Dubai, Dec. 11 : The International Cricket Council has announced the referee and umpires who will officiate in the upcoming Test series between Australia and South Africa.

Ranjan Madugalle from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees will lead the playing control team for the series.

The first Test, which takes place in Perth from 17 to 21 December will be umpired by Asoka de Silva and Aleem Dar from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires.

The second Test will take place in Melbourne from 26 to 30 December and will feature on-field umpires Billy Doctrove from the Emirates Elite Panel and Dar.

Dubai - A Dubai hotel is trying to ease the pain of the global financial crisis by offering free dinners for laid-off workers, media in the United Arab Emirates reported.

The three-star Arabian Park hotel is offering its free dinners from December 15 until January 15 to locals and foreigners who can prove they were fired.

"(The scheme is) to remind people of our value for money," the hotel general manager Mark Lee told the Gulf News.

The city, best known for its gleaming skyscrapers and man-made islands, is often compared to Las Vegas.

Perth/Dubai, Dec.

Dubai/ Cape Town, Dec. 10 : The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sent out a clear signal to sledgers by indicating that it is seriously considering the imposition of harsher penalties for verbal abuse.

"There was also a feeling among CEC members that a stronger stance needed to be taken against players guilty of verbal abuse," The Age quoted an ICC statement, as saying.

Harsher interpretations and penalties for players would be a bitter pill for the Australian players to swallow, given their tradition of "mental disintegration" to unsettle opponents.

Geneva, Dec. 9th, 2008-The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) adopted the report prepared by the troika of rapporteurs on UAE's human rights issues in Geneva on Tuesday.

The troika -- Argentina, Cameroon and Indonesia, who were elected by the Human Rights Council - praised the "exemplary" manner in which the report was prepared and presented, as well as the "seriousness" with which human rights issues are dealt with by the UAE.