News on Dubai

Mideast Dubai Whale Shark

2010-03-18T09:45:59Z

FILE - Sammy, the 13-feet (4 meter) long female whale shark swims inside a giant aquarium at the Atlantis hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in this Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008 file photo. The resort hotel on one of Dubai's man-made islands said Thursday March 18, 2010 that it has freed the whale shark whose captivity had been criticized by environmentalists. (AP Photo/Kamran Je...

Dubai hotel releases whale shark back into wild

2010-03-18T09:45:21Z

<div id="subtitle">Dubai's Atlantis hotel frees female whale shark whose captivity had been criticized</div><div><p>A resort hotel on one of Dubai's manmade islands said Thursday it has freed a whale shark whose captivity had been criticized by environmentalists.</p><p>The Atlantis hotel on the city-state's Palm Jumeirah island said it released the 13-...

Steamy text messages lands couple in Dubai jail

2010-03-18T00:45:32Z

<div id="subtitle">SMS OMG: Indian's couple's steamy text messages lands them in Dubai jail</div><div><p>A string of steamy text messages has resulted in a jail sentence for an Indian couple, local media announced Wednesday, in the latest case of passions clashing with the law in the cosmopolitan, yet occasionally conservative, Gulf city of Dubai.</p><p>The conviction said the sexual content of the texts suggested the ...

Djokovic out, Nadal advances in Indian Wells

2010-03-17T21:15:48Z

<div><p>Croatian veteran Ivan Ljubicic ousted a weary world number two Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters 1000.</p><p>While third-seeded defending champion Rafael Nadal booked his quarter-final ber...

Airline crew face jail over sexy texts

2010-03-17T07:16:33Z

<div><p>DUBAI (Reuters) - Two Emirates airlines cabin crew have been ordered jailed for three months in Dubai over sexually explicit text messages, the latest in a string of indecency cases against foreigners, a newspaper reported Wednesday.</p><p>The pair, an Indian flight attendant and her cabin services supervisor, were convicted of "coercion to commit sin" over ...

Cabin crew in Dubai jailed for sexy texting: report

2010-03-17T06:16:42Z

<div><p>Two Emirates Airline cabin crew in Dubai were given three-month jail terms for exchanging sexy text messages, a local daily reported on Wednesday.</p><p>The then-married flight attendant, 42, and her male supervisor, 47, were convicted of "coercion to commit sin," the National daily reported court documents as saying.</p><p>It said the pair -- both Indian -- were earlier sentenced to six months in prison to be ...

Dubai World to offer full debt repayment: report

2010-03-17T01:45:07Z

<div><p>DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai World will offer banks a single proposal to repay in full the $26 billion debt it is renegotiating, with interest likely linked to LIBOR, Al Arabiya reported on Wednesday.</p><p>Officials from Dubai and neighboring emirate <...

Viewing deck of Dubai's Burj Khalifa tower shut

2010-03-16T09:17:41Z

<div><p>The viewing deck of Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, remains shut for "maintenance," an employee said Tuesday, a month after its elevator became stuck, trapping passengers.</p><p>The employee in the tower's information office said the viewing deck remains closed for "maintenance." No date had yet been set for its reopening, the employee said.</p>&...

Pair faces jail time in Dubai over kiss

2010-03-15T10:16:47Z

<div><p>DUBAI (Reuters) - A British pair caught kissing in public in Dubai face up to a month in jail in the Gulf Arab emirate for indecency after an Emirati mother complained her child had seen their indiscretion.</p><p>The pair, a British man living in Dubai and a female friend, were arrested in November on accusations of kissing and touching each other intimately...

British pair faces jail time in Dubai over kiss

2010-03-14T08:30:04Z

British kissing couple awaits jail verdict in Dubai

2010-03-14T07:15:53Z

<div><p>A British couple accused of kissing in public in the Muslim emirate of Dubai will find out next month if an appeals court will uphold their one-month prison sentence, their lawyer said on Sunday.</p><p>The couple is accused of "committing a sexual act (by) kissing on the lips and touching," lawyer Khalaf al-Hosani told AFP. "A final verdict will be reached on ...

British couple appealing Dubai kiss conviction

2010-03-14T04:45:24Z

<div id="subtitle">British couple convicted for public smooch seeks appeal in Dubai</div><div><p>A British couple is appealing a jail sentence after being accused of sharing a passionate kiss in a Dubai restaurant.</p><p>Cosmopolitan Dubai has the most lenient social codes in the Gulf, but authorities can still crack down on people charged with pushing the limits.</p><p>Ayman Najifi, a Briton working in Dub...

Israel supermarket chain uses Dubai killing in ad campaign

2010-03-10T12:16:37Z

<div><p>An Israeli supermarket chain is using the alleged assassination of a Hamas commander in Dubai by a hit squad from the Mossad intelligence agency as the basis of a marketing campaign.</p><p>The Almost Free Warehouse chain shot the television advertisment on Wednesday under the slogan: "Eliminate the prices."</p><p&...

Mideast Israel Palestinians Dubai Slaying Spoof

2010-03-10T11:02:16Z

Israeli actors mimic scenes in the surveillance footage from the Hamas assassination in Dubai for a supermarket commercial in Petah Tikva, central Israel, Wednesday, March 10, 2010. An Israeli supermarket commercial is looking to cash in on the infamous surveillance footage of an assassination team killing a Hamas c...

Mideast Israel Dubai Slaying Spoof

2010-03-10T11:02:13Z

Mideast Israel Dubai Slaying Spoof

2010-03-10T11:02:12Z

Israeli ad inspired by Hamas killing

2010-03-10T11:01:17Z

<div id="subtitle">Israeli supermarket advertisement inspired by Dubai surveillance tape of Hamas assassination</div><div><p>An Israeli supermarket on Wednesday looked to to cash in on the infamous surveillance camera footage showing suspected assassins stalking a Hamas operative in Dubai with a new advertising campaign.</p><p>The commercials for the "Mahsaney Kimat Hinam" supe...

Dubai creditors to get multiple options -sources

2010-03-10T07:00:39Z

<div><p>DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - Lenders to Dubai World will get a range of options including full repayment once Abu Dhabi decides how much additional support it will provide its debt-strapped neighbor, sources close to the discussions said.</p><p>Bankers in

Dubai accuses Israel of 'vast falsification' of passports

2010-03-09T08:16:48Z

<div><p>Dubai's police chief accused Israel on Tuesday of "vast falsification" of travel documents, noting that dozens of false passports were uncovered following a Hamas leader's murder in the emirate.</p><p>"I ring alarm bells. Israel is falsifying Western passports on a large scale. We discover forged passports on a daily basis," DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates pledged its support for Dubai on Tuesday but said the emirate had yet to ask for federal help, which analysts said would come reluctantly and with strings attached.</p><p>The UAE finance minister s...