The National

A businessman was acquitted today of threatening to blow up the Burj Khalifa unless he was paid a million dollars. J F, 38, from India, used another man's mobile phone to send the threat by text to a police officer, in an effort to have the other man arrested and jailed, Dubai Criminal Court was told. He was caught when he boasted about what he had done to a hotel nightclub barman, who reported the boast to the victim.

The Burj Khalifa will mark its fourth anniversary with celebrations beginning on Saturday. The world’s tallest building – a UAE and global landmark – will offer a week of special events.

Depa, the Dubai-based interiors contractor that worked on the Burj Khalifa, is becoming a favourite among construction stock pickers in the country. While many builders have been hurt by project cancellations, payment delays and reduced profit margins, Depa’s balance sheet looks more solid.

The Burj Khalifa is set to remain the world's tallest building for years to come despite a skyscraper building boom in China, according to new figures. Building data firm Emporis has compiled a list of the top 10 "future skyscrapers" – ones currently under construction that will be among the world's tallest when they are completed.

The company also operates Armani Hotels and Resorts, which launched its first property last week, in the Burj Khalifa. It aims to have 10 hotels. “It is the perfect time to open because it adds one more attraction to the Downtown area,” Mr Dardenne said. “We have bookings from guests who have really chosen to come to stay at the Armani hotel and it happens to be in Dubai, so they had no plans previously to come to Dubai.”

The Armani Hotel Dubai in the Burj Khalifa will occupy the levels between the concourse and the eighth floor and levels 38 and 39 of the tower. Its opening was delayed because the Burj Khalifa’s opening was pushed back and more recently as the property received the finishing touches.

Contractors aiming to build what could become the tallest tower in the world have been asked to resubmit their bids after design changes were made. At least two contenders will place new offers for the 1.1km-high Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia next month, making it the third time in a year the project has been re-tendered. Six Construct, a Belgian companythat helped to build Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, currently the tallest tower in the world, is bidding for the contract in partnership with El Seif Engineering Contracting, a Saudi Arabian company.

Blair Kamin has an update on the Kingdom Tower, the proposed 3,280-ish-foot skyscraper designed by local starchitect Adrian Gill and planned for completion in 2017 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, at an estimated cost of $1.23 billion dollars (cheaper than the Burj Khalifa, a Gill project at SOM, thanks to low labor costs).

But although Tom Cruise's antics on the Burj Khalifa might - quite understandably - be the headline grabbers, the Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol shoot in Dubai didn't simply revolve around one, rather impressively reckless Hollywood A-lister.

Starring Tom Cruise, the movie will begin shooting in the "next few weeks", according to a statement released by the Dubai media office. Among the possible locations are Burj Khalifa and Meydan. Other locations and companies such as Emirates Airline and Emaar have been placed on standby to assist with the film. The announcement comes after two months of meetings between the Hollywood studio, Paramount, and government officials.