Abu Dhabi - What would Richard Wagner have thought?

The ceiling of the auditorium seemed to bend under the weight of gold stucco, spectators sank into plush seats, and as the orchestra let loose, someone pulled out a mobile phone and whispered greetings into the beyond.

The seven-star Emirates Palace Hotel is hardly evocative of the hard seats filled by worshipful Wagnerians at the German composer's opera house in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth.

It looks more like something out of Thousand and One Nights than Ring of the Nibelung.

Helsinki

Kiev/Budapest/Washington - Ukrainians expressed optimism, but still faced a shaky economy after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it will provide financial support to the hard-pressed country.

The IMF on Sunday simultaneously announced a 16.5-billion-dollar credit for Ukraine. Additionally, it said it plans to give Hungary, which is also facing economic problems, a credit of an as-yet- undetermined size.

Los Angeles - Author Tony Hillerman, whose mystery novels shone a light on the clash between Navajo traditions and modern society, has died at aged 83 from pulmonary failure.

Hillerman died Sunday at the Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Born in Oklahoma in 1925, he grew up surrounded by Native Americans and their culture, and his work was characterized by intricate plots and fascinating accounts of tribal rituals.

Brussels - European Union businesses called Monday for a cut in interest rates amid predictions that the bloc's economic slowdown could lead to more than 1 million jobs being lost in 2009.

BusinessEurope, which groups national business federations from 34 European countries, also called on governments to ensure a continued flow of credit and to approve structural reforms aimed at improving the continent's competitiveness.

Maputo - The international financial crisis is unlikely to lead to a significant fall-off in foreign aid and investment in Mozambique because it is well-governed, a senior US diplomat told a press conference in the capital Maputo Monday.

Todd Chapman, business affairs officer at the US Embassy in Maputo said Mozambique stood to receive "much more financial support" because of its stable business environment and the commitment of President Armando Guebuza's government to reform.