Washington Post (March 8)
The war in Iran “is hitting the economies of Europe and Asia harder and faster than it is striking the United States.” The conflict’s impact extends far beyond oil and natural gas prices. For example, “the closure of several international airports in the conflict zone, including the world’s busiest in Dubai, idled nearly one-fifth of global airfreight capacity, interrupting shipments of consumer electronics, pharmaceuticals and precious metals.” At present, “the cost of shipping goods by air from Asia to Europe is up 45 percent since the war began,” double the increase “for sending items from Asia to the United States.”
Tags: Airfreight, Airports, Asia, Conflict, Dubai, Economies, Electronics, Europe, Impact, Interrupting, Iran, Natural gas, Oil, Pharmaceuticals, Shipments, U.S., War
Time (August 31)
Dubai has racked up another first. “As summer temperatures soared outside, the world’s largest indoor theme park, featuring popular Marvel and Cartoon Network-branded rides, opened its doors to the public on Wednesday.” In addition to the sprawling amusement park, Dubai is “home to the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Middle East’s largest mall and a man-made island in the shape of a palm tree that is dotted with luxury hotels.”
Tags: Cartoon Network, Dubai, Largest mall Luxury hotels, Marvel, Skyscraper, Theme park, World’s largest
Gulf News (January 1, 2014)
The home to the world’s tallest skyscraper claimed another spectacular record with the world’s largest firework celebration. “It took only a minute for Dubai to break the previous world record,” held by Kuwait, with 100,000 fireworks. The ensuing minutes brought the total number of fireworks to 500,000, many of which were set off in view of the Burj Khalifa.
Tags: Burj Khalifa, Celebration, Dubai, Fireworks, Kuwait, Record, Skyscraper
Chicago Tribune (November 13, 2013)
“It used to be the tallest building in America. It used to be the tallest in the world. It used to be the Sears Tower. Now Chicago’s Willis Tower is second, um, banana to New York’s not-yet-completed One World Trade Center, which was declared tallest in the nation.” And it’s not just Chicago that has lost the skyscraper race. “The U.S. has all but conceded the skyscraper Olympics to cities like Dubai, Taipei, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Eight of the world’s 10 tallest buildings are in the Middle East and Asia. Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Tower, now under construction, will be 3,281 feet tall.”
Tags: Chicago, Dubai, Hong Kong, New York, One World Trade Center, Saudi Arabia, Sears Tower, Shanghai, Skyscraper, Taipei, Tallest, U.S., Willis Tower
