Destination: United Arab Emirates
I’m Dreaming of a Green Dubai (or at Least Some Clean Beaches)
by Joanna Kakissis | 03.02.09 | 11:16 AM ET
It’s been a rough few months of sewage-on-the-beach damage control for the city of excess and $25,000-a-night hotel suites on artificial islands shaped like palm trees. After raw sewage, chemical waste and toilet paper washed up on opulent, luxury hotel-lined Jumeirah Beach and made international headlines, an environmental group is trying to clean up the beach and others along the United Arab Emirates coastline. The Emirates Wildlife Association will encourage managers of the beaches to apply for a Blue Flag designation and meet international standards for water quality and cleanliness.
Email to friend
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Mixx
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! BuzzMorning Links: JetBlue Fare Refunds, America’s Emptiest Cities and More
by Michael Yessis | 02.18.09 | 8:31 AM ET
- It happened again: Another cruise ship ran aground in Antarctica.
- Las Vegas and Detroit finished 1-2 in a Forbes list of America’s emptiest cities.
- Inside the hardened, restless lives of business-travel nomads.
- Here’s a scathing takedown of the idea of Dubai. (via Kottke)
- Here’s another dancing guy. He doesn’t go around the world, though. Just to hallways and stairwells and such.
- Teresa Watanabe looks at African Americans who are being “called back to Africa by DNA.”
- JetBlue promises fare refunds if you lose your job—with some fine print.
- “Afghan Model” is coming to Emrooz TV.
- The Yankees are building a new vacation stadium in the Hamptons, complete with on-deck gazebos and yacht parking for the players. The Onion has exclusive video.
Got a suggestion? .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) your link.
Morning Links: God and Jerry Springer in Italy, a Tourist in Falluja and More
by Michael Yessis | 02.09.09 | 8:33 AM ET
- Tom Miller examines how the way of life on the U.S.-Mexico border is “under siege.”
- An Italian man went to Falluja and declared, “I am a tourist.”
- The fires in Australia continue to rage. Here’s a map.
- Joe Leahy looks at Mumbai’s “experimental” music scene.
- Rick Moody looks at why Sonoran Arizona has produced its share of interesting and rather strange bands. (Via The Morning News)
- Here’s a list of the world’s most stylish hotel design details.
- Expat workers in Dubai have been abandoning their luxury cars at the airport and heading home.
- Lost your job? Tim Leffel suggests going abroad and teaching English.
- God and Jerry Springer vacation in Italy.
- Two Americans have been charged with barbecuing iguana in the Bahamas. They were busted after posting photos of their ‘cue on Facebook.
Got a suggestion? .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) your link.
Morning Links: Skycar, Disney Shanghai and More
by Michael Yessis | 01.15.09 | 9:07 AM ET
- Disney and Shanghai have reportedly agreed on plans for a new Disney theme park in China.
- Google has added a transit layer to its maps in 50 world cities.
- The Skycar—a flying car—departed from London to Timbuktu with Neil Laughton behind the wheel.
- CNN offers video profiles of Dubai’s Emirates terminal and the airport of the year, Hong Kong International Airport.
- What about the world’s worst airports?
- Hu Jintao warns of potential travel problems in China for Chinese New Year.
- Men’s Fitness names Salt Lake City the fittest city in the U.S. The fattest? Miami.
- Slideshow: Paragliding over Africa.
- A Japanese website maps smells around the world. Apparently, there’s a “toasty odor of cow dung” somewhere out there.
Got a suggestion? .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) your link.
Dubai ‘Sex on Beach’ Travelers Sentenced to Three Months in Jail
by Michael Yessis | 10.16.08 | 5:30 PM ET
The British couple was fined $272 each for the now-infamous transgression. The attorney representing the duo said he will appeal the case, citing a medical report that the “sex on beach” couple didn’t actually have sex.
Related on World Hum:
* Duo in Dubai ‘Sex on Beach’ Case Asks Judge to Let Them Return to Britain
* British Couple Arrested for Having Sex on Beach in Dubai
The QE2’s Final Hurrah
by Valerie Conners | 10.07.08 | 10:37 AM ET
Before she is remade into a floating hotel in Dubai, the Queen Elizabeth 2 is taking a farewell journey. She recently pulled into the port from which she launched 41 years ago. The Daily Mail reports on the trip, and features a series of photos of the ship as it sailed home one final time.
Duo in Dubai ‘Sex on Beach’ Case Asks Judge to Let Them Return to Britain
by Michael Yessis | 09.02.08 | 12:23 PM ET
The judge denied the request, setting another hearing for next week. Michelle Palmer and Vince Acors are on trial for, as we previously noted, allegedly having sex on the beach in Dubai. Palmer says she and Acors hugged and kissed, but didn’t have sex, according to the AP. Still, as Barbara Surk writes, “Public display of affection, such as touching, kissing or hugging, is illegal in Dubai and couples—particularly if not married—can be detained by police for indecency.”
Related on World Hum:
* Brits Go on Holiday, Europe Cowers in Fear
British Couple Arrested for Having Sex on Beach in Dubai
by Jim Benning | 07.10.08 | 11:42 AM ET
Contributor Elyse Franko recently wrote that Dubai is “the place where kids can be kids and dads can indulge their midlife crises.” But apparently it’s not the place where a couple of Brits can have sex on the beach and not get arrested.
First Moving Skyscraper to be Built in Dubai
by Jim Benning | 06.25.08 | 1:55 PM ET
Eighty ever-shifting floors? Oh, Dubai, you just give and give and give.
Dubailand to Add Marvel Comics, Ferraris
by Elyse Franko | 06.24.08 | 3:50 PM ET
We’ve already noted plans for Dubailand, Dubai’s massive amusement park complex that’s been staked out by Universal Studios and Six Flags. According to the Wall Street Journal, recent deals will to the mix add a Marvel superhero-themed park and a Ferrari-themed park called (you guessed it) Ferrari-Land. Ah, Dubai: The place where kids can be kids and dads can indulge their midlife crises.
Related on World Hum:
*Theme Parks Bound for Mumbai and Dubai
‘High’ Risk of Terrorist Attack in UAE
by Jim Benning | 06.16.08 | 10:24 AM ET
The warning for the United Arab Emirates comes from the UK Foreign Office but included few details. BBC report here.
Brad Pitt to Help Design Eco-Friendly Dubai Hotel
by Jim Benning | 06.04.08 | 12:29 PM ET
Oh, Brad Pitt, is there nothing you can’t do?
A Carbon-Free ‘Green City’ in the Desert?
by Joanna Kakissis | 05.06.08 | 10:42 AM ET
If the excesses of Dubai aren’t your thing, you might soon consider a very different kind of travel destination in the United Arab Emirates. Oil-rich Abu Dhabi is planning to build an “eco city” for 50,000 people that will be powered entirely by renewable energy, NPR reports.
In Dubai, a Little Lyon in the Desert?
by Joanna Kakissis | 01.29.08 | 7:07 AM ET
Ah, what love (and oil money) can do. They’re fueling the so-called “Lyon-Dubai City” project, which aims to create a mini version of France’s third-largest city in the desert of the United Arab Emirates.
Interview with George Saunders: Loose in the Real World
by Frank Bures | 09.28.07 | 1:03 PM ET
Frank Bures talks with the author about Dubai, Nepal's Buddha Boy and what he learned about travel from a mob of rock-hauling, 70-year-old women in Singapore