00:00Good day, and welcome to the Gulf News Update for Thursday, February the 28th.
00:15Here are the top stories at this hour.
00:18His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE
00:23and ruler of Dubai, has announced an initiative to transform Dubai into a global center for
00:28Islamic bonds.
00:29Launched on the floor of the Dubai financial market yesterday, the initiative will create
00:33a center for issuing, listing and trading Sukuks as part of a plan to develop Dubai
00:39into a center for Islamic finance.
00:41India's finance minister proposed a 16% rise in public spending in his annual budget
00:46today as he sought to balance demands for pre-election spending with alarm over the
00:51public deficit.
00:52P. Chidambaram said the Indian economy was in a trough but the government will be able
00:57to increase spending to $31 billion in the next fiscal year.
01:01A new unified electronic system to monitor the dispensing of controlled drugs will be
01:06implemented by Dubai police in March.
01:09Major General Abdel Jalil Mahdi al-Asmawi, Director of the General Department of Antinarcotics
01:14at the Dubai Police, said the steps were in cooperation with the Ministry of Health.
01:19Syria's opposition and foreign powers are holding crucial talks in Rome.
01:23The Friends of Syria meeting comes after the new U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
01:28said the opposition needs more help in the fight against Bashar al-Assad and that Washington
01:33wants to speed up the crisis-hit country's political transition.
01:37A non-profit foundation wants to recruit a man and a woman, possibly a married couple,
01:42for a 501-day journey to Mars and back.
01:45The mission, expected to cost upwards of $1 billion, would start in less than five years.
01:51Project founder Denis Tito says he will pay start-up costs for two years.
01:55In sport, Juan Martin del Potro kicks off the quarterfinals of the Dubai duty-free men's
02:00Open with a match against Germany's Daniel Brandt.
02:04Thomas Berdych, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will all be in action later.
02:09Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez has launched an attack on the club's management
02:14and fans while confirming he will leave the club at the end of the season.
02:18On the pitch, the Blues beat Middlesbrough 2-0 last night to set up an FA Cup quarterfinal
02:22showdown with Manchester United.
02:25Variety is the name of the game on the UAE's entertainment scene this weekend at the Fantastic
02:30Fan Day at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
02:32A top player will choose the best fan costume this afternoon.
02:36At the movies today, there's Bollywood rom-com I, Me, Irmaine, comedy identity thief and
02:41crime thriller Parker.
02:43U.S. comedy actor Chris Tucker will be doing two nights of stand-up at the Dew Forum in
02:47Abu Dhabi.
02:48Finally, the weather.
02:49Today's high across the UAE will be 30 degrees Celsius, falling to 15 degrees at night.
02:55That's all for now.
02:56Thanks for watching.
02:57And a reminder, we'll be back with the newscast on Sunday, but you can always get the latest
03:01news at golfnews.com.
Comments