La défense au cœur du voyage de Sarkozy à Abu Dhabi
Le ministre français de la Défense, Hervé Morin, et le ministre des Affaires étrangères des Emirats arabes unis, Cheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed al-Nahayan, en janvier 2008, à Abu Dhabi. Photo grâce au Figaro
LE FIGARO: Le chef de l'État arrive lundi soir pour une visite dans la capitale des Émirats arabes unis avec l'espoir de signer prochainement d'importants contrats.

«En 2009, priorité aux pays du Golfe» : la ligne diplomatique précisée il y a quelques mois par Nicolas Sarkozy lors d'une de ses visites dans la région trouvera une concrétisation spectaculaire avec l'inauguration aux Émirats arabes unis (EAU), mardi, de la première base militaire interarmes française à l'étranger depuis cinquante ans.

Accompagné du ministre de la Défense, Hervé Morin, le président de la République se rendra d'abord sur la partie navale de la base, située dans l'enceinte du port de Mina Zayed à Abu Dhabi qui disposera notamment d'un quai de 300 mètres de long permettant l'accueil de navires de guerre de fort tonnage. Installées à la demande des autorités locales et financées par elles, les infrastructures de l'Implantation militaire française aux Émirats arabes unis (IMFEAU), nom officiel de la base, incluent également un détachement aérien sur la base aérienne d'al-Dhafra, à 40 kilomètres d'Abu Dhabi, où devraient stationner en permanence jusqu'à six avions de combat. Le dispositif est complété par un groupement terrestre situé dans la base de Zayed Military City et comprend un centre d'entraînement en zone désertique.

Localisée face à l'Iran, dans une zone maritime cruciale, celle du détroit d'Ormuz, où transite 40 % du pétrole, cette implantation militaire française n'a rien de fortuit. Elle marque l'engagement français dans une région hautement stratégique, au cœur d'un «arc de crises» cerné dans le livre blanc sur la défense de 2007. >>> Alain Barluet | Lundi 25 Mai 2009

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: France to Open Naval Base in Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Monday his nation's first military base in the Gulf is an important step in international cooperation to fight piracy and safeguard crucial oil routes.

The naval station is France's first major foothold in the Gulf and is expected to contribute vessels to antipiracy patrols off Somalia and guard vital Persian Gulf shipping lanes. It also raises France's profile in the growing tensions between Iran and Gulf Arab states.

"The world's seas must remain free from threats," Mr. Kouchner told a regional security conference in the United Arab Emirates' capital Abu Dhabi.

Mr. Kouchner is expected to be joined later by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is scheduled to inaugurate the naval base in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Mr. Sarkozy also plans to lead a groundbreaking ceremony for a branch of the Louvre in Abu Dhabi and try to push ahead talks for the UAE to purchase French-made Rafale fighter jets. The UAE air force currently has France's Mirage 2000-9 fighters as well as American and British aircraft. >>> Associated Press | Monday, May 25, 2009

UAE Detains 'Torture Tape' Sheikh
NAME: Abu Dhabi prosecutors have detained a member of their own ruling family after a video was circulated apparently showing him torturing another man.

No reasons were given for the detention of Sheikh Issa al-Nahyan. Photo courtesy of the BBC
Public prosecutors say they also have begun criminal inquiries into Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan's actions on the tape.

The investigation is the first reported of a ruling family member in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Previously, Emirati officials had named Sheikh Issa as the man in the video but said the case was "resolved privately".

"The Public Prosecution Office has officially launched a criminal investigation into the events depicted on video and detained Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan pending the outcome of this investigation," the official news agency WAM reported on Monday.

"This is to ensure that all human rights obligations are met and enforced, that all national laws are applied equally and with transparency to all," WAM said, quoting a statement by the Judicial Department.

On 30 April, after initially dismissing accusations about the video, the Abu Dhabi authorities condemned the torture depicted in the tape and called an inquiry into the case.

The latest statement, issued on Monday, did not give reasons behind the change in approach, or the circumstances of the sheikh's detention. >>> | Tuesday, May 12, 2009

UAE Torture Recording Threatens to Derail Nuclear Deal with United States >>> \ Friday, May 1, 2009

Fatima's Story
BBC: Fatima contacted the BBC World Service citizen journalism project, Your Story, because she wanted to share her experiences of sexual abuse growing up within a strict Muslim family in Abu Dhabi.

She suffered many years of abuse before she finally told her mother what had been going on.

Fatima is now 26. She lives in the United States of America where she has just been given asylum and citizenship after establishing that she would be in danger if she returned to her home country.

Watch BBC slideshow: >>> Produced by Emma Lynch and Alicia Trujillo | Friday, March 27, 2009

Ausverkauf! Sonderangebot! Daimler holt sich Abu Dhabi als neuen Großaktionär
WELT ONLINE: Der angeschlagene Autobauer Daimler hat sich das Emirat Abu Dhabi als Großaktionär ins Haus geholt. Über eine Kapitalerhöhung steigt die staatlich kontrollierte Investmentgesellschaft Aabar mit 9,1 Prozent bei Daimler ein. Damit wird Abu Dhabi zum wichtigsten Anteilseigner des Autoherstellers.

Unterstützung für Daimler: Das Emirat Abu Dhabi steigt als Großaktionär bei dem angeschlagenen deutschen Autohersteller ein. Bild dank der Welt
Der von der Absatzkrise gebeutelte Autobauer Daimler hat sich ein zweites Emirat als Großaktionär ins Haus geholt. Mit 9,1 Prozent steigt Abu Dhabi zum wichtigsten Anteilseigner auf und verweist Kuwait auf den zweiten Platz. Der Einstieg geschieht durch die Ausgabe neuer Aktien, durch deren Kauf 1,95 Milliarden Euro in Daimlers Kasse fließen, wie der Konzern am Sonntag in Stuttgart mitteilte. Der Anteil Kuwaits wird dadurch verwässert und fällt von 7,6 auf 6,9 Prozent. >>> dpa/lha | Sonntag, 22. Marz 2009

Une ville sans pollution dans le désert d'Abu Dhabi
LES ECHOS.fr: La construction d'une ville de 50.000 habitants « zéro pollution » dans l'émirat d'Abu Dhabi marque le départ d'un nouveau concept d'urbanisme.

Pas de voitures à moteur thermique, zéro rejet de dioxyde de carbone, recyclage total des déchets domestiques. La construction de la première ville « zéro pollution » entre dans sa phase concrète dans l'émirat d'Abu Dhabi. Ce projet de 22 milliards de dollars (17,5 milliards d'euros) est financé en grande partie par le gouvernement de l'émirat. Le sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber a mis sur la table 15 milliards de dollars pour démarrer le programme, attirer les investisseurs privés et attirer les meilleurs experts et urbanistes du monde. Objectif : faire entrer le pays dans la modernité technologique et casser son image de désert assis sur une rente pétrolière. A l'horizon de 2016, cette ville nouvelle baptisée « Masdar City » (signifiant source) devrait accueillir environ 50.000 habitants. Ces nouveaux urbains devront se plier à un mode de vie et des équipements totalement nouveaux. Les responsables du programme, qui ne manquent ni d'argent ni d'imagination, estiment que ce sera la plus vaste « éco-cité » du monde. C'est le cabinet d'architecte britannique Fosters & Partners qui est responsable de la conception. >>> Alain Perez, Les Echos | Lundi 02 Mars 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Relié) >>>
une ville sans pollution

A Fatwa a Day Keeps Hell at Bay
THE TELEGRAPH: The world's first Islamic helpline has opened in Abu Dhabi, to help Muslims solve their religious dilemmas.

A team of 48 muftis man the telephones from 8am until 8pm delivering fatwas, or formal rulings based on Islamic law.

The service is used by Muslims all over the world, and organisers say it takes about 3,700 calls a day, including queries from Britain.

Mufti Abdulrahman Ammoura, 48, is more accustomed to dispensing advice at a mosque, but he joined the helpline staff to reach a wider audience.

He said: "The hardest questions I am asked involve sex. I feel shame, but I have to answer the questions because it is my duty."

One recent dilemma came from a married woman whose alcoholic husband had turned violent, hitting her and forcing her to have sex. She wanted to know if she should seek a divorce.

Mr Ammoura told the Times: "I said, 'No - it is better for him to find help'. A woman living alone with children could face too many problems."

His advice now counts as an official fatwa in the United Arab Emirates, under new rules issued by the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Endowments.

The UAE Government established the call centre three months ago in an attempt to root out extreme interpretations of Islam.

All fatwas issued through the call centre comply with the Government's moderate religious stance. Any others are considered invalid instructions. World's First Islamic Helpline Dispenses Fatwas to Troubled Muslims >>> By Lucy Cockcroft | October 10, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) / Free delivery >>>

Spreading Freedom and Democracy the Best Way to Defeat Radicalism – Bush
BBC: US President George W Bush has warned of the dangers he says are posed by Iran, in a speech in its Gulf neighbour, the United Arab Emirates.

Mr Bush said Iran threatened the security of all nations and should be confronted "before it's too late".

In a speech in Abu Dhabi on the latest leg of a Middle Eastern tour, he also urged the region to embrace democracy.

Meanwhile the UN's atomic watchdog said Iran had agreed to clear up questions about its past nuclear activities.

The statement by the IAEA said Tehran would provide details in the next four weeks.

'Human capital'

Mr Bush's address in Abu Dhabi was described by his aides as the keynote speech of his regional tour.

He told delegates at the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) that more open societies would foster the Middle East's immense "human capital".

He said there had been advances in the region, but also setbacks.

Without fair elections and freedom of speech, "you cannot expect people to believe in the promise of a better future", he added.

Mr Bush said spreading freedom and democracy was the best way to defeat radicalism. Confront Iran danger early – Bush >>>

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Bush says Iran sponsors terror

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)