So very hungry now

Free speech? You must be joking!

Al Jandaly’s detention is all the more surprising considering the UAE’s constitution states the country provides for ‘freedom of speech’. However, in practice this is severely restricted as most UAE-based publications are still told what can and cannot be reported — the reason for the strong regulatory and political control of media content in the UAE.

Furthermore, the UAE Printing and Publishing Law, 1980, contains article 81, which states that it is prohibited to publish news that causes harm to the national currency or causes damage to the national economy.

Thuraya phones seized in India.

Understatement of the year - Pakistan needs a new leader.

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal's going liquid.

PRINCE Alwaleed Bin Talal, the world’s richest Arab, last week revealed plans to float hotel and media assets worth more than US$2 billion in Dubai and London over the next two years.

If you look closely, Emaar's financial reporting is a bit .. shall we say.. inconclusive?

REAL ESTATE giant Emaar Properties reported a net profit of US$328 million for the second quarter of this year, down some 8.8% from the company’s first-quarter results of US$360 million.

I can't remember if I blogged about Nakheel's empty villa compound but I found this very disturbing. May I remind you that these are the people building The Palms and The World.

Ever had Lebanese wine?

I wonder if you can get a degree in Islamic banking.

The good people in Iraq can't seem to get beyond their selves. Makes me sick to be from a land that's in such close proximity to such nonsense.

Conflicting reports all over the place about the planning invested in The Palms.

A UK broadsheet claimed the US$3 billion project was in jeopardy and accused developers of over-utilising the site. It said they were building too many homes in too small a space, making access in and around the man-made island a nightmare.

Petrol prices went up in the UAE?! I'm in shock!

The Arabian Kings of Cash - world's richest Arabs. So very very cool that they're mostly business people and industrialists and not playboys.

SHARJAH in the United Arab Emirates is planning an enormous offshore development to rival the Palm projects currently under construction in Dubai.

Oh please, Sharjah ain't got nothing on Dubai.

Dubai’s bullish financial markets were shaken to the core last week after it was discovered that US$2 billion worth of trading had to be wiped out because of a fake deal scandal. The shock move was revealed after an entire month’s worth of share dealing was ploughed into one company in a single day.

Read it all here...

The spectacle of impoverished nations like Afghanistan and Bangladesh ferrying emergency aid to the wealthiest country on the planet serves as a grim notice to us all.

Am I the only one who thinks that there's something suspicious about Mother Nature going berserk so soon.. so fast.. ?

Yet another request for scholarship denied. Now I'm depressed.