The National

Mr Kannan was a construction foreman in an area where finishing work was being done. He took off his shoes and left a diary near by before climbing out of an air vent on the 148th floor, Bur Dubai Police Station Chief Col Ali Ghanim said. Mr Kannan had suffered "severe psychological trauma caused by the death of his brother" in December, police said.

About 80 per cent of the completed office space in the project is empty, property agents say. And offices are renting for as much as 50 per cent less than space in nearby Downtown Dubai, where the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, is located.

The UAE's newest art gallery has opened with a show inspired by photographs taken by children in Lesotho and a charity auction that raised Dh163,000 for orphans in the southern African country. Six Emirati artists were then invited to base artworks around some of the 1,400 images, and the results were unveiled this weekend at the Ara Gallery in Emaar Boulevard, Downtown Dubai.

To promote the group's work, Ms Lemack helped produce the documentary Killing in the Name, which was screened at the Pavilion in Downtown Burj Khalifa last month.

Both residential developments are popular among expatriates and have their own fan base, say experts. Arabian Ranches and Springs, both popular residential communities developed by Emaar, are neck and neck when it comes to preference among the expat community.

Dr Gabriel Aldea, the Romanian consul general in Dubai, said he had been keen to see Lascar's exhibition staged in Dubai because of the city's growing importance as a cultural centre. At the launch of his show in the Burj Khalifa's Armani Hotel, Lascar said he was delighted with the choice of Dubai and would be happy to return.

The emirate's malls now attract more international brands than the boulevards of Paris and the avenues of New York, a survey has found. Sharing the top spot with London, Dubai now has more than half of the world's international brands, and combined with Abu Dhabi, makes the UAE the second-biggest retail market in the world, just behind the UK.

In the shadow of the Burj Khalifa, the word "artwork" is taking on an entirely new meaning. While most people go to art centres to soak up the culture, some visitors to Dubai's newest space are there for a much more serious purpose: for them, the light and airy Pavilion Downtown Dubai is the perfect place to get on with their work.

On the gallery wall, the painting immediately catches your eye. It would look great, you just know, in your living room. Wondering about the price, you head for the counter. But you are politely told: "Sorry, it's not for sale." For this is the Pavilion Downtown Dubai, the city's newest contemporary art space and the first to operate on not-for-profit lines.

In the property construction cycle, fitting out the marble flooring and steel fixtures come last. The company posted a Dh198.2 million loss, mostly from impairments related to a dispute it has with another contractor on the Burj Khalifa.