The British satellite broadcaster Sky is set to part ways with its joint venture with the United Arab Emirates after the channel was accused of whitewashing atrocities in Sudan.

In a matter of days, Dubai’s long-standing image as a stable, untouchable hub has been shaken, exposing how quickly its economy can be undermined when confidence—the foundation it relies on—begins to erode.

On March 2, 2026, the UAE Federal Public Prosecution ordered the blocking of several accounts on X inside the country, accusing them of publishing illegal content and insulting the state and its leadership.

As Iranian strikes expanded beyond U.S. bases in the Gulf and official threats of military retaliation mounted, questions intensified over whether the Gulf states might be drawn—against their will—into the fire of war.

The remote Benishangul-Gumuz region in western Ethiopia has quietly become a strategic UAE-backed base training thousands of fighters for Sudan’s RSF militias, with logistics, equipment, and instructors flowing directly from Abu Dhabi.