Sheikh it Off

Sheikh Rashid III bin Ahmad Al Mu'alla, ruler of Umm al-Quwain, the second smallest of the United Arab Emirates, has died at the age of 79. Governed by Rashid III since 1981, Umm al-Quwain, literally “Mother of two powers,” comprises 750 km2 and has 62,000 inhabitants, and was established as an independent sheikdom in 1775. In 1820, it became a British protectorate to keep the Ottoman Turks out, but was the lowest class of salute, or princely, state, warranting only a three-gun (out of 21) greeting for its ruler. And last month they banned motorcycles. That’s all I got. What do you want? He was a guy in a sheet running a sandbox a third the size of Delaware.