00:00Good day and welcome to the Gulf News Update for Tuesday, August 13. Here are the top stories
00:09at this hour.
00:10Expatriates hoping to perform Hajj this year are finding it hard to find affordable seats,
00:14with many operators allegedly still unaware of the cost of their package or having no
00:18seats to offer. Most of the 148 licensed travel agents who organize Hajj trips and have seats
00:25available have also increased their rates.
00:27A trip which used to cost between 10,000 to 30,000 dirhams a few years ago will cost
00:32between 30,000 and 70,000 dirhams this year. The rise in fees has been attributed to the
00:37reduced quota of pilgrims Saudi Arabia is ready to host in Mecca.
00:41Heavy rain lashed Al Ain and Madinat Zayed in the western region yesterday. The unstable
00:46weather condition is due to a low-pressure area which prevailed over the eastern and
00:49central part of the UAE and will continue till tomorrow, a weather forecaster said.
00:54Saudi Arabia's highest temperature across the UAE will be 44 degrees Celsius, dropping
00:58to 29 at night. Egypt's interim government is divided over whether to use force to disperse
01:03the protest camps of loyalists of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, delaying its response. Meanwhile,
01:09Israel intercepted and destroyed a rocket fired from Egyptian territory at the Red Sea
01:13town of Eilat overnight. Suspected militants wearing army fatigues gunned down 44 people
01:18praying at a mosque in northeast Nigeria. Another 12 civilians died in an apparently
01:23simultaneous attack blamed on Boko Haram militants.
01:26Philippine rescuers are clearing landslide-choked roads today to reach isolated villages that
01:31were devastated by Typhoon Yutor. The typhoon has left thousands of people homeless. The
01:36UAE's central bank has lifted a three-month ban imposed on banks that prohibit them from
01:39transferring the loans of Emiratis, provided the banks abide by conditions.
01:44In sport, England cricket captain Alistair Cook has promised no let-up against arch-rivals
01:48Australia in the final test after a stunning win last night gave them an unbeatable 3-1
01:53lead in the Ashes series.
01:56Star Wars creator George Lucas saw Kim Kardashian's baby North and raised in Everest. Lucas and
02:00new wife Melody Hobson have announced the birth of a baby daughter through surrogacy
02:04and named her Everest.
02:06That's all for now. Thanks for watching and as always you can get the latest news at gulfnews.com.
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