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.

Riyadh - The first of two Saudi Arabian planes arrived in Riyadh on Friday carrying nine injured Palestinians for treatment in Saudi hospitals, local media reported.

Since the start of Israeli airstrikes on the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip on Saturday, more than 400 people have died, and some 2,200 have been injured, according to aid agencies.

A second Saudi plane has arrived at the Egyptian border town of al-Arish airport, ready to move more Gazan casualties to Saudi hospitals for treatment, a spokesman of the Saudi Ministry of Health, Khaled Marghany said in press statements.

Riyadh  - Saudi Arabian King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz called on Thursday for an urgent national aid campaign for the people in Gaza, Saudi news agency reported.

Since the start of Israeli air strikes on Gaza on Saturday, some 400 people have died and more than 2,100 have been injured.

King Abdullah said that the aid campaign will be supervised by Saudi Minister of Interior Naif bin Abdul-Aziz.

Saudi Arabia has sent aid planes with medicine to Gaza. It also allocated special planes to evacuate the injured from Gaza to Saudi hospitals for treatment.

Saudi Arabia and other US allied Arab states such as Egypt and Jordan have come under fire in the Arab world for not doing enough to help Gaza.

Riyadh - A prominent Saudi Arabian Muslim cleric who called for attacks on Israelis worldwide in retaliation for the ongoing airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has been arrested, Saudi media reported on Wednesday.

Sheikh Awad al-Qarni issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, on Monday saying that "it is legitimate to spill (Israeli) blood as long as they are spilling the blood of our brothers in Palestine."

The report in the al-Rasad newspaper said that al-Qarni had been arrested in the south of the country and had been brought to the capital Riyadh. Police would not confirm the arrest.

New Delhi, Dec 26 : Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal, who arrived here today said that his country has proposed to the United Nations to form an international body to fight terrorism across the globe.

After holding talks with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee, Al-Faisal said that all countries should work together to stop such attacks that were witnessed in Mumbai.

"As a matter of fact, Saudi Arabia has a proposal that we made to the United Nations to create a special body for the international community to come together and fight terrorism," he added.

Dubai, Dec 24 : The England team was fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during its six-wicket defeat against India in the first Test played in Chennai between 11 and 15 December.

Jeff Crowe of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees imposed the fines after Kevin Pietersen's side was ruled to be one over short of its target when time allowances were taken into consideration.