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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