00:00Good day and welcome to the gulf news update for Tuesday, February the 12th.
00:19Here are the top stories at this hour.
00:21North Korea today staged its most powerful nuclear test yet, claiming a breakthrough
00:25with a miniaturized device.
00:28Defying global powers, including its sole patron China, the communist state said it
00:32had staged its third test with a successful underground detonation.
00:37The test comes hours ahead of US President Barack Obama's State of the Union address
00:42later today.
00:43His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister
00:47of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, envisions a virtual government where Emiratis will be
00:52able to complete transactions using mobile phones.
00:55Sheikh Mohammed was speaking at a dialogue session during the first day of the government
00:59summit in Dubai yesterday.
01:02More than 2,500 people are taking part in the two-day summit, including 150 experts
01:08from 30 countries.
01:09Sheikh Mohammed said empowerment, education and emiratization were the UAE leadership's
01:15priorities.
01:16He also answered a number of questions from the people and the media.
01:21Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Monday that his country would not bow to intensifying
01:26pressure or foreign plots.
01:28The statement was seen as a rejection of an offer of talks and an indication that the
01:32war will continue.
01:35The Speaker of Iran's Parliament, Ali Larijani, was pelted with shoes and stones in one of
01:41Iran's holiest shrines, forcing him to cancel a speech.
01:45Larijani is an open rival of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
01:52The Catholic Church entered uncharted waters after Pope Benedict XVI's shock announcement
01:57that he would become the first pontiff to resign of his own free will in 700 years.
02:02The 85-year-old Benedict said yesterday he will step down on February 28 because his
02:08advancing age prevented him from carrying out his duties.
02:11In sport, the UEFA Champions League knockout stages begin tonight, with Paris Saint-Germain
02:17taking on Spanish side Valencia.
02:19One fancied Celtic would be hosting Italian giants Juventus in Glasgow.
02:24The matches kick off at 11.45 p.m. UAE time.
02:29A statue of late Bollywood director Yash Chopra has been unveiled in Mumbai.
02:34Apart from the Chopra family, also in attendance was a tearful Rani Mukerji, whose presence
02:39further fuelled rumours that she is in a relationship with Yash Raj Film's sign Aditya Chopra.
02:46Speaking at the event, actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha went as far as calling her Rani Chopra,
02:52leaving the actress visibly shocked.
02:55And finally, the weather.
02:56Today's high across the UAE will be 29 degrees Celsius, dropping to 10 degrees at night.
03:02That's all for now.
03:03Thanks for watching.
03:04And as always, you can get the latest news at gulfnews.com
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