The National

If there were an award for the strangest place I've met an interview subject, then Michael Kaplan would win it hands down. I was swimming in the sea in Aruba when I was introduced to the costume designer, who was on the Caribbean island to make an appearance at the Aruba International Film Festival.

Depa, the Dubai interior contractor that fitted out the Burj Khalifa, is the latest company in the construction sector to warn that turmoil in the Middle East is driving down revenue. The delay of several large contracts in the region will "dampen full-year market expectations", it said yesterday.

Dubai home prices were down 8.2 per cent from March last year, the property firm reported. But prices have increased 2.1 per cent since October, including a slight 0.6 per cent bump in the first three months of the year, the property firm reported.

Partly inspired by his love of machinery and a cult television show, Sami al Turki has employed his childhood passions to deliver a deeper message about greed and ambition. His latest exhibition, Constructakons, opens in Dubai at The Pavilion Downtown today and documents the growth of the city in recent years through photographs and video.

The Ara - the Arabic name means to decorate or add beauty - has the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Fountain as a backdrop. It opened in April to give a platform to emerging Arab talent. "The show really puts across the diversity of the UAE, there are seven artists using different mediums," she said. "And the location of the gallery is excellent."

Last week, Research In Motion (RIM), the Canadian maker of the popular smartphone, said the PlayBook was scheduled to go on sale here on June 12. The product was showcased during a glitzy function at the Privé nightclub in the Armani hotel at the Burj Khalifa

An architect who meticulously designed and built a 141,971-piece Lego sculpture of the Burj Khalifa wants the model to serve as an inspiration to others. The 2.7m tower of unglued plastic bricks went on display yesterday at Dubai Mall.

Now that Emaar Properties has written off its Dh172 million investment in Dubai Bank, investor attention is turning to the prospects of its much larger stake in Amlak, the troubled mortgage company. Amlak is carrying about Dh4 billion worth of property on its balance sheet at the original acquisiti0on costs.

Maradona was certainly not short of offers since parting ways with the Argentina team after the 2010 World Cup. He had been linked to the national teams of Iran and Ukraine, but the city of Dubai, it seems, won his heart. He stayed overnight at the Zabeel Sarai hotel on the Palm, and visited the Atlantis hotel, the Armani hotel and the Burj Khalifa, where he dined at the Atmosphere restaurant on the 122nd floor.

The builder of Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower, may write down the entire value of its Dh172.4 million investment in Dubai Bank as soon as the second quarter, the investment bank EFG-Hermes told investors in a note yesterday. The Dubai Government has taken control of the lender and says it will inject capital "to ensure that Dubai Bank's business continues uninterrupted".