Dubai, from the sky

What Will Come Of Brand Dubai? – Much has been said about the state of Dubai since its lightning speed of development almost ground to a halt, thanks to the global financial crisis. What, everyone is wondering, will come of Brand Dubai? The Cool Hunter Platinum team has visited Dubai regularly over the last few years and on our most recent trip we asked ourselves the same question. [thecoolhunter]

Cindy Crawford Extorted Over ‘Sexy’ Photograph of Daughter –  Model Cindy Crawford and her husband were the victims of a bizarre extortion scheme involving a photo of her daughter, authorities said. According to court documents filed in Los Angeles, a German citizen was indicted after seeking to extort $100,000 from Crawford and her husband, businessman Rande Gerber. [latimes]

SA Mobile Phone Call Costs To Go Down – Cellphone rates will initially be reduced by 36 cents from early next year, Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda announced. . Speaking in the National Assembly, he said the new agreed reduced mobile termination rates by Cell C, Vodacom, and MTN would be 89 cents in peak times and 77 cents off peak. [times]

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille Increases Her Levels of Cool by appearing on the online 2oceansvibe TV Show as this week’s Weather Girl, along with E-TV weather anchor, Derek Van am. Helen discusses everything from her cooking skills, to wild security dramas and even manages to pull off the 2oceansvibe handshake at the end! [2oceansvibe]

Rupert Murdoch: The Internet Does Not Exist – As of a year ago, Murdoch had never used Google—never once, by himself. So it might be reasonable to assume he doesn’t know what’s involved, as he continues his war with the Internet. Over the weekend, he told a SKY News interviewer (who works for him) that as part of his campaign to charge users for reading his content, what he plans to do is to block Google from indexing his newspapers. [newser]

Mike Tyson Faces Jail if Scuffle is Deemed a Violation – Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, who was arrested in a scuffle with a photographer, could be sent to jail if he’s found to have violated probation from a 2007 drug case, officials said Thursday. The 43-year-old former heavyweight champion and a photographer, Tony Echeverria, made citizens’ arrests of each other (very childish) following a confrontation at Los Angeles International Airport. [abc]

BA And Iberia Reach Deal In Merger Plan – British Airways and Spanish airline Iberia have reached an outline agreement for a merger that is expected to be completed in late 2010. The firms have signed a memorandum of understanding following talks at BA. The planned tie-up will create the world’s third largest airline by revenue. It will have 419 aircraft, flying to 205 destinations. [sky]

Summing Up Selebi’s Trial – As we trudge through week four of the Jackie Selebi trial, it’s hard not to lose just a little bit of interest in the intricacies of the sordid saga. Not least because the testimony has been… well… confusing. And, because we know that you don’t have time to read every long-winded court report, we’ve done it for you. [iafrica]

Megan Fox: Women Call ME Slutty Because They’re Jealous – Megan Fox is the subject of a New York Times Magazine profile in which she tries with limited success to distance herself from the cartoonish, adolescent male vision of sexuality she has so carefully embodied. Women brand her as a whore because she is too pretty and smart to be anything but.. [huffpo]

Nelson Mandela Day is Now an International Day – In a unanimous vote from the UN, Nelson Mandela day has gone international. The resolution was unanimously adopted yesterday, with the support of all UN member states and co-sponsorship of over 165 members, from all regions of the world. [sarocks]

Porn 2.0: We Click, Therefore We Get Off – “Every minute, almost two million people to log on to look at porn – with 70% of that traffic taking place during the 9-5 workday.” Current TV takes a look at how pornography drives technical innovation. [jazebel]

Polish Your Shoes with a Banana – If you’ve got a few over-ripe bananas lying around (as most of us do), and you’re not the banana bread type, it turns out they have a few household uses before you toss them in the garbage—like homespun shoe polish. [lifehacker]

Breast Regrowth Breakthroughs – Body parts never grow back, or so we thought. Now, scientists have devloped a revolutionary surgical treatment that could help with breast regrowth among breast cancer survivors who have undergone mastectomies. [trendhunter]

Britney Spears Loves Satan – Britney Spears’ Twitter was apparently hacked this morning. As of this post it’s plastered with a new Illuminati background and proclamations of her love for Satan. [superficial]

[thanks dad]