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)
2200BC 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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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 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 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 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, 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)
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, 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 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.
(AP,
8/13/08)(www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=21342)(AP, 9/2/08)(AP,
5/21/09)
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 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 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. The sentences were
subject to appeal.
(AFP, 3/30/10)
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, an Iranian and a Tajik 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)
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 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)
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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Subject = UAR
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