00:00Good day and welcome to the Gulf News Update for Monday, January the 13th.
00:09Here are the top stories at this hour.
00:12It's better for the future of Egypt that General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi stays on as its
00:16army chief and someone else runs for the country's presidency.
00:20His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE
00:25and ruler of Dubai, has said in an interview.
00:30Sheikh Mohammed also told BBC World News in the interview that the UAE will help but not
00:35interfere in the ongoing Syrian conflict and suggested that sanctions against Iran be lifted
00:41for the benefit of the whole region.
00:44Among other issues, Sheikh Mohammed shared his thoughts on the Israeli-Palestinian peace
00:49process and the progress of human rights in the UAE.
00:53New traffic signs will be introduced on Dubai roads soon as Roads and Transport Authority
00:58prepares for the launch of the Dubai Tram this November.
01:02Most of the new road signs are related to the tram and railway, while a few are for
01:06speed breakers and pedestrian crossings.
01:09The UN Humanitarian Affairs Chief has expressed deep concern for communities cut off in Syria
01:15by months of fighting between government and rebel forces.
01:19Valerie Amos said she had spoken to the Syrian government about trying to get humanitarian
01:23access because the situation was getting worse by the day.
01:28Thai opposition protesters launched their attempted shutdown of Bangkok today, occupying
01:33key intersections in the capital.
01:36Today's protests are an escalation of the opposition campaign to unseat Prime Minister
01:40Yingluck Shinawatra.
01:42Thousands of flag-waving protesters massed at strategic points in the city.
01:48Diversification efforts in Abu Dhabi have yielded positive results with the emirate's
01:52economy posting healthy growth.
01:55The Economic Report of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi 2013 reveals that its GDP at current
02:01prices rose by 7.7% to 911.6 billion dirhams at the end of 2012.
02:10In sports, seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams crashed out of the Australian
02:14Open at the first hurdle today after a marathon clash with Russia's Ekaterina Makarova.
02:20Football and Manchester City went top of the Premier League with a controversial 2-0 win
02:25at Newcastle United.
02:27Liverpool meanwhile kept their title hopes alive with a 5-3 victory at Stoke City last
02:32night.
02:33The National Media Council, the UAE body tasked with approving films in the UAE, has weighed
02:39in on the uproar caused by Hollywood film The Wolf of Wall Street in the country.
02:44Audiences of the Martin Scorsese film, which released on Thursday, have complained that
02:49scenes were haphazardly chopped and dialogues muted, making most of it incomprehensible.
02:56Juma Obeid Alim, director of the Media Content Tracking Department at the NMC, told Tabloid
03:03the cuts were made by the film's distributor even before it came under their review.
03:08At the end of a madcap Golden Globes, the major honours ended up with the favourites.
03:14David O. Russell's con-artist caper American Hustle led with three awards.
03:19The historical drama 12 Years a Slave concluded the night as Best Film Drama.
03:26Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto both won for their performances in Dallas Buyers Club
03:32while Leonardo DiCaprio won his second Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy for The Wolf of
03:38Wall Street.
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