Germans may think they invented Schadenfreude, but Arabs have an ancient and precise term for the same thing. Shamata, that twinge of joy for someone else's sorrow, is what much of the world seems to feel about Dubai's financial fall to earth. Even the emirate's Arab neighbours tend to share a certain smug satisfaction in seeing the region's shiniest bubble burst. Most can afford to: despite the emirate's high profile, its importance in the regional economy is surprisingly small.
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