On Thursday, a 63-story luxury hotel in Dubai, the Address Downtown, burst into flame. Nearby, at the Burj Khalifa, a fireworks display heralded the new year. On Friday morning, the Associated Press reports, smoke continued to billow from the Address as firefighters continued working to contain the fire.

The Address hotel in downtown Dubai is currently on fire, coinciding with the emirate’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display.

Georgian chess champion and grandmaster Gaioz Nigalidze has been thrown out of the Dubai Open Chess Tournament after he was caught cheating, the Daily Mail reports. Nigalidze was found to have been checking moves on a phone hidden in the bathroom.

UPDATE 02/21: According to Gulf News, firefighters brought the blaze under control at around 4:24 a.m. local time. 10 residents of the tower suffered from smoke inhalation, but no casualties or major injuries have been reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Foul play is not currently suspected.

Rolf Buchholz, the world's most pierced man, claims he was denied entry to Dubai due to suspicions of "black magic" stemming from his many piercings. Buchholz currently holds the record for most piercings—453 in total. His various modifications include 278 piercings in or around his junk, horns implanted in his head and magnets in his fingertips.

Dubai, a city in the United Arab Emirates that is home to creations and projects beyond our wildest Western dreams (all paid for with oil money), has announced it will begin building a new mega shopping center called Mall of the World, which will be the biggest mall on planet Earth.

Shezanne Cassim, an American citizen imprisoned in Dubai since April for making a not-very-funny and not-very-offensive YouTube parody video, was just sentenced to one year in prison — apparently for endangering national security and defaming the UAE's image abroad.

A 29-year-old University of Minnesota graduate has been locked up in a Dubai prison since April for making a parody YouTube video about teaching residents of a Satwa, wealthy neighborhood, how to fight. In the video, they learn to throw shoes and call for help over Twitter.

A Norwegian woman who'd been arrested for having extramarital sex in Dubai after reporting an alleged rape has been pardoned. Also pardoned was the woman's former boss and alleged rapist, who had been similarly charged with having sex outside of wedlock and consuming alcohol.

Dubai, alarmed by the sudden rise in obesity among its citizens, has decided to offer an interesting incentive for its population to slim down — gold.

A Norwegian woman in Dubai who reported to police an alleged rape in March has been sentenced to 16 months in jail for having extramarital sex.

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal just couldn't stand being the 26th richest man in the world while Dubai had the world's tallest penis tower, the Burj Khalifa, which was renamed after a measly president, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE. So, in honor of his manhood, the prince is building a bigger tower.

This is what life looks like over a 12 hour period of time from roughly 9pm to 9am overlooking downtown Dubai. The world's tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, is set in the distance.

The United States already has a major image problem in the Arab world, and a new State Department report on the abuse of foreign workers at U.S. embassies in the region is sure to make it worse.

In the northern parts of this country, it's already been a long, wild winter. That makes it the time of year when those of us in freezing cities fantasize about which tropical locations we'd move to. Let's contemplate the options.

Just three days ago the pride of the Emirates, the 160-floor Burj Khalifa hotel, celebrated its first birthday. The next day, a Chinese official announced plans to build a $1.3 billion knock off of the "seven star" hotel in Beijing.

Remember that rooftop tennis court in Dubai? Well, it's just met its match: here's a video of two of the sport's greats, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, volleying back and forth while standing on a floating tennis court in Qatar.

The latest trend sweeping Dubai, the rich people capital of the universe: solid gold temporary tattoos for special occasions like weddings. They last for about a week and only cost $50. Wait, $50? That's nothing. Luxury for everyone!

Poor tourist Daniel Matthew just wanted to photograph the view from the Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building. So it was kind of weird when Tom Cruise appeared. Outside the building. Almost 1500 feet in the air. Want to see?

Dubai, the luxury capital of the world, was not always so glamorous. Watch the emirate's change from desert to leisure metropolis right before your eyes! You might even say these are the awkward yearbook photos of the swiftly developing city.