Abu Dhabi and Dubai Blog

The country’s once-pristine coast, which is dotted with six star hotels and exclusive resorts, has been transformed into a foul-smelling health hazard in recent weeks. The state of the beaches have become so bad that a stretch of the exclusive Jumeirah Beach – a magnet for Western tourists and home to a string of expensive hotels – has been closed.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/4380051/Dubais-polluted-beaches-closed-to-public.html

“The snowfall started at 3pm Friday, and heavy snowing began at 8pm and continued till midnight, covering the entire area in a thick blanket of snow. Much of the snow was still there even when we flew back from the mountain this afternoon. It is still freezing cold up there and there are chances that it might snow again tonight.”
Aisha al Hebsy, a woman in her 50s who has lived in the mountains near Jebel Jais all her life, said snowfall in the area was so unheard of the local dialect does not even have a word for it. Hail is known as bared, which literally translates as cold. “Twenty years ago we had lots of hail,” said Ms al Hebsy. “Last night was like this. At four in the morning we came out and the ground was white.”

http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090125/NATIONAL/688880349/1010/enewsletter

Here is an interesting piece from the Guardian on the recent announcement of Abu Dhabi’s ambitious goals for a greener emirate.

Abu Dhabi announced at a summit of world leaders on renewable energy yesterday that it would become the first petro-driven economy to make a significant commitment to renewables – and it is partly thanks to Prince Charles. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi, has decreed that 7% of power will come from green energy sources by 2020.

Thanks Prince Charles.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/jan/20/energy-oil-abudhabi

Opinion piece from the Guardian on social issues raised by the BBC’s decision film episode of hit British TV show in emirate’s leading city.

Though Dubai might be doing an effective job of presenting itself as a glitzy tourist destination, a place associated with mind-boggling decadence and the embodiment in glass and steel of the determination of the human spirit, the fact is, you may run out of fingers counting the ways in which filming even some of Doctor Who there is wrong.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/garethmcleanblog/2009/jan/16/1

The UAE has proposed setting up of a commission to investigate the “war crimes” committed by Israel against civilians in Gaza and has asked the international community to “exert the maximum possible pressure” to bring the violence to an end.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/10161550.htm

But now the enormous real estate bubble of the sheikhs, oligarchs and neo-capitalist financiers has burst. The international economic crisis has caught up with the nouveau-riche high flyers in the Middle East and Asia who, until recently, had gloatingly watched the collapse of the West, where one skyscraper project after the next has been abandoned. But now the brakes are also being put on one construction project after another in Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Russia.

but…

Perhaps the deceleration brought on by the financial crisis will trigger a change in attitudes. Perhaps the energy-saving factor will be the strongest selling point in the future, and perhaps a new aesthetic of environmentally friendly simplicity will develop as a result. Or maybe not.

for example…

Certainly there is some projects to look forward to. There is Dubai’s Xeritown, “a novel example of man and nature working in harmony, an entire town is to be built along a north-south axis to take advantage of cool breezes blowing in off the sea.”

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/01/dubious-dubai-hits-pause.php

Nakheel, the state-owned developer of Dubai’s palm-tree shaped islands, said on Wednesday it would halt work on a kilometre (3,281-feet) tall tower for a year in the Gulf’s trade and tourism hub.

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSLE18816220090114

We just added a classifieds section to ABDB so if you’ve got anything you want to sell or promote, be sure to check it out!

http://www.abdb.com/classified/?_action=classified

Crime bosses are fleeing to the United Arab Emirates state because there is no extradition treaty with the UK.

They are also using the property market there as an easy way to launder their millions.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/01/11/exclusive-dubai-the-new-costa-del-crime-for-british-criminals-115875-21032007/

As Israel continued its bombardments in Gaza, a large number of protesters took to the streets in simultaneous protests all across the emirates, shouting slogans and, raising banners and placards depicting the innocent victims, mainly children.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2009/January/theuae_January178.xml&section=theuae&col=