2nd December: United Arab Emirates Independence Day

United Arab Emirates celebrates Independence from the UK in 1971, on this their national day.

1. The country is a federation of seven emirates: Abu Dhabi (the capital), Ajman, Dubai (the largest city), Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. Each emirate is governed by an absolute monarch; together, they jointly form the Federal Supreme Council. One of the monarchs is selected as the President of the United Arab Emirates.
2. Most of the population are ex-pats from other countries and migrant workers - just around 11% are Emirati nationals.
3. Dubai is the top tourism destination in the Middle East and the fifth most popular in the world.
4. Several of Dubai's buildings are record breakers. It has, since 2008, had the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa, 818m-high. It's a hotel designed by British architect Tom Wright, the tallest hotel in the world, and the first to have seven stars. It also has the tallest residential tower. These buildings are so tall that people living above the 80th floor have to wait two extra minutes before they can break their fast during Ramadan, because they can see the Sun for longer.
5. Dubai also has the largest shopping mall in the world, the Dubai Mall, hosting over 1,200 shops and covering nearly 6 million square feet; the world’s longest fully automated (ie driverless) metro system, the Dubai Metro, about 75 kilometers long; and the world's fastest roller coaster in an indoor theme park owned by Ferrari. It reaches 150mph in 5 seconds.
6. Laws and punishments are severe. Stoning to death is legal for married people committing adultery and homosexuality, while people can be lashed for premarital sex, verbal abuse pertaining to a person's sexual honour, illegitimate pregnancy, drunk-driving, Kissing in public and abortion. Dancing in public is illegal in the UAE and drinking alcohol is only allowed in the privacy of your own home - provided you have a “liquor license”. In July 2015, an Australian expat was deported for swearing on Facebook, and watch where you step - a British man was once sentenced to four years in prison in Dubai after cannabis weighing less than a grain of sugar was found in the tread of his shoe. Later, he was pardoned. On the plus side, The crime rate in Dubai is virtually nil.
7. The United Arab Emirates donated a laptop to every high school student in Joplin, Missouri, after the city had been devastated by a Tornado.
8. In 2004, there was Snow in the UAE for the very first time - but it does have a ski resort. The ski resort is the first in the Middle East and has 5 runs with varying degrees of difficulty. It is indoors.
9. Dubai is famous for its distinctive manmade islands, most notably the Palm Island and The World.
10. Having some of the largest oil and natural gas reserves in the world has made the country very rich, so much so that there are cash machines in Dubai which dispense gold bars, and the Dubai police fleet includes a Lamborghini, Ferrari and Bentley so they can catch speeders who can outrun other cars.