The leaders of the United Arab Emirates don’t take too kindly to criticism, according to a report by Zawya Dow Jones:
The Sunday London Times newspaper was removed by authorities from shelves in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday amid intensive reporting of Dubai’s debt problems, an executive at the paper said.
The Times and the Sunday Times are owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, as is Dow Jones.
…
The Sunday Times edition available in the U.A.E. on Nov. 29 featured a double-page spread graphic illustrating Dubai’s ruler Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum sinking in a sea of debt. The Times wasn’t given a reason for the block, or a timeframe when it will be lifted, the executive said.
A government official in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the U.A.E., said that the picture of Sheik Mohammed, which accompanied a story entitled: The sinking of Dubai’s dream, was “offensive.”
And here’s something that explains the sugar-coated coverage of the crisis in Dubai by the region’s press:
Under the U.A.E.’s media code, publications are prohibited from criticizing the sheikdom’s rulers.
We’re surprised our readers in the UAE can still access FT Alphaville…
Related links:
UAE central bank offers credit facility – FT
The Emirate has a lot of explaining to do – FT
Reality catches up with the Gulf’s model global city – FT