GN Midday Wednesday Feb 27 2013

Daily news headlines from the UAE and around the world, brought to you by Gulf News.

Transcript

00:00Good day, welcome to the Gulf News Update for Wednesday, February the 27th.

00:15Here are the top stories at this hour.

00:18At least 18 people have been killed and over a dozen critically injured when a major fire

00:22broke out at an illegally constructed multi-story market complex in central Calcutta.

00:27Fire brigade personnel scramble to rescue people feared to be trapped inside the market,

00:32which houses shops and paper warehouses.

00:34Abu Dhabi's history will come to life for 10 days at the Qasr al-Hassan Festival, celebrating

00:39the fort's 250-year anniversary tomorrow at 6 p.m., showcasing artifacts and artistic

00:45displays of the capital's past.

00:47Egypt's main opposition group, the National Salvation Front, will boycott the forthcoming

00:51parliamentary elections because of concerns the polls would not be free and fair.

00:56The first round of voting in Cairo and four other provinces is due to be held on 22 April.

01:01Pope Benedict XVI will hold the last audience of his pontificate in St. Peter's Square

01:06today on the eve of his historic resignation as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

01:12Tens of thousands of pilgrims are expected at the Vatican to bid a final farewell to

01:16the 85-year-old pope.

01:18Cristiano Ronaldo left Lionel Messi in the shade by inspiring Real Madrid to the Spanish

01:22Kings Cup final, with two goals as Barcelona were beaten 3-1 in their latest El Clasico

01:27matchup last night.

01:29In tennis, top seeds Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will be back on court at the Dubai

01:33Duty Free Men's Open from 7 p.m. tonight.

01:36If you enjoyed Seth MacFarlane's Oscar-hosting gig, we hope you recorded it, because that

01:40will be the only way you'll see him doing it again.

01:43The Family Guy creator revealed on his Twitter account that this was his first and last stint

01:47helming the Academy Awards.

01:49And finally, weather.

01:50The daytime temperature will be 27 degrees Celsius, falling to 8 degrees at night.

01:54That's all for now.

01:55Thanks for watching.

01:56And as always, you can get the latest news at gulfnews.com.