00:00Good day, welcome to the Gulf News Update for Tuesday, December the 10th.
00:09Here are the top stories at this hour.
00:12Joyous singing South Africans gather today to honor Nelson Mandela at a massive memorial
00:17service that is expected to draw some 100 heads of state and other dignitaries.
00:22A mix of world leaders, including President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro,
00:28will eulogize Mandela before a crowd of nearly 100,000 mourners at the service in the World
00:33Cup Soccer Stadium, where the anti-apartheid champion made his last public appearance.
00:39In Dubai, a planned gala screening of the Mandela biopic, Long Walk to Freedom, will
00:44still go ahead as scheduled at the International Film Festival tonight, but without fanfare.
00:49The film's star, Naomi Harris, and director Justin Chadwick will attend the screening,
00:54but there will be no media, no screaming fans, and no photography.
00:58Organizers said the change in plan was to honor the memory of the anti-apartheid hero.
01:04Construction work for an $120 million dirham amphitheater project is underway at Sharjah's
01:09Al Majaz Island.
01:11The Sharjah Media Center announced that the theater will serve as a venue to stage a host
01:15of activities for the Sharjah Capital of Islamic Culture celebrations throughout 2014, as well
01:22as global events.
01:24The 34th Gulf Cooperation Council Leaders' Summit is set to open today amid a renewed
01:29debate on the future of the grouping as well as relations with the resurgent Iran and the
01:33United States.
01:35Differences between Qatar and heavyweight Saudi Arabia were reportedly overcome with
01:40Kuwaiti mediation ahead of the talks.
01:43But more fault lines in the bloc surfaced when Oman announced on Saturday that it will
01:47withdraw from the GCC if it carries on with plans to evolve into a confederation, as suggested
01:53by Saudi Arabia.
01:55The Palestinian Hamas movement has resumed relations with Iran after a temporary falling
02:00out over the Syrian conflict.
02:02Ties have been pulled since Hamas withdrew its political base from Syria following the
02:06uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
02:10Business and Etihad Airways is significantly boosting its presence into the Indian market
02:15with an addition of new flights.
02:17Flights to Mumbai, New Delhi, Kochi, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad will increase from seven
02:22flights per week to 14 by October 2014.
02:27In sport, Lionel Messi, Frank Ribéry and Cristiano Ronaldo were shortlisted last night
02:32for this year's Ballon d'Or.
02:34Barcelona forward Messi has already won the title four times but seems less than a hot
02:39favorite this year after an injury-hit season, making it a two-horse race between Ronaldo
02:45and Ribéry.
02:46Teen heartthrob Justin Bieber has arrived in the Philippines to help victims of last
02:51month's killer typhoon.
02:53The singer will launch a campaign where donors will win a prize to hang out with him at a
02:56studio while he works on his upcoming album.
03:00And finally, weather.
03:01Today's high across the UAE will be 28 degrees Celsius, dropping to 21 degrees at night.
03:06That's all for now.
03:07Thanks for watching.
03:09And as always, you can get the latest news at gulfnews.com.
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