The shocking scenes were filmed at a farm just outside the capital Abu Dhabi in November 2004. They show Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, one of the 22 sheikhs in the UAE’s royal family, torturing an Afghani man.

Issa is the brother of Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. He is also the step-brother of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, one of the key figures in the UAE cabinet. The royal family controls the local media, which are not allowed to report on the affair.

Stolen grain
The extremely wealthy sheikh Issa accused the Afghani man, Mohammed Shah Poor of stealing 3,800 euros worth of grain. The scenes shown on YouTube are only fragments of a torture session which lasted at least 45 minutes. Sheikh Issa, who has taken the alleged thief outside, pushes his head in the sand with his knee. With his hand he attempts to choke the grain dealer by shoving sand in his mouth. The scene is illuminated by the headlights of the sheikh’s Mercedes jeep.

“Filthy dog! Donkey! Bastard!” The sheikh screams obscenities into his victim’s ear as he gets more and more violent. He first takes an automatic weapon and fires close to the defenseless man lying on the ground. He then beats him and sprinkles salt in his wounds. The sheikh also rapes the man with an electric stun baton.

The victim finally loses consciousness. The film ends with the sheikh riding his jeep over Poor’s legs. The sound of what appears to be breaking bones is audible on the tape. Another shocking fact is that a police officer in uniform helps Sheikh Issa during the torture session. He holds the Afghan down so that he cannot resist.

Business partner
A former business partner of the sheikh made sure that ABC News in the US received a copy of the video. He had received it from his brother, who had been asked by the sheikh to film the torture session. The former associate, who had quarreled with the sheikh over a business matter, decided to smuggle the images out of the country. First he was tortured by police after he refused to hand over the video tapes.

The businessman is using the torture video in a lawsuit which he is conducting against Sheikh Issa in the United States. Some scenes were broadcast on American television last weekend. The images have caused a scandal in the US and in the United Arab Emirates.

Media Silence
According to Human Rights Watch the torture incident highlights why the UAE should revise its draft media law and, among other things, remove Article 32, which provides a fine of up to 5,000,000 dirhams (1 milion euros) against anyone who “disparages” senior government personnel or members of the royal family.

“The government’s failure to prosecute those involved in this incident of torture and abuse at the hands of a royal family member and the police is an appalling miscarriage of justice,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “What’s even more shocking is the government’s insistence that it investigated and found no violation of UAE laws.”

Het regime in Teheran steunt volgens Bush niet alleen Hamas en de Hezbollah, maar voorziet ook de Taliban en Al-Qaeda van geld en wapens. Bush richtte zich in Abu Dhabi rechtstreeks tot de bevolking van Iran. “Jullie hebben recht op een regering die luistert naar jullie wensen, die jullie talent respecteert en die jullie toestaat een beter leven op te bouwen. Helaas doet de Iraanse regering geen van allen”, zo zei Bush. “De Verenigde Staten en zijn bondgenoten zullen Iran confronteren, voordat het te laat is.”

De speech is gematigd positief ontvangen in Abu Dhabi. De soennitische emiraten onderhouden moeizame banden met het sjiitische Iran. Veel Iraanse dissidenten gebruiken de emiraten als toevluchtsoord. Desondanks is Iran de grootste handelspartner van het buurland aan de Perzische Golf, waar tevens zo’n 10.000 Iraanse bedrijven zijn gevestigd.

Bush wees verder op het belang van democratie voor vrede en ontwikkeling in het Midden-Oosten. Journalisten uit Iran die in Abu Dhabi de speech volgende noemde het een provocatie van de VS. “Bush heeft zijn mond vol over democratie, terwijl Amerika het democratische proces in de Gazastrook niet respecteert”, aldus een Iraanse journalist.

Bush brengt vandaag een bezoek aan Dubai en reist vervolgens verder naar Saoedi-Arabië en Egypte.

So, like Bill Clinton and Tony Blair not too long ago, George Bush Jr is also looking to Jerusalem to add a touch of class to his legacy as a world leader before the end of the year takes him on a quick one-way tour to political oblivion. And as the two before him, he is almost certain to fail. For one thing, the hoopla and fanfare of Annapolis could not make the slightest advance on the thorniest issues – Jerusalem’s future, refugees’ status, the water problem, etc. Second, and much more important, all three figures comprising the decision-makers of this supposedly historic occasion – Bush, Olmert, Abbas – are as unrepresentative and politically limp as they come, with precious little political capital at their disposal.

And Israeli President Shimon Peres’ outburst against the waning Iranian threat all but confirmed to seasoned analysts and stakeholders alike that the politically correct posture notwithstanding, the real purpose of the visit was to attempt to move more pieces around Teheran as the geo-political position on the Gulf chessboard becomes more complicated with every attempt to alter the status-quo. Much as Bush and co promise two-state change, Israel will continue with its settlement expansion, the core issues will continue to be left out of the loop for want of ‘more conducive’ atmosphere, but the party will return to Washington with one thing achieved – the rising frequency of the ‘Iran’ mention, forcing a yet tougher stance against the ‘extremist state’.

A measure of Washington’s non-seriousness is reflected in the combined Middle Eastern reaction. Not many Arab capitals attach hope with such endeavours any longer as they struggle to discredit statements from Hamas and the like, that Bush is more a part of the problem than the solution, that Bush is responsible for the financial choke and the ever widening rift within the Palestinians. And it may well be that the only historical turning point this visit achieves is the Arabs uniting and laying it straight before the sitting US president that fancy will not sell any more in a region already upset by conflict and chaos.

That does not mean that a final settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian drama is not possible. Just that it would require a dramatically different approach. And that would entail taking all parties involved on board initially, and then treating them all in similar manner. That would require Israeli expansion-attitude to be treated just as harshly as Hamas’ rocket fire across the border. Of course, it would also mean that the above mentioned core issues would have to be put on the table and debated till an end is reached.

BNR-verslaggever David Poort ging in de zomer van 2006 twee maanden aan het werk bij de Khaleej Times, de grootste Engelstalige krant in de Perzische Golf regio. Een verslag vanuit de Verenigde Arabische Emiraten.

Dubai – De Lonely Planet reisgids van de VAE waarschuwt buitenlandse journalisten: journalistiek in deze Arabische dictatuur is op eieren lopen. Stel de verkeerde vraag, en de volgende vraag die jijzelf mag beantwoorden is; raam of gangpad? Lastige buitenlanders worden zonder pardon op het vliegtuig naar huis gezet.

Met die waarschuwing in mijn zak ben ik begonnen als business-verslaggever van de Khaleej Times (vert. Golf Times). De krant is gericht op de honderdduizenden expats die zich aan de Perzische Golf hebben gevestigd en wordt gelezen van Koeweit tot aan Maleisië.

De eigenaar is Mohammed Galadari, een telg uit een steenrijk geslacht uit Dubai. Hij is voorzitter van bestuur van vijftien familiebedrijven en de Khaleej Times is zijn speeltje. Als hij dronken is belt hij ‘s avonds naar de redactie om de voorpagina te claimen voor een verhaal dat hem dwars zit, meestal antisemitische lariekoek. Een redacteur moet dan net voor de deadline een verhaal uit z’n duim zuigen.

Er is sprake van mismanagement en het gerucht doet de ronde dat de krant binnenkort wordt overgenomen na ingrijpen van Zijne Koninklijke Hoogheid Sjeik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, de vice-president en premier van de Verenigde Arabische Emiraten en de heerser over het emiraat Dubai. Ik heb een knop op mijn toetsenbord om deze hele naam in een keer in Word te plakken. Als je het niet goed spelt of niet helemaal uitschrijft loop je kans gedeporteerd te worden.

Alles wat je hier print wordt scherp in de gaten gehouden. Joris Luyendijk schrijft in z’n laatste boek dat journalistiek niet mogelijk is in een dictatuur. Toch zijn er hier collega’s die zich in allerlei bochten wringen om misstanden aan de kaak te stellen en zo heel langzaam de grenzen van het toelaatbare oprekken.

De Khaleej Times is deze zomer een lobby begonnen om de honderdduizenden gastarbeiders in de bouw meer bescherming te bieden tegen de zinderende hitte. Het voorstel was om in de heetste periode van het jaar alleen nog ’s nachts te werken. Dit was een regelrechte aanval op de bouwsector, die volledig in handen is van de heersende families in de emiraten. Op veel plekken in Dubai wordt dag en nacht gewerkt in de bouw en het is dan ook niet verwonderlijk dat het voorstel het niet heeft gehaald. 

Op de ‘businessdesk’ waar ik werk heerst een opmerkelijk journalistieke ethiek. Onder het mom van Arabische hoffelijkheid worden journalisten op exorbitante wijze in de watten gelegd. Persconferenties in belachelijk dure hotels en pr-bureaus die je na afloop met cadeaus naar huis sturen. Playstations, digitale camera’s, gouden pennen en in een enkel geval een regenjas (buiten is het 45 graden in de schaduw). Ik heb een dikke BMW voor een weekend meegekregen omdat ik een verhaal heb geschreven over de importeur in de Golf regio. Het eerste wat collega’s vragen als je terugkomt van een persconferentie is: wat heb je gekregen?

Verslaggevers van de Khaleej Times vechten elkaar de tent uit om over bepaalde bedrijven of sectoren te mogen schrijven. Vastgoed en technologie zijn het meest in trek want in die hoek worden de duurste cadeaus weggegeven. Ik kom hier geregeld collega-verslaggevers van de Khaleej Times op persconferenties tegen. Die komen alleen even een digitale camera, of een nieuwe telefoon ophalen. Het verhaal voor de krant wordt dan verder aan mij overgelaten.

Om mij heen op de redactie zitten zo’n vijftig Indiase en Pakistaanse collega’s, die net als op het subcontinent elkaar het licht niet in de ogen gunnen. Dat gaat zelfs zo ver dat het Indiase kamp werk wist van Pakistani, of andersom. Kasjmir in het klein. Arabieren zijn er niet! De voertaal met mij is Engels, maar op de redactie heerst Pashtun, Urdu, Hindi en Malayalam.

Als enige blanke Europeaan bij de krant word ik met een genante hoeveelheid egards behandeld. Maar ook ik werk hier heel hard, zes dagen per week. De arbeidsethos is er een van niet lullen maar poetsen. Nieuwkomers uit India en Pakistan werken minstens twee maanden achtereen, zonder weekend. Klagen kost je je baan, want in Pakistan en India staan ze in de rij voor werk in Dubai.

Iedereen die bij de krant begint moet z’n paspoort inleveren bij de hoofdredactie. Dit is ingevoerd om te voorkomen dat er ongeautoriseerde verhalen in de krant verschijnen, of dat werknemers er vandoor gaan. Ik, als Europeaan, mag mijn paspoort bij me houden.

DUBAI — Beverage consumption studies show that consumers in the Middle East are drinking more instant coffee than ever. According to the studies conducted by research company TNS and commissioned by Nestle Middle East in the GCC States and the Levant, consumption of its own brand instant coffee has been increasing steadily at 15 per cent a year over the past few years, reaching total consumption of 1.3 billion cups in 2005.

The study shows that instant soluble coffee’s share of throat —a metric used to measure the consumption of a beverage as a percentage of a consumer’s total daily liquid intake, excluding potable water — has grown five times from what it was in 2000. However, the study also shows that the consumption of roast and ground coffee is stagnant.

Consumption of instant coffee is highest among the 28 to 30 year old age group. Senior brand and OOH operations manager of Nestle in the Middle East, Assaad Bou-Jawdeh said: “ It appears that young people especially prefer instant coffee over buying the beans and grinding them at home,” Assaad Bou-Jawdeh. He also said that currently 4000 cups of instant soluble coffee are consumed every second around the world.

Originally found in Ethiopia, coffee was first adopted as a drink by the people of Turkey who added spices such as cloves, cinnamon and anise to the brew. Coffee drinking as a culture was popularised by the Arabs.

The Texas based company has contacted all authorised channel partners in the Middle East by e-mail to inform them of the battery recall procedure and to provide details of TAG numbers correlating with products that have been supplied to them. Partners / customers are being directed to www.dellbatteryprogram.com to determine if they have any product with batteries that are subject to this recall and to order the replacement batteries.

If affected batteries are identified, onsite instructions are to be followed to order a battery replacement. The procedure will not take more than five minutes. The crisis over exploding batteries began on August 15 with the product recall of 4.1 million battery packs. It identified a potential issue associated with Dell-branded battery packs with cells manufactured by Sony.

The battery packs were sold with Latitude(tm), Inspiron(tm), XPSTM and Dell Precision ™ Mobile Workstation notebook computers. In rare cases, a short circuit could cause the battery to overheat, which under certain conditions could pose a risk of smoke or fire. These batteries also may have been purchased separately or provided as replacement batteries for use with these systems.

Affected batteries were shipped between April 1, 2004 and July 18, 2006. It is feared that its biggest-ever product recall could seriously damage its image and its profits, especially in the US. Failure to act quickly could alienate customers and investors alike and negatively impact back-to-school sales and the upcoming holiday sales. This it cannot afford.

Three days after the product recall it reported a 51 per cent drop in profit and that the US Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting an informal investigation of its accounting, according to a Reuters report. Dell has responded with plans to invest $100 million and hire 2,000 people to improve service.

21 August 2006 DUBAI — As Dubai becomes an increasingly expensive city in which to do business foreign multinationals are reviewing their spiralling cost structure. But even if costs are high most companies are not intending to move their operations out of the emirate — yet.

Speaking with a cross section of multinationals from a range of industries — information technology, vehicle manufacturers, financial services — all expressed their concern about the cost of doing business in Dubai. Inflationary pressures on all aspects of their operations were a worry, but the major concern was that which affects all residents of this booming city: escalating rents.

Like most multinationals based in Dubai the international computer company HP pays its employees housing allowances, so rising rents hits the company hard. “We do feel that the government should take more action on this and that it also needs to tackle inflation,” said Joseph Hanania, HP general manager in the Middle East.

Despite his concerns, however, HP intends to retain its operations in Dubai, although it will not be extending them as it is in other cities across the region. The exclusive car manufacturer, Bentley, is also assessing the costs of its operation in Dubai and general manager in the Middle East, Ian Gorsuch, said the company is considering moving the business to another Gulf state. “We are lucky to have such a small team in Dubai. But if the current trend continues we will relocate to another country in the Gulf. Qatar and Bahrain are serious options,” said Gorsuch.

Although everyone agrees that the cost of operating in Dubai is high, some see the current situation as cyclical and short-term and anticipate that if rents start easing the cost of operations will also ease. Chief economist of the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) Nasser Saidi said that rents in the city are stabilising and is not worried about Dubai’s competitiveness. This, despite the fact that he also commented: “It’s not only that Dubai is getting more expensive but that other cities in the region are starting to develop better services as well.” On soaring rents he said: “What happened in the housing sector in 2005 was exceptional. This isn’t a trend.”

“Companies that consider relocating to another part of the region should take a closer look at their costs, he believes, especially if their office is in a prime location. “[Companies] don’t need to be on Shaikh Zayed Road. Once you move away from the centre of Dubai rents decline very rapidly”. Nor does inflation worry him. Saidi said: “Dubai over the last three years has been growing faster than China so inflation is inevitable. But look at the wages and incomes. They have been rising as well”.

Although rising costs might be a concern for many multinationals it is not enough to drive them away. For example, BMW confirms that it is in Dubai for the long-term, as did Cisco Systems. The company’s general director Samer Alkharrat said: “We are not planning on leaving Dubai. Actually we are expanding. We have about 200 people working for Cisco Dubai and we are planning to add another 50 to 100 this year.” He also said: “We are moving resources to Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman. Of course we do look at the cost all the time, but we recognise the reason for the costs moving upwards. It is too important for us to be in Dubai.”

Perhaps executive officer, ABN Amro UAE, Colin McDonald best sums up the situation when he said: “We continue to keep an eye on the costs. We are not moving. But we are continuously monitoring our costs.”

Sony already has a 30 per cent share of the digital camera market. “Our ultimate goal is to become market leader in the digital camera market,” said Tamagawa. Sony expects to sell 1.2 million Alpha100 cameras this year. Sony’s Alpha100 can shoot photos at 10.2 mega pixels and sells for about Dh4,000, with 18-to-70-millimetre lens and a one-year warranty. The camera is compatible with older lenses made by Konica and Minolta, from which Sony acquired the SLR branch earlier this year. The Alpha100 is the first SLR camera with an anti-dust coating on the Charged Coupled Device (CCD), that minimises the attraction of dust particles and makes it harder for them to cling on to the CCD.

Each time the camera is shut down, the anti-dust vibration function automatically vibrates the CCD rapidly to shake loose dust particles that may have accumulated on it. The market share of Sony’s competitor Canon fell almost 18 per cent when the Sony Alpha100 was introduced in Japan last July. Nikon’s dropped five per cent percent, partly because the dominant camera makers did not introduce new models.

Digital camera sales accounted for roughly 10 per cent of Sony Gulf’s $1 billion turnover last year. SLR cameras have become the most profitable part of the digital camera market, as competition has driven margins lower for compact cameras. The SLR cameras appear to appeal to both hobbyists and professionals.

In the digital world, the difference between an SLR and a regular compact camera is that the SLR will allow you to use a variety of lenses with different focal lengths. There are two main reasons to choose a digital SLR over a compact camera. No compact digital camera offers the same manual controls that you can find on a digital SLR. The second reason to get an SLR is if you already own lenses for a SLR camera.

Sony Gulf FZE is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation and is the regional headquarters for the Middle East and Africa regions. The company is engaged in the business of Sony Consumer Electronics, laptop computers, Data media, Recording Media and Energy (Batteries), Mobile Electronics (Car Audio) and Computer Entertainment (PlayStation) products in more than 40 countries in the region.

The HomNet system allows consumers to remotely take control over all connected appliances, wired or wireless, via internet and mobile devices. LG has invested $100 million on HomNet’s development, and contracted more than 50,000 homes globally. “The demand is quite big, especially in Dubai. We expect to sell thousands of these new systems throughout the Middle East,” said president and chief technology officer of LG, Hee-Gook Lee. “There is a lot of high-rise construction work going on in Dubai. We have found that many of the property buyers in Dubai are interested in this new technology,” Lee added.

The system will be available in the prices range of $5,000 to $6,000, depending on how many appliances are connected. Announced in 2004, HomNet will take at least another two years before it reaches customers in the Middle East. “This is a high-end product that needs time to establish itself in the market”, said Lee.

Questioned whether customers need this much technology in their house, Lee replied: “I always challenge my developers to use less technology. In some cases customers use only 10 per cent of the capabilities of our products. But this system was designed to make life easier, not more complicated.”

According to Lee, the HomNet system will revolutionise the way consumers listen to music, play games, watch TV or manage chores around the house.

Delivering 218hp from its 2.5-litre six-cylinder engine, 0 to 100 kilometres per hour is achieved in 6.9 seconds and the top speed is 250 kilometres per hour. The price range of the 3 Series Coupe is Dh185,000 to Dh235,000. “The 3 Series has been and still is our best seller and we expect tremendous success from this all new model. We expect to sell at least 150 units this year,” said national sales manager of AGMC, Peter Ihde.

The car was introduced together with the launch of AGMC’s new delivery centre on Shaikh Zayed Road. Delivering more than 10 cars a day, this centre offers the opportunity to demonstrate the ins-and-outs of new cars to customers. As part of its service enhancement plan, AGMC will also expand the existing showroom on Shaikh Zayed Road, and double its service capacity. The Dh30 million investment showroom will be ready to take its first customers by the first quarter of next year.

“BMW Group Middle East achieved double-digit growth in the first six months of 2006, so we are very happy with our performance this year,” said area manager of AGMC, Werner Viljoen. With 14 per cent sales increase BMW Group has sold 7,053 BMW and MINI cars in comparison to last year’s 6,198 units for the same period. The growth was across nearly every country in the region. However, the United Arab Emirates maintained its lead position with sales volume increasing to 2,557 vehicles in comparison to last year’s 2,183 units.

AGMC, in the UAE, was the highest volume importer in the region, followed by Saudi Arabia. Pakistan remains the fastest growing market in the region, with sales accelerating by 203 per cent compared to the same period in 2005. In the GCC region, Oman witnessed the highest sales growth, selling 52 per cent more vehicles than in the first six months of 2005.