Abu Dhabi and Dubai Blog

Down on the beach next to the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club and the fishing harbour there’s a stink: raw sewage is flowing into the sea close to prime tourist beaches.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7663883.stm

‘We need slaves to build monuments’- Ghaith Abdul-Ahad

Behind the dizzying construction boom is an army of migrant labourers lured into a life of squalor and exploitation

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/gallery/2008/oct/08/1?picture=338366526

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The 13-foot long female whale shark wandered into the shallow waters off Dubai’s Gulf coast in August. A week later, representatives of the recently opened $1.5 billion Atlantis hotel announced that the resort’s marine biologists and veterinarians had rescued the whale shark and transported it to an open-air aquarium with 65,000 fish, stingrays and other sea creatures.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/09/news/ML-Dubai-Whale-Shark.php

Dubai developer Nakheel – the company that created man-made islands in the shapes of a palm tree and the world – said the structure will be the centre-piece of an inner-city harbour set to become the emirate’s new, unofficial capital.

Towering over the Burj Dubai, the Nakheel Tower is planned to be the tallest building on the planet.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1069030/Revealed-Plans-build-worlds-tallest-building-1km-high.html

‘Oh yes, it looks good, doesn’t it? But we’ve all made a pact with the devil to be here. You get the tax-free salary, but in return you have to give up all your rights. There’s no accountability, no transparency, no rule of law. There’s no legislative body. Very few employment rights. It looks like a modern country, but it takes more than a few skyscrapers to create one of those. Scratch the surface and it’s a different story. And if you’re a silly young girlie who gets into trouble, then forget it.’

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/05/middleeast.gender

After spending 10 months in a Dubai prison for possession of 2 grams of cannabis, British drum and bass DJ Grooverider has been sent home.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_7649000/7649435.stm

Chennai: Over 3,000 Indian workers who had been detained in various jails in the UAE on July 7 on charges of rioting at their labour camp in Ras Al Khaimah were released on Tuesday.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indians_Abroad/Indian_workers_detained_in_UAE_released/articleshow/3538259.cms

Dubai, home to the world’s tallest tower and other extravagant landmarks, boasts a new resort billed as unique in the Middle East: the ocean-themed Atlantis, where a night will cost up to US$25,000 (S$36,196).

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/World/Story/STIStory_285462.html

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