The War Years Part II: Dubai Reinvents Luxury In The Sky

A close up of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dubai in December 1987 shorty after it opened. At the time the Hyatt was the newest and most modern hotel in the entire Middle East. (Photo Norbert Schiller) In October of 1987 I boarded an Emirates airline flight from Cairo to Dubai for what I thought […]

Norbert Schiller
بواسطة Norbert Schiller
A close up of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dubai in December 1987 shorty after it opened. At the time the Hyatt was the newest and most modern hotel in the entire Middle East. (Photo Norbert Schiller)

In October of 1987 I boarded an Emirates airline flight from Cairo to Dubai for what I thought was going to be a one-month rotation to cover the “tanker war” that was raging in the Persian Gulf. My colleague, who had been covering the conflict since U.S. President Ronald Reagan had agreed to reflag 11 Kuwaiti oil tankers earlier that summer, had

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The War Years Part I: Dubai’s ‘Economic Miracle Of The Desert’

Dubai skyline and creek, November 1987. (Photo Norbert Schiller) A lot has changed in the world over the last quarter century, but nowhere is this more evident than in the tiny, Emirate of Dubai, located on the Persian Gulf. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is made up of seven Emirates of which Dubai and the […]

Norbert Schiller
بواسطة Norbert Schiller
Dubai skyline and creek, November 1987. (Photo Norbert Schiller)

A lot has changed in the world over the last quarter century, but nowhere is this more evident than in the tiny, Emirate of Dubai, located on the Persian Gulf. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is made up of seven Emirates of which Dubai and the capital Abu Dhabi are most known. When I first landed in Dubai in the mid-1980s, Dubai’s ruler and vice

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Remembering Moammar Gadhafi: Distraction, Entertainment In The Middle East

Moamar Gadhafi touring the Egyptian Museum late in the night with Egypt’s Minister of Information Safwat El Sherif (left) in March 1999. (Photo Norbert Schiller) The Arab Spring has taken its toll on a number of iconic leaders, which has included the likes of Ben Ali, Hosni Mubarak, Ali Abdullah Saleh and Syrian President Bashar Assad, […]

Norbert Schiller
بواسطة Norbert Schiller
Moamar Gadhafi touring the Egyptian Museum late in the night with Egypt's Minister of Information Safwat El Sherif (left) in March 1999. (Photo Norbert Schiller)

The Arab Spring has taken its toll on a number of iconic leaders, which has included the likes of Ben Ali, Hosni Mubarak, Ali Abdullah Saleh and Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is still fighting to stay in power.  None, though, can be compared to the charismatic and often unpredictable Col. Moammar Gadhafi. It’s been just over a year since

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Father Not Necessarily Like Son: “I Have Come Here To Listen, To Look And To Learn”

In this Oct. 3, 2012, photo, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks during the first presidential debate with President Barack Obama at the University of Denver, in Denver. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) The last of the three presidential debates was supposed to focus on foreign policy, but it was obvious that both candidates were set on […]

Norbert Schiller
بواسطة Norbert Schiller
In this Oct. 3, 2012, photo, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks during the first presidential debate with President Barack Obama at the University of Denver, in Denver. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

The last of the three presidential debates was supposed to focus on foreign policy, but it was obvious that both candidates were set on continuing where they left off from the previous debate: the U.S. economy and unemployment. When Bob Schieffer, the moderator, steered the candidates back to topics such as national security; Iran; the wars in

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An Encounter With Mikheil Saakashvili Before His Rise To Power

The young Georgian MP Mikheil Saakashvili speaking on one of his nearly a dozen telephones. (Photo Norbert Schiller/MintPress News) Earlier this month, the ruling party in Georgia conceded defeat in parliamentary elections to the opposition Georgian Dream coalition, led by the reclusive billionaire businessman and philanthropist, Bidzina Ivanishvili. What caught my attention, was not the […]

Norbert Schiller
بواسطة Norbert Schiller
The young Georgian MP Mikheil Saakashvili speaking on one of his nearly a dozen telephones. (Photo Norbert Schiller/MintPress News)

Earlier this month, the ruling party in Georgia conceded defeat in parliamentary elections to the opposition Georgian Dream coalition, led by the reclusive billionaire businessman and philanthropist, Bidzina Ivanishvili. What caught my attention, was not the newsmaker, Bidzina, who is destined to become the new prime minister, but rather his bitter

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The Fatwa That Shook The World

Iranian women protesters hold a sign that reads, “Holy Koran” below a banner which reads, “Kill Salman Rushdie” during a march in Tehran condemning the author in February 1989. (Photo by Norbert Schiller/MintPress) The Indian-born British novelist Salman Rushdie is back in the news, but this time over the release of his latest book, “Joseph […]

Norbert Schiller
بواسطة Norbert Schiller
Iranian women protesters hold a sign that reads, "Holy Koran" below a banner which reads, "Kill Salman Rushdie" during a march in Tehran condemning the author in February 1979. (Photo by Norbert Schiller/MintPress)

The Indian-born British novelist Salman Rushdie is back in the news, but this time over the release of his latest book, “Joseph Anton: A Memoir.” In his latest work, Rushdie looks at his life during the years he lived in hiding after Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa that called for his death after he allegedly insulted the prophet Muhammad

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