TRA has clarified that it has not asked the country's telecom operators etisalat and du to suspend their alternative plans for BlackBerry customers in the UAE.

ABU DHABI - Under the patronage of General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the Office of the Brand of Abu Dhabi (OBAD) will launch the annual photography competition 'Abu Dhabi Through Your Eyes' on Wednesday.

ABU DHABI - The UAE is planning to establish a Medical Board in accordance with the international standards with a view to improving medical education in the country.

DUBAI - A little over a year after divers sunk a small fishing boat off the coast of Sharjah, an artificial reef is teeming with marine life.

DUBAI - Two people were killed and 10 sustained from moderate to serious injuries in four separate accidents in the past two days in Dubai.

GENEVA - The UAE Permanent Representative to United Nations in Geneva, Ambassador Obaid Salem Al Zaabi, has urged the workforce importing and exporting countries to join forces with international specialised organisations to embed transparency into all laws and regulations dealing with import of workers.

The Ministry of Labour has urged employers to renew labour cards of their employees on time to spare themselves the prescribed financial fines and other penalties.

DUBAI - The Dubai Court of Appeal has sentenced three men, including two tailors, to one year in jail followed by deportation for kidnapping and assaulting a man and seeking a ransom of Dh8,000.

ABU DHABI - Carlos Ghosn, the Brazilian born French business genius, who has become known as one of the automobile industry's great turnaround personalities, has lauded the UAE's efforts towards developing clean energy and held in high esteem the Mazdar City, which he described as a promising experience on the global level.

ABU DHABI - The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan received a telephone call from Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who expressed the gratitude of the government and people of Pakistan to the UAE for the assistance it extended to floods-victims and its great efforts it is making to help them. He also wished Sheikh Khalifa good health.

DUBAI - Indicating that it was winning the battle against counterfeiters, Dubai Customs said that in the last seven years, only 800kg of counterfeit gold and jewellery was seized in the emirate.

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Authorities declared an overnight curfew for Saturday after a major earthquake hit New Zealand's second biggest city, Christchurch, bringing down power lines and bridges and wrecking roads and building facades.

NEW YORK/DETROIT (Reuters) - The U.S. government is likely to take a loss on General Motors Co in the first offering of the automaker's stock, six people familiar with preparations for the landmark IPO said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Friday he would outline new measures next week to boost the U.S. economy, but analysts were skeptical he would be able to deliver a big enough package to lift growth significantly.

MEHMOOD KOT, Pakistan (Reuters) - Crime and the sale of donated aid supplies are undermining the aid effort for Pakistan's flood victims.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Concerns over Israeli access to BlackBerry data, and the use of the device by the United States to spy on the United Arab Emirates are behind the Gulf state's moves to curb the smartphone, Dubai's police chief said.

HALIFAX, Canada (Reuters) - Tropical storm Earl, a shadow of the massive hurricane that frightened the U.S. East Coast this week, picked up speed on Saturday as it bore down on Atlantic Canada packed with strong winds and rain.

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German Islamist held by U.S. troops in Afghanistan and interrogated since July has revealed details of planned attacks on targets in Germany and Europe, a news weekly reported Saturday.

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber struck a rally in the Pakistani city of Quetta on Friday, killing at least 54 people in the second major attack this week and piling pressure on a U.S.-backed government overwhelmed by a flood crisis.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - U.S. government inspectors found no leaking oil at Mariner Energy Inc's burned platform in the Gulf of Mexico, officials said late on Friday, allaying fears about more environmental damage after BP's massive spill.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - BP Plc successfully replaced a failed blowout preventer from atop its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well late on Friday, the top U.S. official overseeing the spill response said.