Gulf governments are changing, but not how they talk to citizens

Last month’s deluge dumped 142mm (5.6 inches) of rain on Dubai, one and a half times the city’s average annual rainfall. The airport tarmac was engulfed, leaving thousands of passengers trapped at the world’s busiest international hub. Stranded motorists abandoned cars for days on flooded roads across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the seven-member federation of which Dubai is a part. Unable to get home, workers and shoppers slept on the floors of shopping malls.