All that glisters...

摘要

The new metro in Dubai, the glitziest but most heavily indebted of the seven statelets making up the United Arab Emirates (uae), is not the world's biggest, fastest or costliest. But even in these straitened times, the city-state has rolled out this latest bauble with its usual flair. In flowing robes, amid laser lights and red carpets, Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum, Dubai's ruler, launched the inaugural service on the auspicious date of 9/9/2009.