Sheikh Khalifa stressed that "there will be no compromise with whatever threatens our values, our traditions and language, which are the heart of our national identity and the soul of the nation and our heritage." "Thus, we must confront the negative effects of globalisation and the defects in the make-up of our population. Any infringement of our identity is an infringement of the country itself. Simply, it is a violation of the country's sanctity", he remarked.

In this connection, he announced 2008 as the year of National Identity, to strengthen the national elements and components of our society and to specify the threats to them.

DHABI, Nov. 22nd, 2008: The UAE marks the 37th anniversary of its National Day on December 2, 2008 with adamant determination to maintain the momentum of the process of political, social and cultural empowerment which President H. H Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan had launched 2 years ago.

The process builds on the rich and impressive legacy left behind by the Late Founding Father of the nation Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan whose visionary leadership speaks of itself in all fields of development.

Dubai, Nov 21st, 2008 : Minister of Education HE Dr. Hanif Hassan emphasised the need for giving adequate attention to the extra-curricular activities of children to enrich their personalities.

Opening a special programme entitled: 'Innovate' at the Umm Suqeim Girls School in Dubai, the minister also reiterated the need for taking students beyond textbooks, and keeping them informed about the current developments on the local and global fronts.

Dubai, Nov 21st, 2008 : The Ministry of Health (MOH) has stressed the importance of partnership between private and public sectors to achieve better production and service quality in healthcare and pharmaceutical industry.

Berlin, Nov 21st, 2008 : UAE kept its dreams alive with an impressive win over Monaco, 3 -1, in the seventh round of the 2008 World Chess Olympiad at the International Congress Centre in Dresden, Germany, yesterday.

Over 1527 players representing 141 countries are participating in the 38th Olympiad, the largest chess Olympiad ever and one of the biggest international competitions in any sport.

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).