00:00Good day. Welcome to the Gulf News update for Wednesday, January the 15th. Here are
00:09the top stories at this hour.
00:11A seven-year UAE national agenda has been launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin
00:15Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai. The
00:20agenda aims at improving education, health, economic and security sectors and bolstering
00:26infrastructure and government services. It will coincide with the golden jubilee of the
00:30Union of the UAE in 2021. Sheikh Mohammed urged UAE officials to double their efforts
00:36over the next seven years to accomplish its goals and targets.
00:41Western intelligence agencies have visited Damascus for talks on combating radical groups.
00:46That's according to Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister. Faisal Mekdad said there was a schism
00:50between Western security officials and politicians who are pressing President Bashar al-Assad
00:55to step down.
00:57Voting is due to resume in Egypt in a two-day referendum on a new constitution, drawn up
01:02since the military forced out Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. The military is pushing for
01:07a yes vote to endorse his removal last July. Although security was tight, nine people died
01:13in clashes involving Morsi's supporters.
01:16Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yalon has apologized for quotes that blasted US Secretary of State
01:21John Kerry's role in the Middle East peace process. Yalon was quoted as saying that Kerry
01:26was acting out of misplaced obsession and messianic fervor.
01:31Two people were wounded in a shooting at a Thai anti-government rally today, raising
01:35tensions in Bangkok after weeks of mass street protests. A small blast also shook a house
01:41owned by the opposition leader's family, but defiant demonstrators vowed to keep up
01:45their efforts to force Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from office.
01:50Airlines are being offered discounts to shift operations to Al Maktoum International when
01:55runway repairs cut capacity at Dubai International later this year. Dubai International will
02:00close both of its runways over the 80-day period between May 1st to July 20th for scheduled
02:06maintenance. Dubai Airport's officials said they have been working with airlines and other
02:11stakeholders to mitigate the impact of the runway closure.
02:15In tennis, defending men's champion Novak Djokovic and women's top seed Serena Williams
02:20eased into the Australian Open third round today. However, concerns over players' health
02:25in the extreme Melbourne heat threatened to overshadow the on-court action. Organizers
02:30have confirmed that a record nine players retired from or forfeited their first round
02:34matches as temperatures across Australia soared above 40 degrees Celsius.
02:40And the police search of teen pop star Justin Bieber's California home in a vandalism case
02:45linked to the singer resulted in the arrest of a man after drugs were found in the house.
02:51Detectives raided Bieber's home after the boyfriend's singer was accused of pelting
02:55his neighbor's home with eggs. An unnamed person in Bieber's home at the time of the
02:59search was arrested when deputies found cocaine in plain view.
03:04And finally, the weather. Today's high across the UAE will be 21 degrees Celsius, dropping
03:08to 15 tonight.
03:15For more stories, visit nyseagrant.org
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