Contrary to expectations, the average number of passengers using the Dubai Metro has gradually been increasing since its launch on September 9, thanks to some quick measures taken to improve various services at the Metro stations, a senior official has said.

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/traffic-transport/dubai-s-commuters-getting-used-to-the-metro-1.522049

A development that was meant to send Dubai’s star into the firmament of First World cities has been left to the mercy of the waves and the baking winds.

Mile after mile of breakwater built from boulders brought hundreds of miles by ship has been laid, but inside its man-made lagoon, work has completely stopped.

The expected map of the world of 300 islands is instead a disjointed and desolate collection of sandy blots — a monumental folly just out of sight of Dubai’s shore.

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/middle-east/extravagant-dubai-island-project-sinks-under-weight-of-the-credit-crunch-1884856.html

“The Metro is expected to change life in Dubai as it will not only provide easy public transport but will also help reduce traffic, improve environment and attract tourists,” said Abdul Majeed Al Khaja, chief executive officer of the Rail Agency of the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), which is carrying out the project.

Some 3,200 people are being trained to ensure the smooth operation of the Metro. UK-based company Serco has been tasked with operating the Metro for the first 10 years. Serco is currently providing training to employees – including UAE nationals – as it gears up for the launch of the Red Line.

http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Traffic_and_Transport/10318639.html

Less than on hour’s drive from Dubai, that city on steroids, is a magical oasis, where desert animals thrive and have no fear of man. Fittingly, the first creature we see as the gate closes behind us is the oryx, the antelope that gave the 225-square-kilometre Desert Conservation Reserve its Arab name. That 225 square kilometres is five per cent of the Dubai Emirate’s total land area.

http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/Dubai+nature+reserve+oasis/804417/story.html

The Dubai Metro (In Arabic: مترو دبي) is a driverless, fully automated metro network which is under construction in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai. The Red and Green Lines are under construction, and further lines are planned. These first two lines will run underground in the city centre and on elevated viaducts elsewhere.[1] The Dubai Metro will be the longest fully automated rail system in the world when it opens in 2009.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai_Metro

Dubai is studying plans to build a $200 billion (£114 billion) mega-canal that would allow oil tankers to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. The Gulf emirate is understood to be considering the idea as a means of reducing Iran’s influence on the flow of oil from the region.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/the_gulf/article4710599.ece