acquired
a 20% stake in Canada’s circus operator Cirque du Soleil. In May the
circus had agreed to perform on Palm Jumeirah, a man-made island,
for 15 years starting in 2011.
(SFC, 8/7/08, p.C2)
2008 Aug 21, Forbes magazine
reported that Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej (80) is the world's
richest royal sovereign with a fortune estimated at 35 billion
dollars, and oil-rich Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (60) of Abu
Dhabi is far back at No. 2 with 23 billion.
(AFP, 8/21/08)
2008 Aug 26, In Dubai a
fire in a building packed with foreign laborers killed 11 people. 10
of the victims were Indian.
(AP, 8/27/08)
2008 Sep 3, A helicopter
carrying foreign contractors crashed into an oil platform off the
coast of Dubai, killing all seven people on board and halting
production in one of the emirate's four offshore oil fields.
(AP, 9/4/08)
2008 Oct 5, Abu Dhabi’s
Mubadala Development Co. and Texas-based ConocoPhillips said they
have signed a deal with Kazakhstan’s national oil company to drill
in a potentially lucrative region in the Caspian Sea.
(SFC, 10/6/08, p.D1)
2008 Oct 7, Advanced Micro
Devices (AMD) and Advanced Technology Investment, a recently formed
investment firm owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, said they will
become joint owners of a new company that will take over AMD’s
factories in Germany.
(WSJ, 10/8/08, p.B3)
2008 Oct 12, The United Arab
Emirates said it would guarantee domestic bank deposits and with
Saudi Arabia promised fresh financial support to domestic banks.
(WSJ, 10/13/08, p.A5)
2008 Oct 16, In Dubai a British
couple was sentenced to three months in jail in a case that has
caused controversy because the two were charged in July with having
sex on the beach. The Dubai Court of Appeals upheld the guilty
verdict but dropped the prison sentences for Michelle Palmer and
Vince Acors, though it ruled the couple must still be deported from
the United Arab Emirates and pay a fine of about $272 each.
(AP, 10/15/08)(AP, 11/25/08)
2008 Oct 31, Middle East
investors will own up to one third of Barclays Plc after Abu Dhabi
and Qatar provided most of 7.3 billion pounds ($12.1 billion) raised
by the bank to repair damage from the global financial crisis and
avoid taking UK government rescue funds.
(Reuters, 10/31/08)
2008 Nov 2, Dubai Port World
(DP World) said it has agreed on a deal to run the cargo terminal in
the Algerian port Djendjen. The port, which opened in 1993, is the
most commercially important in Algeria.
(AFP, 11/2/08)
2008 Nov 20, Dubai held a
launch party for its Atlantis Hotel.
(Econ, 12/20/08, p.115)
2008 Nov, Dubai’s government
and state-owned enterprises debt amounted to $80 billion, equivalent
to 148% of GDP.
(Econ, 11/29/08, p.53)
2008 Nov, A US diplomatic cable
said donors in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are sending
an estimated $100 million annually to radical Islamic schools in
Pakistan that back militancy. The cable was leaked to the public on
May 22, 2011.
(AP, 5/22/11)
2008 Dubai handled an estimated
60% of Iran’s merchandise trade, hosted nearly 10,000 Iranian-owned
firms and was linked to Iran by over 250 flights a week.
(Econ, 11/8/08, p.65)
2009 Jan 14, The developer of a
Dubai skyscraper set to soar two-thirds of a mile said it's halting
work on the project for a year as the boomtown grapples with the
financial crisis.
(AP, 1/14/09)
2009 Jan 12, In Dubai Kabir
Mulchandani, chairman of the Dynasty Zarooni development company,
was arrested on charges of fraud and embezzlement. He was accused of
defrauding investors of more than $100 million. He has been under
investigation in India for the past 10 years by the excise
department, directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI), enforcement
directorate (ED), and income tax authority.
(WSJ, 1/24/09, p.C3)(http://tinyurl.com/amevml)
2009 Jan 18, Dubai said it has
reached a deal with Nigeria to invest in the African nation's
conflict-ravaged oil industry and other sectors of the economy.
(AP, 1/18/09)
2009 Jan 19, The United Arab
Emirates central bank cut its benchmark lending rate a half point to
1%,
(WSJ, 1/20/09, p.A11)
2009 Jan, In Sharjah, UAE, a
mob of up to 50 people beat Masri Khan, a Pakistani man, to death
with metal bars in a fight over control of an illegal liquor
business. In March, 2010, 17 Indians were sentenced to death for the
beating. In 2011 the victim’s family accepted over $900,000 in
"blood money," allowing the men to return to their families. In
September, 2011, an Emirati court commuted the death sentences to
two years in prison, paving the way for their return home.
(AFP, 3/30/10)(AP, 7/21/11)(AFP, 9/12/11)
2009 Feb 10, A tanker burst
into flames after colliding with a container ship in a shipping
channel off the coast of Dubai. The Maltese-flagged tanker, Kashmir,
was carrying about 30,000 tons of oil condensate.
(AP, 2/10/09)
2009 Feb 22, The United Arab
Emirates said it will spend $10 billion to bail out Dubai, whose
huge construction and financial sector expansion plans slowed under
the world wide downturn.
(WSJ, 2/23/09, p.A1)
2009 Feb 24, The United Arab
Emirates' official news agency said US firms Boeing Co. and Lockheed
Martin Corp. have been awarded almost $3 billion in contracts to
supply transport aircraft for the country's military.
(AP, 2/24/09)
2009 Mar 9, Dubai’s public
prosecution indicted 7 suspects on bribery and fraud charges
alleging losses to the Dubai Islamic Bank of over $501 million in
fake deals from 2004 to 2007. Two of the men had left the country.
(WSJ, 3/10/09, p.A7)
2009 Mar 16, The government of
Dubai resigned to prevent the questioning in Parliament of the
country’s prime minister, the nephew of Kuwait’s emir, regarding a
number of issues including alleged mismanagement and land-use
concerns.
(WSJ, 3/18/09, p.A8)
2009 Mar 28, In Dubai Sulim
Yamadayev, a former Chechen rebel, was shot in a brazen attack and
died on March 30. He had switched sides to the government during
Chechnya's long-running conflict with Moscow. On April 5 Dubai
authorities said they had arrested two suspects in the slaying. They
said Adam Delimkhanov, a Chechen member of Russia’s lower house and
the Chechen president's right-hand man, had masterminded the
killing. On April 12, 2010, Mahdi Tagi Dhurnia of Iran and Tajik
national Mahsoudjan Asmanov were sentenced to 25 years in prison
after being found guilty of aiding and abetting the assassination of
Yamadayev.
(AP, 3/31/09)(SFC, 3/31/09, p.A5)(AP,
4/5/09)(SFC, 4/6/09, p.A3)(AP, 4/12/10)(AP, 12/22/10)
2009 Apr 8, Dubai’s public
prosecution indicted Mohammed Khalfan Bin Kharbash, a former
minister of state, along with several former company executives for
corruption.
(WSJ, 4/9/09, p.C2)
2009 Apr 17, Mohammed Zuhair
Siddiq, purported Syrian intelligence officer and one of the
suspects in the 2005 assassination of a former Lebanese prime
minister, was arrested in Dubai. He was arrested in France in
October 2005 as a suspect in the murder, but disappeared from house
arrest in France in March, 2008.
(AP, 4/20/09)
2009 Apr 23, Dubai's deputy
police chief denied a report that pirates have laundered ransom
money through banks in the Gulf city-state, according to a local
newspaper.
(AP, 4/23/09)
2009 May 5, H.H Sheikh Sultan
Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority
(ADTA), announced the official launch of Al Ain Wildlife Park and
Resort at the Intercontinental Hotel in Abu Dhabi. Sudan had
recently signed a leasing agreement with an Al Ain National Wildlife
for some 6,180 square miles of southeastern wilderness to be
developed as a safari site with semi-permanent tented camps
and top-class hotels.
(www.ameinfo.com/155601.html)(Econ, 7/11/09,
p.46)
2009 May 6, Bangladesh Home
Minister Sahara Khatun said the UAE has given the government nearly
$1.44 million to distribute among 879 Bangladeshi children who
worked as jockeys at camel races after it was banned in 1993. The
law was openly flouted until authorities reached an agreement in
2005 with UNICEF to help repatriate and rehabilitate child jockeys,
who were mostly taken from poorer Muslim nations such as Bangladesh,
Pakistan and Sudan.
(AP, 5/6/09)
2009 May 26, French President
Nicolas Sarkozy opened his nation's first military base in the Gulf
outside Abu Dhabi, boosting the naval presence along strategic oil
routes and in pirate-infested waters off the Somali coast.
(AP, 5/26/09)
2009 Jul 13, German automobile
group Daimler said it sold 40 percent of its stake in US electric
car maker Tesla Motors to United Arab Emirate's Aabar Investments
group to boost development of low-emission vehicles.
(AP, 7/13/09)
2009 Jul 21, The general
manager of Dubai's Al Nassma said the world's first brand of
chocolate made with camels' milk plans to expand into new Arab
markets, Europe, Japan and the United States.
(AP, 7/21/09)
2009 Jul 28, At the EAA
AirVenture air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Aabar Investments, an Abu
Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund, and Virgin Galactic signed a
strategic partnership in which Aabar would take a 32% stake in
Virgin Galactic for $280 million. To date Virgin Galactic has been
wholly owned and funded by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group.
(Econ, 9/12/09, p.87)(http://tinyurl.com/y8gtjad)
2009 Aug 28, The United Arab
Emirates confirmed that it has seized a cargo ship earlier this
month bound for Iran with a cache of banned arms from North Korea.
Diplomats identified the vessel as a Bahamas-flagged cargo vessel,
the ANL Australia, carrying rocket-propelled grenades and other
weapons.
(AP, 8/29/09)
2009 Sep 9, Dubai’s Sheikh
Mohammed al-Maktoum opened the Arabian Peninsula's first metro
system, the $7.6 billion project, hoping to capture the world's
spotlight on the catchy date of 9/9/09, whether the sleek system is
fully ready to go or not.
(AP, 9/9/09)(Econ, 9/12/09, p.52)
2009 Sep 30, The 24 members of
UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee of Intangible Heritage granted
the tango dance and its music protected cultural status at its
meeting in Abu Dhabi. The designation may make Argentina and
Uruguay, which both claim to be tango's birthplace, eligible to
receive financial assistance from a specialized fund for
safeguarding cultural traditions.
(AP, 9/30/09)
2009 Oct 1, A Lebanese
businessman, Hassan Alayan, alleged that he and several hundred
other Lebanese were expelled from the United Arab Emirates country
because they refused to spy on the Shiite militant group Hezbollah
and other fellow citizens.
(AP, 10/1/09)
2009 Oct 4, The UAR’s official
news agency said Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of
the United Arab Emirates, has signed a law regulating the
development of a civilian nuclear program, clearing the way for
construction of a nuclear power plant with help from the United
States.
(AP, 10/5/09)
2009 Oct 5, Dubai's annual
property fair, the Cityscape expo, opened as a toned down event.
(AP, 10/5/09)
2009 Oct 12, The United Arab
Emirates' highest court convicted an American citizen on
terrorism-related charges amid claims that torture was used to
extract a confession. The court sentenced Naji Hamdan (43) to 18
months in prison, but he should be freed soon because the sentence
counts time served and he was detained last year. Hamdan was
arrested in the UAE in August 2008 and charged in June 2009 with
supporting terrorism, working with terrorist organizations and being
a member of a terrorist group.
(AP, 10/12/09)
2009 Oct 21, A Sudanese cargo
plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Sharjah International
Airport north of Dubai, killing the 6-member crew but causing no
other casualties on the ground.
(AP, 10/21/09)
2009 Oct 31, US Secretary of
State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas and aides in the Gulf emirate of Abu Dhabi before flying to
Israel, where she is expected to meet senior Israeli officials in a
push to restart peace negotiations. A senior Palestinian official
said the Palestinians are unlikely to resume negotiations if Israel
does not halt Jewish settlement building. After the talks Clinton
called for an unconditional resumption of peace talks and welcomed
Israel's offer for a slowdown in settlement activity.
(AP, 10/31/09)(AP, 11/1/09)
2009 Nov 15, India's Essar
Group, and energy-to-steel conglomerate, said it has agreed to buy a
majority stake in Dhabi Group's telecommunication businesses in
African nations Uganda and Congo.
(Reuters, 11/15/09)
2009 Nov 25, Dubai, whose
extravagant building projects have been largely put on hold since
the start of the global financial crisis, said it would ask
creditors at its flagship firms Dubai World and property developer
Nakheel to delay repayment on billions of dollars of debt until May
30, 2010 at the earliest.
(Reuters, 11/26/09)(Econ, 11/28/09, p.83)
2009 Nov 25, Iran stopped the
yacht, “Kingdom of Bahrain,” owned by Sail Bahrain as it sailed from
Bahrain to the Gulf city of Dubai. It had been due to join the
360-mile (580km) Dubai-Muscat Offshore Sailing Race, which was to
begin Nov. 26. Five British sailors were detained.
(AP, 11/30/09)
2009 Nov 26, European banks
were hit by concern about potential exposure to debt problems in
Dubai, while companies where Middle Eastern investors own big stakes
also came under pressure.
(Reuters, 11/26/09)
2009 Nov 29, The United Arab
Emirates' central bank said it would offer additional liquidity to
banks, signaling a push by the federal government to reassure
investors worried about the country's banking sector and its
exposure to Dubai's crushing debt.
(AP, 11/29/09)
2009 Dec 1, UAR stock markets
plunged for a second day after the Dubai government said it is not
guaranteeing debt-ridden Dubai World, which unveiled a major
restructuring plan.
(AP, 12/1/09)
2009 Dec 14, The Dubai
government said it will pay 4.1 billion dollars to cover maturing
Islamic bonds issued by its Nakheel property developer after
receiving a 10-billion-dollar handout from oil-rich Abu Dhabi.
(AFP, 12/14/09)
2009 Dec 15, In Kuwait Gulf
Arab nations put into force a monetary pact, moving a step closer
toward the elusive goal of a single regional currency and greater
integration between the mainly oil-rich states. The announcement was
made by Kuwait's finance minister came as leaders from the
six-member Gulf Cooperation Council nations were wrapping up a
two-day summit in which they launched a regional electricity
project. The GCC groups Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab
Emirates, Oman and Bahrain.
(AP, 12/15/09)
2009 Dec 16, The 8-day Dubai
Int’l. Film Festival (DIFF) closed.
(www.dubaifilmfest.com/schedule_2009.php)
2009 Dec 27, A South Korean
consortium, led by Korea Electric Power (KEPCO), won a $20 billion
contract to build 4 nuclear reactors in the United Arab Emirates.
(Econ, 1/2/10, p.47)
2010 Jan 1, In Dubai a British
woman (23) told police she had been raped the previous evening by a
waiter at a 5-star hotel. Police arrested her after she revealed
during questioning that she had drunk alcohol and had sex with her
fiance, with whom she was on holiday.
(Econ, 1/16/10, p.48)
2010 Jan 4, Dubai inaugurated
the world's tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa, hoping to shift
international attention away from the Gulf emirate's deep financial
crisis and rekindle the optimism that fueled its turbocharged
growth. The name was secretly switched from Burj Dubai and unveiled
to the public as the Burj Khalifa, after the emir of Abu Dhabi and
UAE president Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The observation
deck was the only part of the tower that opened. It was closed in
February following an elevator malfunction that left visitors
trapped. The deck reopened on April 4. Work continued on the rest of
the building's interior.
(AP, 1/4/10)(AFP, 1/5/10)(AP, 1/6/10)(AP, 4/4/10)
2010 Jan 10, Abu Dhabi Sheik
Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the United Arab Emirates
ruling family being tried in connection with the videotaped beating
of an Afghan man, was cleared of all charges. The video showed the
prince beating the man with stick, pouring salt on his wounds and
driving over him in a car. The victim, identified as Afghani grain
dealer Mohammed Shapoor, survived the beatings.
(AP, 1/10/10)(Econ, 1/16/10, p.48)
2010 Jan 20, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh
(b.1960), one of the founders of Hamas' military wing, was poisoned
and electrocuted overnight in his hotel room in Dubai. Al-Mabhouh
was involved in the kidnapping and killing of two Israeli soldiers
in 1989. On Jan 29 Hamas accused Israeli agents of assassinating the
veteran operative.
(AP, 1/29/10)
2010 Feb 4, Dubai's government,
under pressure to repay billions of dollars in debt, said it has
discovered a new offshore oil field, the first such find by the
city-state in decades.
(AP, 2/4/10)
2010 Feb 15, Dubai police held
a stunning news conference and blamed the Jan 19 slaying of Mahmoud
al-Mabhouh on a team of 10 men and one woman carrying passports from
Britain, Ireland, France and Germany.
(AP, 2/16/10)
2010 Feb 16, Dubai police
appealed for an international manhunt after releasing names and
photos of an alleged 11-member European hit squad accused of
stalking and killing a Hamas commander on Jan 19 in a plot that
mixed cold precision with spy caper disguises such as fake beards
and wigs.
(AP, 2/16/10)
2010 Feb 18, Dubai police
directly accused Israel's Mossad spy agency of orchestrating the Jan
19 hit squad slaying of a Hamas commander as the number of suspects
rose to 18.
(AP, 2/18/10)
2010 Feb 22, The United Arab
Emirates said it has picked former International Atomic Energy
Agency chief Hans Blix to head an advisory board for its nuclear
power program. Blix was director general of the IAEA, the UN's
nuclear watchdog, from 1981 to 1997. He led the UN search for
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq until June 2003.
(AP, 2/22/10)
2010 Feb 24, Dubai police
linked at least 15 more suspects carrying foreign passports to the
Jan 19 hit squad slaying of a Hamas commander that the police chief
claimed was likely carried out by Israel's Mossad secret service.
(AP, 2/24/10)
2010 Feb 28, Dubai police said
forensic tests show a Hamas operative, who was killed on Jan 19 in
his hotel room by an alleged Israeli hit squad, was drugged with a
fast-acting muscle relaxant and then suffocated with a pillow.
(AP, 2/28/10)
2010 Mar 17, In Abu Dhabi Hissa
Hilal, only her eyes visible through her black veil, delivered a
blistering poem against Muslim preachers "who sit in the position of
power" but are "frightening" people with their fatwas, or religious
edicts, and "preying like a wolf" on those seeking peace. She
presented her 15-verse poem on the live TV “The Million's Poet”
program.
(AP, 3/23/10)
2010 Mar 22, Dubai Media
reported that authorities planned to step up enforcement of a 2003
law prohibiting restaurants from using booze in food preparation.
(AP, 3/22/10)
2010 Mar 25, Dubai said it
would inject 9.5 billion dollars into Dubai World, which announced
it was asking creditors to wait for up to eight years to be repaid
in full.
(AP, 3/25/10)
2010 Mar 26, The head of Abu
Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, went missing
after his glider crashed in Morocco. Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahyan's
glider went down in a lake in Morocco. The pilot of the aircraft was
rescued in good condition. The body of al-Nahayan was found on March
30.
(AP, 3/27/10)(AFP, 3/30/10)
2010 Apr 4, A Dubai appeals
court upheld a one-month prison sentence for a British couple
convicted of kissing in a restaurant. They were arrested in November
and convicted of inappropriate behavior and illegal drinking. Ayman
Najafi and Charlotte Adams, both in their 20s, were arrested after
an Emirati woman claimed they exchanged a passionate kiss in a
restaurant where she and her daughter were having dinner.
(AP, 4/4/10)
2010 Apr 25, A hot air balloon
carrying 14 people crashed in the desert south of Dubai, killing at
least two.
(AP, 4/25/10)
2010 May 7, A Dubai newspaper
reported that local police have identified five new suspects in the
January slaying of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a Hamas operative in the Gulf
city-state.
(AP, 5/7/10)
2010 May 12, In Dubai James
Ibori, former governor of Nigeria's oil-rich Delta state
(1999-2007), was arrested on a UK warrant. Nigerian anti-graft
agency chief Farida Waziri said Ibori was wanted on charges of
stealing 44 billion naira ($292 million) in state funds while he was
in office. In July Ibori was scheduled for extradition to Britain.
(AP, 5/14/10)(AFP, 7/26/10)
2010 Jun 21, A United
Arab Emirates reported that the UAR has closed down 40 international
and local firms as part of a crackdown on companies that violate UN
sanctions on Iran.
(AFP, 6/21/10)
2010 Aug 1, The United Arab
Emirates said it plans to block some messaging and Web services on
BlackBerry smart phones, days after it warned the device could pose
a potential threat to national security and social values.
(AP, 8/1/10)
2010 Sep 3, A UPS Boeing
747-400 cargo plane with two crew members on board crashed shortly
after takeoff outside Dubai. The 2 crew members, Captain Doug Lampe
(48) of Louisville, Kentucky, and First Officer Matthew Bell (38) of
Sanford, Florida. were killed. On Nov 5 al Qaeda's Yemen-based wing
claimed responsibility for the crash, even though the United Arab
Emirates' civil aviation authority said that there was no evidence
of an explosive device aboard the jet.
(AP, 9/4/10)(AP, 9/5/10)(Reuters, 11/5/10)
2010 Sep 30, The
Arabic-language Al-Ittihad daily quoted Dubai police chief Dahi
Khalfan as saying he had "received two death threats based on the
case of Hamas militant" Mahmud al-Mabhuh's assassination in a Dubai
hotel on January 20.
(AFP, 9/30/10)
2010 Oct 11, Dubai media
reported that a key suspect in the killing of a Hamas operative in
Dubai on Jan 19 has been arrested abroad but details of the capture
are secret. The arrest took place in a Western country about two
months ago.
(AP, 10/11/10)
2010 Oct 11, Officials said
Canadian troops are being forced to pull out of a military base in
the United Arab Emirates that supports their mission in Afghanistan
amid an ongoing dispute over airline landing rights.
(AP, 10/11/10)
2010 Oct 17, A Nigerian
government spokesman said a Dubai court found cause to honor an
extradition request for former Delta state Gov. James Ibori, a
prominent politician in the ruling People's Democratic Party.
Authorities have said Ibori faces charges over stealing $292 million
in state funds while in office.
(AP, 10/17/10)
2010 Oct 18, Abu Dhabi-based
newspaper The National reported that the UAE's highest judicial body
has ruled that a man can beat his wife and young children as long as
the beating leaves no physical marks.
(AP, 10/18/10)
2010 Oct 27, UAR Sheik Saqr bin
Mohammed Al Qasimi (b.1918), a ruler of Ras the al Khaimah emirate
and one of the world's longest-reigning monarchs, died.
(AP, 10/27/10)
2010 Oct 29, Authorities on 3
continents thwarted attacks when they seized explosives on cargo
planes in the United Arab Emirates and England. The plot sent
tremors throughout the US, where after a frenzied day searching
planes and parcel trucks for other explosives, officials temporarily
banned all new cargo from Yemen. The next day police in Dubai said
that the bomb discovered there contained the powerful explosive PETN
and bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida. One of the two powerful bombs
mailed from Yemen to Chicago-area synagogues traveled on two
passenger planes within the Middle East. A tip of the plot came from
Jabir al-Fayfi, a Saudi who was held for years at the US military
prison at Guantanamo Bay. On Nov 5 al Qaeda's Yemen-based wing
claimed responsibility for the explosive parcels.
(AP, 10/30/10)(AP, 10/31/10)(AP,
11/2/10)(Reuters, 11/5/10)
2010 Nov 9, The United Arab
Emirates said it will force Canadians to get a visa to travel to the
Persian Gulf federation as of Jan 2, as ties soured between the
once-close countries. Emirati officials have ratcheted up the
pressure on Ottawa after failing to secure additional landing rights
for their growing government-backed airlines.
(AP, 11/9/10)
2010 Nov 22, UAR state media
said a military Hawk training jet has crashed in Ras al-Khaimah,
killing the pilot. The single-engine Hawk is made by British defense
company BAE Systems.
(AP, 11/22/10)
2010 Nov 24, Emirati (UAR)
leaders prepared a lavish welcome for Britain's Queen Elizabeth II,
who is making her first state visit in more than 30 years to a
country with deep British ties.
(AP, 11/24/10)
2010 Nov 29, British pay-TV
giant BSkyB and Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corp. said they will
launch a free-to-air Arabic language news channel under a joint
venture.
(AFP, 11/29/10)
2010 Dec 7, Leaders of six
US-allied Gulf Arab nations, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC),
said they were monitoring with "utmost concern" developments in
Iran's disputed nuclear program and issued a thinly veiled warning
to their Persian neighbor not to meddle in their internal affairs.
The 2-day gathering of leaders from the Emirates, Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman followed the publication of leaked
US diplomatic memos that revealed deeper concern among Gulf Arab
leaders over Tehran's nuclear program than had previously been
known.
(AP, 12/7/10)
2010 Dec 19, A Dubai court
sentenced Mark Arnold (42), a Briton, charged with killing Kelly
Winter, his South African ex-lover, to life in prison. Winter (36)
disappeared in August 2008 following a quarrel with Arnold.
Prosecutors charged him with clubbing her to death with a baseball
bat and dumping her body with weights in the sea. Her body was never
found. Life in prison equals 25 years in the United Arab Emirates.
(AFP, 12/19/10)
2010 Dec 22, A Dubai court
slashed the prison terms for two men convicted in the 2009 slaying
of a former Chechen warlord from life to just three years in a
surprise ruling that highlighted the international intrigue
surrounding the case. The family of the slain Chechen strongman,
Sulim Yamadayev, had submitted a letter disavowing any desire for
further punishments in connection with the killing.
(AP, 12/22/10)
2010 Dec 29, The UAE embassy in
Ottawa said on its website that Canadians would be charged $250 for
a 30-day single entry visa while a six-month multiple entry visa
would cost $1000, with a maximum stay of 14 days during each visit.
Tensions have risen between the two countries since Canada denied
expanded landing rights for UAE airlines flying to Canada. That
triggered a UAE government decision to end access to a military base
used by the Canadian military to support troops in Afghanistan.
(Reuters, 12/29/10)
2010 In Abu Dhabi German
entrepreneur Thomas Geissler, creator of the "Gold to Go" brand and
chief executive of Ex Oriente Lux, installed a money machine at the
Emirates Palace hotel that dispenses pure gold. The
cash-for-gold machines were first tested in Germany in 2009.
(Reuters, 5/13/10)
2011 Jan 9, UAR media reports
said Dubai’s Court of Cassation, the last stop in the appeal
process, confirmed that the United Arab Emirates' strict indecency
codes cover hand gestures and the deportation sentence would stand
and upheld the deportation of a Pakistani man for a case of road
rage that included a raised middle finger.
(AP, 1/9/11)
2011 Jan 12, A Dubai court gave
a three-year jail sentence to a self-professed African wizard, a
blacksmith from Chad, who claimed he could make millions of dollars
rain from the sky in exchange for a modest payment to genies.
(AP, 1/12/11)
2011 Jan 20, Dubai media
reported that undercover agents have wrapped up a real sting
operation, finding devices that delivered electric shocks to camels
to make them run faster in races. Small vibrating robot "jockeys"
were being used atop camels for racing in the United Arab Emirates.
(AP, 1/20/11)
2011 Jan 30, Oman said it has
dismantled an Emirati spy ring that was targeting the government and
the military in the Gulf sultanate. An official the cell was
uncovered five months ago, before it was watched and dismantled by
Omani security services.
(AFP, 1/30/11)
2011 Feb 10, In Dubai convicted
killer Rashid Rabee al-Rashidi, a 30-year-old boat captain, was put
to death by a firing squad in the first execution in the United Arab
Emirates in three years. The execution followed his conviction for
raping and killing a boy (4) in a mosque bathroom in November 2009.
(AP, 2/10/11)
2011 Feb 27, In the United Arab
Emirates 4 Americans aboard a turboprop plane were killed when their
aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff in Abu Dhabi.
(AP, 2/28/11)
2011 Mar 4, Oman said it has
reconciled with the United Arab Emirates after Kuwaiti mediation
succeeded in resolving tensions over an alleged spy ring.
(AP, 3/4/11)
2011 Mar 9, A group of citizens
in the United Arab Emirates petitioned the rulers to allow the
people to elect parliament. The petition was addressed to the
Emirates' president and the ruler of the oil-rich capital Abu Dhabi,
Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
(AP, 3/9/11)
2011 Mar 21, Abdul Rahman bin
Hamad al-Attiyah, secretary general of the six-nation Gulf
Cooperation Council, underscored the commitment of Qatar and the UAR
to the international military coalition striking Libya but stressed
the mission seeks only to protect civilians.
(AP, 3/21/11)
2011 Mar 24, Dubai police said
the Gulf emirate has seized thousands of small arms being smuggled
in a sea cargo shipment bound for Yemen. The weapons were discovered
in a Dubai warehouse about two weeks ago. The shipment originated in
Turkey.
(AP, 3/24/11)
2011 Mar 28, In Dubai Alain
Robert, a French skyscraper climber, scaled the Burj Khalifa in just
over 6 hours.
(SFC, 3/29/11, p.A2)
2011 Apr 1, The UAR-owned MV
Arrilah-1 came under attack in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman
while sailing from Australia to Dubai. Emirati special forces, with
support from the US Navy's 5th Fleet, launched a mission to rescue
the vessel while 21 crew members kept safe by locking themselves in
a secure room during the hijacking. 10 pirates were captured and
handed over to Abu Dhabi.
(AFP, 4/2/11)(AP, 4/6/11)
2011 Apr 2, In the UAR Iftikhar
Ahmed Khan was shot five times in the head in Ajman, an emirate east
of Dubai where he was operating a construction company. Khan, a
former mayor of Haripur town in northwestern Pakistan, was held in
the 2008 slaying of a provincial official in the region. He was
granted bail and left for the UAE.
(AP, 4/4/11)
2011 Apr 7, UAR blogger and a
human rights activist Ahmed Mansour said authorities have launched
an "unprecedented campaign of outrages insults and threats" against
him since he signed a petition calling for political reform.
(AP, 4/7/11)
2011 Apr 9, In the UAR
activist, Fahad Salem al-Shehhy was detained in Ajman, a federation
emirate north of Dubai.
(AP, 4/10/11)
2011 Apr 10, In the UAR Nasser
bin Ghaith, a financial analyst and an economics professor at the
Abu Dhabi branch of Paris' Sorbonne university was detained in
Dubai.
(AP, 4/10/11)
2011 Apr 25, Abu Dhabi state
news agency said five activists, including a blogger and an
academic, were detained for "opposing the government" in the
oil-rich Gulf country.
(AP, 4/25/11)
2011 May 9, Abu Dhabi donated
US$32 million dollars to Queensland to help protect the Australian
state from cyclones in the wake of a monster storm that hit in
February.
(AFP, 5/9/11)
2011 May 10, The Gulf
Co-operation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia,
UAE) said it welcomed Jordan’s request to join the 6-member group.
Jordan had first applied for membership in the mid-1980s. The GCC
said it would encourage Morocco to also join.
(Econ, 5/21/11,
p.54)(http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=13586238)
2011 May 15, The New York Times
reported that the crown prince of Abu Dhabi has hired Erik Prince,
the founder of private security firm Blackwater Worldwide, to set up
an 800-member battalion of foreign troops for the United Arab
Emirates.
(Reuters, 5/15/11)
2011 Jul 19, A United Arab
Emirates fighter plane crashed during a training mission, killing
the pilot.
(AP, 7/20/11)
2011 Aug 7, In Dubai water
pipes ruptured during maintenance at the seven-building Oceana
complex on one of the iconic palm islands, forcing residents to bath
in the sea and head to the malls to use the restroom.
(AP, 8/11/11)
2011 Sep 24, In the UAR voters
chosen by the rulers of the United Arab Emirates began casting their
ballots in only the second-ever polls to elect half of the members
of the powerless Federal National Council. Some 129,000 Emirati
citizens were eligible to elect 20 representatives out of 450
candidates, including some 85 women, in 13 voting centers across the
Gulf state whose leadership has promised gradual political
participation.
(AFP, 9/24/11)
2011 UAR citizens accounted for
less than a fifth of the resident population which numbered about
8.2 million.
(Econ, 7/2/11, p.39)
2015 In the UAR Dubailand, a
tourism and entertainment complex, hoped to attract 15 million
tourists annually by this time. This amounted to about 40,000
visitors per day.
(Econ, 5/17/08, p.85)
2016 The UAR emirate of Dubai
was expected to run out of oil about this time.
(Econ, 3/4/06, p.56)
2017 In the UAR Dubai’s new
airport at Jebel Ali was scheduled to come into full operation with
a capacity to handle 120 million passengers a year.
(Econ, 5/17/08, p.85)
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