Stuttgart  - Abu Dhabi state-owned Aabar Investments declined Monday to rule out boosting its stake in giant German carmaker Daimler AG after the fund emerged over the weekend as the biggest shareholder in the manufacturer of luxury Mercedes Benz autos.

"A possible increase in the holding will have to be examined later," said Aabar chairman Khadem Al Qubaisi at a joint press conference Monday in Stuttgart with Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche. "At the moment, we are satisfied with a 9.1-per-cent holding."

Dubai - British rock band Cold Play will perform in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, their first performance in the Middle East, the entertainment satellite channel MTV Arabia reported Monday.

The concert is planned as a stage in the English rockers' world tour promoting their latest album, Viva la Vida, Samir al-Marzouqi, managing director of MTV Arabia, told German Press Agency dpa.

Dubai, Mar. 17 : The Dubai Executive Council has urged the residents of Dubai, where foreigners make up more than 80 per cent of the population, to respect the customs of the Muslim majority country and avoid inappropriate public behaviour.

Playing loud music, dancing, nudity, kissing and even holding hands in public is considered inapproppriate behaviour under new guidelines laid down by the authorities.

Dubai, UAE - Swimming's ruling body FINA has agreed new standards for technical swimsuits that will be in place for this August's world championships in Rome.

The new guidelines for suit manufacturers announced in Dubai Saturday include that suits not be more than 1 millimetre in thickness or extend past the shoulders or ankles.

There is also a ban on individually tailored suits or swimmers wearing more than one technical suit at a time to take advantage of, for example, the sleekness of one suit and the buoyancy of another.

The new guidelines come as 108 world records were set in the last 12 months, leaving critics to say that swimming was becoming a technological rather than a sporting battle.

Dubai, UAE - Novak Djokovic moved to within a match of his first season title as the Serb stormed into a third final of the season 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 over Gilles Simon at the Barclays Championships on Friday.

The top seed will face off against the winner from unseeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet and Spaniard David Ferrer, the fourth seed who has struck a seam of form this week in the desert.

Djokovic, the 2008 Australian Open champion, has improved his career showing at Dubai by one round in each of his three appearances, staring with a 2007 quarter-final and a semi-final defeat last year against Roger Federer.