Dubai
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Many international news agencies such as Reuters, APTN, Bloomberg L.P. and Middle East Broadcasting Center
(MBC) as well as network news channels operate in Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City. Additionally, several
local network television channels such as Dubai One (formerly Channel 33), and Dubai TV (EDTV) provide
programming in English and Arabic respectively. Dubai is also the headquarters for several print media outlets. Dar
Al Khaleej, Al Bayan and Al Ittihad are the city's largest circulating Arabic language newspapers,[51] while Gulf
News, Khaleej Times and 7DAYS are the largest circulating English newspapers.[52]
Etisalat, the government-owned telecommunications provider, held a virtual monopoly over telecommunication
services in Dubai prior to the establishment of other, smaller telecommunications companies such as Emirates
Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC—better known as Du) in 2006. Internet was introduced into the
UAE (and therefore Dubai) in 1995. The current network has an Internet bandwidth of 7.5 Gbit/s with capacity of 49
STM1 links. Dubai houses two of four Domain Name System (DNS) data centres in the country (DXBNIC1,
DXBNIC2). Censorship is common in Dubai and used by the government to control content that it believes violates
the cultural and political sensitivities of Emirates.[53] Homosexuality, drugs, and the theory of evolution are
generally considered taboo.
Internet content is regulated in Dubai. Etisalat uses a proxy server to filter Internet content that the government
deems to be inconsistent with the values of the country, such as sites that provide information on how to bypass the
proxy; sites pertaining to dating, gay and lesbian networks, and pornography; sites pertaining to the Bahá'í Faith and
sites originating from Israel. Emirates Media and Internet (a division of Etisalat) notes that as of 2002, 76% of
Internet users are male. About 60% of Internet users were Asian, while 25% of users were Arab. Dubai enacted an
Electronic Transactions and Commerce Law in 2002 which deals with digital signatures and electronic registers. It
prohibits Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from disclosing information gathered in providing services. The penal
code contains official provisions that prohibit digital access to pornography; however, it does not address cyber
crime or data protection.
Notable people
Main article: List of people from Dubai
International relations
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in UAE
Twin towns and sister cities
Dubai is twinned with the following cities:[54]
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Amman, Jordan
•
Granada, Spain
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Milan, Italy
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Baghdad, Iraq
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Guangzhou, China
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Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
•
Barcelona, Spain
•
Harbin, China
•
Moscow, Russia
•
Beirut, Lebanon
•
Hyderabad, India
•
Naples, Italy
•
Bogota, Colombia
•
Istanbul, Turkey
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Nove Mesto nad Vahom, Slovakia
•
Brisbane, Australia
•
Gandhinagar,India
•
Osaka, Japan
•
Busan, South Korea
•
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
•
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
•
Caracas, Venezuela
•
Kabul, Afghanistan
•
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
•
Detroit, United States
•
Karachi, Pakistan
•
Saint-Petersburg, Russia
•
Dundee, United Kingdom •
Khartoum, Sudan
•
San Juan, Puerto Rico
•
Damascus, Syria
•
Kish Island, Iran
•
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
•
Frankfurt, Germany
•
Kuwait 6