Dubai

(Newser) - An unfinished skyscraper in Dubai is now scraping the sky at 1,680 feet, surpassing Tawain's Taipei 101 as the world's tallest building. The Burj Dubai, which began construction in September 2004, will cost $1B and consist of more than 160 floors and 56 elevators when completed in 2008.

(Newser) - After 40 years at sea, the glamorous passenger liner QE2 will be sold by Carnival Cruise Lines to a Dubai firm for $100 million, then turned into luxury lodgings. The company promises to restore the interior of the ship, which will be anchored off three man-made islands, and to build...

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia is on a building binge. King Abdullah City—a planned $26.7-billion development where multi-million-dollar yachts will dock in the ports that currently welcome 300,000 Mecca-bound pilgrims—is one of five major “economic cities” the government is building in an attempt to spur private-sector growth and...