UNILEVER

If the adage 'two heads are better than one' applies to business, then certainly
Unilever is a prime example. The food and consumer products giant actually has two
parent companies: Unilever PLC, based in the United Kingdom, and Unilever N.V.,
based in The Netherlands. The two companies, which operate virtually as a single
corporation, are run by a single group of directors and are linked by a number of
agreements. Unilever considers itself the second largest consumer goods firm in the
world, trailing only Philip Morris Companies Inc., and produces numerous brand name
foods, cleaning products, and personal care items. About 52 percent of revenues are
generated in the foods sector; brands include Imperial and Promise margarines,
Lipton tea, Ragú foods, Lawry's seasonings, Breyers ice cream, and Birds Eye and
Gorton's frozen foods. One-quarter of sales come from the personal care area; brands
include Caress and Dove soap, Pears and Pond's skin care products, Degree,
Fabergé, and Sure deodorants, Suave and Salon Selectives hair care items, Close-Up,
Mentadent, and Pepsodent oral care products, and Calvin Klein, Elizabeth Arden, and
Elizabeth Taylor prestige fragrances&mdash well as such miscellaneous brands as Q-
Tips and Vaseline. Unilever's third major sector is that of cleaning products, which is
responsible for about 22 percent of turnover; brands include Wisk and All laundry
detergents, Snuggle and Final Touch fabric softeners, and Sunlight dish detergents,
and this area also includes the company's line of institutional cleaning products.
Unilever maintains production facilities in 88 countries and sells its products in an
additional 70. About 47 percent of revenues originate in Europe, 21 percent in North
America, 14 percent in the Asia-Pacific region, 12 percent in Latin America, and six
percent in Africa and the Middle East.

Soap and Margarine Origins

William Hesketh Lever, later Lord Leverhulme, was born in Bolton, England, in 1851.
The founder of Lever Brothers, Lever had a personality that combined 'the rationality
of the business man with the restless ambitions of the explorer,' according to
Unilever historian Charles Wilson.

During the depression of the 1880s, Lever, then a salesman for his father's wholesale
grocery business, recognized the advantages of not only selling, but also
manufacturing, soap, a noncyclical necessity item. His father, James Lever, initially
was opposed to the idea, believing that they should remain grocers, not
manufacturers. He softened, however, in the face of his son's determination. In 1885
William established a soap factory in Warrington as a branch of the family grocery
business. Within a short time Lever was selling his soap throughout the United
Kingdom, as well as in continental Europe, North America, Australia, and South Africa.

William also began a tradition that lasted well into the 20th century--that of
producing all its raw components. Lever Brothers, a vertically integrated company,
grew to include milling operations used to crush seeds into vegetable oil for
margarine as well as packaging and transporting businesses for all of its products,
which then included Lux, Lifebuoy, Rinso, and Sunlight soaps.

In 1914, as the German Navy began to threaten the delivery of food imports--
particularly Danish butter and Dutch margarine&mdashø Britain, the British
government asked William Lever to produce margarine. He eagerly accepted the
opportunity, believing that the margarine business would be compatible with the
soap business because the products both required oils and fats as raw materials.
Lever Brothers' successful diversification, however, now put the company in
competition with Jurgens and Van den Bergh, two leading Dutch margarine
companies.

KEIDRAN JONES
(IYAZ)

Born in the U.S. Virgin Islands but raised in the British Virgin Islands,
Keidran Jones grew up amid swaying palm trees in idyllic Tortola,
where he had a breathtaking view of the turquoise sea from his home.
His father toured with a singing group, while his mother has directed
church choirs for many years. It was at her insistence that IYAZ, at age
11, sang Kirk Franklin’s “They Need to Know” for a Christmas concert.
“Even if you don’t do great, it’s like ‘Amen!’ ‘Hallelujah!’” IYAZ says,
chuckling. IYAZ doesn’t do much gospel nowadays, but his music is
sparkling clean. “I’m even cleaner than Sean,” he says, adding that he
doesn’t need to resort to curse words or negative themes to express
emotional depth.

Consider the Rotem-produced “Replay,” which boasts an irresistible

melody, crisply syncopated high hats, and a few well-placed electro-
violin riffs. IYAZ says that the song is about obsession: “You think
about the girl you like every second of the day. You even call other
girls by her name.”

Many of IYAZ’s songs are about women. “Dancer” delves into the pole-
dancing world of a captivating exotic dancer. “I’m telling her that she
can be anything in the world," he explains. "She could be a lawyer,
firewoman, the President, but tonight, in this club, she’s gonna be my
dancer.” “Heartbeat” is about how the right girl can make his heart
race; hands shake, and stomach flutter. For “Find A Way,” IYAZ wrote
about surviving tough times in a relationship. “You’re just telling her,
that you really want to make it work.”

IYAZ understands that struggle firsthand, because the music business

has been challenging for his love life. Instead of cultivating a
relationship, he’s busy in the studio or touring. But when things get to
be too much, IYAZ can always return to his other great love:
motorcycles. He just hops on one of his dirt bikes and rides off into the
Floridian
 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The earliest known human habitation in the United Arab Emirates dated from the
Neolithic period, 5500 BCE. At this early stage, there is proof of interaction with the
outside world, particularly with civilisations to the north. These contacts persisted
and became wide-ranging, probably motivated by trade in copper from the Hajar
Mountains which commenced around 3000 BCE. Foreign trade, the recurring motif in
the history of this strategic region, flourished also in later periods, facilitated by the
domestication of the camel at the end of the second millennium BCE. By the first
century CE overland caravan traffic between Syria and cities in southern Iraq began,
followed by seaborne travel to the important port of Omana (perhaps present-day
Umm al-Qaiwain) and thence to India was an alternative to the Red Sea route used
by the Romans Pearls had been exploited in the area for millennia but at this time the
trade reached new heights. Seafaring was also a mainstay and major fairs were held
at Dibba, bringing in merchants from as far as China.

Advent of Islam

The arrival of envoys from the Prophet Muhammad in 630 heralded the conversion of
the region to Islam. After Muhammad's death one of the major battles of the Ridda
Wars was fought at Dibba, resulting in the defeat of the non-Muslims and the triumph
of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula. In 637, Julfar (today Ra’s al-Khaimah) was as a
staging post for the conquest of Iran. Over many centuries, Julfar became a wealthy
port and pearling center from which dhows traveled throughout the Indian Ocean.

Portuguese control

Portuguese expansion into the Indian Ocean in the early sixteenth century following
Vasco da Gama's route of exploration saw them battle the Ottomans up the coast of
the Persian Gulf. The Portuguese controlled the area for 150 years in which they
conquered the inhabitants of the Arabian peninsula. Vasco da Gama was helped by
Ahmad Ibn Majid, a navigator and cartographer from Julfar, to find the route of spices
from Asia.

British and Ottoman rule

Then, portions of the nation came under the direct influence of the Ottoman Empire
during the 16th century. Thereafter the region was known to the British as the "Pirate
Coast", as raiders based there harassed the shipping industry despite both European
and Arab navies patrolling the area from the 17th century into the 19th century.
British expeditions to protect the Indian trade from raiders at Ras al-Khaimah led to
campaigns against that headquarters and other harbours along the coast in 1819.
The next year, a peace treaty was signed to which all the sheikhs of the coast
adhered. Raids continued intermittently until 1835, when the sheikhs agreed not to
engage in hostilities at sea. In 1853, they signed a treaty with the United Kingdom,
under which the sheikhs (the "Trucial Sheikhdoms") agreed to a "perpetual maritime
truce." It was enforced by the United Kingdom, and disputes among sheikhs were
referred to the British for settlement