Dubai

On Christmas Day, 2015, we told our readers the fascinating tale about the Turkish-Iranian gold smuggling ring - perhaps the biggest and most brazen in history, one which lasted for years, which saw billions in gold transported out of Turkey and into Iran to allow Tehran to circumvent the western financial sanctions using gold as a medium for bater, and which was all made possible thanks to the tiny Emirate of Dubai. 

What made this particular instance of gold smuggling especially memorable is that it reached to the very political top in both Turkey, and Iran, and Dubai.

A major fire is raging at a deluxe skyscraper hotel in Dubai. The luxury Address Downtown Dubai hotel is on fire, just hours before a planned fireworks display. Crowds had gathered for the New Year’s Eve celebrations outside, when the fire broke out. Officials say that at least 16 people have been injured. mosalsalat hindiya YouTube video: Outlook India reports: Dubai’s government media office tweeted that a “fire has been reported in the Address Downtown hotel. Authorities are currently on-site to address the incident swiftly and safely”. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

Have "the terrorists" turned into arsonists, did someone misfire a bottle rocket in their room, or are the powers that be out to destroy the Gold Holding evidence?

Whatever the case, a massive fire has broken out at The Address hotel in downtown Dubai. The building boasts a 5-star hotel and is 302 meters tall. 

Earlier this week, we told a fascinating story about an unprecedented, multi-year smuggling ring involving Turkey, Iran, and Dubai (as well as China, Russia and countless other nations) which saw corruption reaching to the very top of the political and financial establishment: from president Erdogan in Turkey, to one of Turkey's richest people, Iran-born Riza Sarraf, to Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, the son of the ruler of Abu Dhabi and one of the world's richest people. The smuggled object in question was gold, billions of dollars worth of gold.

Long before Turkey was flagrantly arming and funding the CIA-created "terrorist organization" known as ISIS, there was another, far more elaborate way in which Turkey was flaunting international sanctions against an ostracized state - in this case Iran - which involved an epic gold smuggling triangle of Hollywood-thriller proportions, all made possible thanks to the United Arab Emirate city of Dubai.