Dubai - US singer Kylie Minogue launched the 2-billion- dollar Atlantis Palm Jumeirah resort in the Gulf emirate of Dubai with a 45-minute performance set on the beach late on Thursday.

Kylie's debut concert in the region was part of the ceremony that continued into the early hours of Friday and had cost around 20 million dollars.

A fireworks display, reportedly seven times the size of the one opening the Beijing Olympics, had cost more than 10 million UAE dirhams (2.7 million dollars).

Dhabi, Nov 21st, 2008 : How a mother of three children is victimised by allegations of her unproven link to terrorism featured the editorial of a UAE newspaper today.

'Clearly, she is one of those hundreds of people, most of them innocents, abducted as part of the war on terror', said the paper.

Under the title 'Let Afia Siddiqui go home', Khaleej Times wrote:.

'There is no end in sight for the ordeal of Dr Aafia Siddiqui who has been in the US detention for the past five years.

Dubai, Nov. 21: Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim has been officially reprimanded for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the first Test against South Africa at Bloemfontein.

Mushfiqur was found guilty of showing dissent at an umpire’s decision by Alan Hurst of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees at a hearing that took place after play concluded in Bloemfontein on Thursday.

The 20-year-old was found to have breached Level 1.3 of the code which relates to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision”.

Dubai, 20th Nov.

Tokyo, Nov. 20, 2008 -- UAE Ambassador to Japan, Saeed Ali Yusuf Al-Nuwais, has held here a reception for Minister of State Dr. Meitha Salim Al Shamsi, on the occasion of her visit to Japan at the invitation of the Japan Cooperation Centre, Petroleum (JCCP).

The reception, which was held at the UAE Embassy premises, was attended by dignitaries, including former Japanese Defence Minister, Yoriko Kwiko, member of the parliament of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, a number of officials and Arab ambassadors in Japan.

Dubai, Nov. 20, 2008 -- A UAE English daily today commented on the UAE's approach to tackling the negative effect of the global economic crisis to restore investor confidence and greater regulation to thwart future threats to its rising economy.

Commenting on the issue editorially today, the Dubai-based "Khaleej times" said: "Making an opportunity out of an ongoing global economic disaster, the UAE has come out with a strategy of its own to restore investor confidence and greater regulation to thwart future threats to its rising economy.