Egypt: Free elections to start on November 28th – The 28th of November 2011 will be a historical date in Egypt, when the first free elections after the Mubarak-regime will be held.
In the country of the former dictator Mubarak, a whole new parliament will be selected. This was decided by the governing military advice.
Differently than in other countries, the elections however are about to take place in three phases.
Therefore, the last phase should be terminated in January 2012. Also the 2nd house of parliament (Schura) will see another election.
The last elections in the year 2010 were accompanied of some irregularities, which caused in the long run also the revolt against Mubarak.
The former government party NDP may not be on the list, since it was dissolved by the military council.
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Disney made a smart choice’
Despite the comparisons, Abu Dhabi isn’t positioning itself as a direct rival to Orlando — it’s aiming to be something more. The emirate sees its theme parks as part of a bigger portfolio of attractions, alongside cultural landmarks, luxury hotels, pristine beaches, and desert adventures.
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A 15-minute drive from Yas Island, Saadiyat Island is home to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, a franchised outpost of the famous Paris art museum, which welcomed 1.4 million visitors last year, 84% from abroad. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and Zayed National Museum are both under construction, adding to a cultural district that will be one of the region’s most concentrated hubs of art and heritage.
“Abu Dhabi’s unique appeal lies in the diversity of our tourism offering,” Al Geziry added. “For thrill-seekers, we have record-breaking roller coasters and dune bashing in the desert. For culture lovers, historic sites like Al Ain Oasis and institutions like the Saadiyat museums. And for luxury travelers, world-class dining, private island resorts, and high-end shopping.
“Where else can you start your day under the Louvre’s iconic rain-of-light dome and end it in the immersive, story-driven worlds of Warner Bros. World or Ferrari World?”
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Still, not everyone is convinced that Disney’s expansion into the Middle East is a sure bet.
“The region has seen its share of false starts,” says Dennis Speigel, founder of the International Theme Park Services consultancy, comparing it to neighboring Dubai’s patchy record with theme park expansion ambitions in the mid-2010s. “Several of them struggled for profitability in their first decade.”
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Saadiyat Cultural District in Abu Dhabi is set to become one of the world’s preeminent arts and culture hubs, with one of the highest concentrations of cultural institutions globally. But the area isn’t just for art connoisseurs. Explore what to do in the new district, from iconic museums to luxurious beach days to decadent dining options.
You can walk between the Louvre and the Guggenheim in this new art district
Spiegel believes Abu Dhabi is different. “Disney made a smart choice. The infrastructure, safety, and existing leisure developments create an ideal entry point,” he told CNN earlier this year. “It’s a much more controlled and calculated move.”
Under its Tourism Strategy 2030, Abu Dhabi aims to grow annual visitors from 24 million in 2023 to more than 39 million by the end of the decade. With Disneyland as a centerpiece, those targets may well be surpassed. The city’s population has already grown from 2.7 million in 2014 to more than 4.1 million today, a reflection of its rising profile as a regional hub.
Yas Island alone has been transformed in the space of a decade from a largely undeveloped stretch of sand to a self-contained resort destination, complete with golf courses, marinas, a mall, more than 160 restaurants, and a cluster of high-end hotels.
Orlando’s head start remains formidable — it still offers multiple Disney and Universal parks, has decades of brand loyalty, and an infrastructure built to handle tens of millions of tourists annually.
But Abu Dhabi is catching up fast. Its combination of frictionless travel, year-round comfort, cutting-edge attractions, and a cultural scene that adds depth to the experience gives Abu Dhabi its own unique selling point, potentially offering a model for the next generation of theme park capital.
From beaches to golf courses: The world’s most unusual airport runways
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When it comes to travel, wherever you are in the world, some things never change. McDonald’s is always McDonald’s. A hotel lobby is always a hotel lobby. An inflight safety demonstration is always a safety demonstration, and an airport runway is an airport runway: a long, clean-lined strip of asphalt free of all external interference; a sterile environment that could be anywhere on the planet.
Or maybe not. Because when it comes to airport runways, once the safety side is taken care of, in a few parts of the world, things get a little inventive. Maybe you’ll land on a manmade island in the middle of the sea. Maybe you’ll wave at golfers on the 18-hole course between the two runways. Or maybe you’ll hit the beach faster than expected — by stepping off the airplane onto the sand.
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From runways you can drive across to weird and wonderful airport locations, here are 12 of our favorite out-there runways.
Barra Airport, Scotland (BRR)
If nothing comes between you and your beach break, then Barra, in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, is your kind of airport. This is the only place in the world where the runway is on the beach itself.
Just one flight route operates here: Loganair’s 140-mile connection with Glasgow, using 19-seater de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft. Pilots heading to Barra — an island just eight miles long — must line up and touch down on Traigh Mhor, a wide bay in the north of the island (if Barra is shaped like a turtle, Traigh Mhor is its neck), landing straight onto the sand. Flights must be timed with the tides to allow as much space to land and take off as possible.
Passengers walk across the beach to the terminal on the other side of the dunes, then get a last bit of sand underfoot as they board the aircraft for the flight back to the mainland. With these conditions, it’s little wonder that flights are canceled with a fair amount of regularity — so you may want to build in extra time before planning onward connections.
But even a delayed return is worth it for avgeeks. On this tiny plane, passengers experience the flight in close proximity to the pilots — when CNN took a spin on the flight in 2019, they could even see the pilot’s GPS instruments from their seat.
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Hong Kong International Airport (HKG)
In Hong Kong, the islet of Chek Lap Kok was massively extended to create an island big enough to house a major international airport.
In Hong Kong, the islet of Chek Lap Kok was massively extended to create an island big enough to house a major international airport. d3sign/Moment RF/Getty Images
For the busiest cargo airport in the world, you need space. Luckily, Hong Kong created an entire island for its airport which, when it opened, had the world’s largest passenger terminal, too. Built to replace its predecessor (a single runway in crowded Kowloon, which was notorious for its violent turns on take-off and landing), HKG sits over the original islet of Chek Lap Kok, which was quadrupled in size with reclaimed land to house the two-runway airport. President Bill Clinton was among the first foreigners to touch down after the airport opened in 1998.
Located next to Lantau Island, the airport has views for days — the sides of the terminals are largely glass, built to shatter (and therefore preserve the building) during potential typhoons. Even getting there is a treat — the 1.4-mile Tsing Ma bridge, which connects HKG to Ma Wan island, heading towards the city, debuted as the longest road-and-rail suspension bridge in the world.