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...rulers of Dubai cringe at the bad publicity the emirate city-state has copped since its go-go economy burst in 2008, they have only themselves to blame. After all, it was they who courted the media glare in the first place. Little more than empty desert a generation ago, Dubai had no logical reason to build a Manhattan-style skyline, let alone the world's tallest building. No reason, that is, except the kind of grandiose ambition that turned what was a backwater into one of the world's most dynamic cities...
Some of Qatar's development playbook - eye-catching modern architecture, a well-run state-owned airline - has clearly been copied from Dubai. Qatar also benefits from a pool of skilled foreign workers, many of whom moved there after first working in its glitzier rival. (See 10 Things to Do in Dubai...
...Dubai's rulers know change is coming. No longer wowed by shopping malls with indoor ski slopes or hotels with gigantic aquariums, investors have begun to demand transparency. Last month, Barclays won the city's first foreclosure case. That could open the door to a flood of legal cases and more financial turbulence, but will also reassure investors that Dubai is learning from its mistakes. To keep attracting foreign residents with the skills to run a modern economy - and to better educate its own citizens so they can play a bigger role in that economy - the gulf's cities will...
...First Woman President Elected...
Former Vice President Laura Chinchilla won a Feb. 7 vote to become the first woman elected to lead Costa Rica. A protégé of the outgoing President, Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias, Chinchilla is expected to continue Arias' economic policies and his efforts as peace broker in the region. A social conservative, Chinchilla opposes gay marriage and abortion and has promised to combat the country's increasing crime rate...