Dubai - France midfielder Franck Ribery said Thursday he could not pledge to stay at Bayern Munich until the end of his contract in 2011.

"I have a four-year contract. But promise that I will fulfil it? That is difficult. You never know what will happen in football," he said at the team's training camp in Dubai.

Ribery, 25, has been in outstanding form for Bayern since moving to the Bundesliga club from Olympique Marseille for 25 million euros (34 million dollars) in summer 2007.

Dubai, Jan. 7 : A. C. Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti has praised England football star David Beckham for his performance on debut in a friendly victory over Hamburg last night.

Becks played the opening 45 minutes of the showpiece clash in Dubai, which the Italian giants won 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

The former England skipper, 33, put in a solid performance and Ancelotti said: “He gave a very good impression. Dynamic quality and also he is an intelligent player.

Dubai, Jan 2 : ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat today announced the formation of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, in association with the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA), as part of the ICC's centenary year celebrations.

Speaking in Sydney on Friday at the launch of those celebrations, Lorgat said the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame would provide the chance for the game to recognise its greatest achievers.

London, December 27: Ace footballer David Beckham's protection may turnout to be the biggest-ever security operation when he arrives in Dubai on Monday to make his debut for AC Milan, for top officials fear that he may be an ideal high-profile target for Muslim fanatics.

Spies at the intelligence agency MI6 are afraid that al-Qaida may attack the United Arab Emirates "any time".

Beckham will be making several public appearances before the January 6 friendly match against Hamburg.

Lahore, Dec 26: After years of hostilities, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi have held a one-on-one meeting in Dubai on country's political situation.

Sources said the meeting was a result of efforts by `mutual friends' to reunite the PML factions, a private news channel reported on Thursday.

Dubai  - The volume of air traffic through the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of the Middle East's key transport hubs, will continue to grow in 2009, although the rate of growth is expected to slow down, a civil aviation official said on Thursday.

Saif Mohamed al-Suwaidi, the Director General of the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), said that the number of flights in 2008 had increased by around 10.3 per cent compared to 2007, reaching 489,000 flights.