This website has in the past defended the UAE; praised some of the initiatives there and the willingness to embrace people from around the world. Now of course this was not without a purpose. On its own the UAE could never … Continue reading
Category Archives: Middle East
Overnight the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs put out this statement in English arguing, preposterously, that Jamal Khashoggi was killed by accident in a fist fight in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on 2 October. Let’s start with this useful … Continue reading
I have re-published this op-ed from today’s Washington Post unedited and in full. Jamal Khashoggi has not been seen since he entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on 2nd October. He has not been seen since. It appears from … Continue reading
I should not gloat over the demise of Abraaj Capital but karma is a wonderful thing! The Dubai-based private equity group has filed for provisional liquidation — a Cayman Islands court-driven restructuring process — to protect itself against a winding … Continue reading
Reply
After three years denouncing the Iran nuclear deal as “horrible,” “disastrous,” and “insane,” Donald Trump yesterday formally announced that “the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal” and would “begin reinstituting U.S. nuclear sanctions on the Iranian regime.” … Continue reading
How close are we to a major war in the Middle East – that could drag in allies from Russia, the USA and the west? This will not be a domestic war; this is not contained like Yemen, Syria or … Continue reading
Here is the trouble with simply rehashing a press release and calling it news. The press release is marketing – it is about finding a silver lining. Emirates 24/7 is no longer a newspaper – but it also appears to … Continue reading
Back on 1 January I wrote about my concerns in respect of the world record claimed by Emaar for their Burj Khalifa NYE light show. Those comments are here. I also left an enquiry with the Guinness World Records team … Continue reading
An aerial view of DWC during the Dubai Air Show. The pictures shows the existing LCC terminal expansion, the single main runway but also the much smaller runway under construction for the Emirates Aviation College, the DAS site at the … Continue reading
Picture: Khaleej Times via google. Here are the highlights of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa new years eve show. No fireworks. A LED and laser show instead. And despite the inevitable hype from Dubai’s compliant media there were a lot of very … Continue reading