00:00Good day, welcome to the Gulf News update for Wednesday, April the 16th. Here are the
00:09top stories at this hour.
00:11The wait is over. The opening match of the Indian Premier League between defending champions
00:15Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders takes place in Abu Dhabi from 6.30pm tonight. Organizers
00:22have reported the first four matches of the tournament are already sold out, as well as
00:25a Dubai doubleheader on April 25th.
00:29The health authority Abu Dhabi has announced three new cases of MERS coronavirus. The new
00:33asymptomatic cases were identified following screenings for those who had come into contact
00:38with affected people. The authority confirmed the current situation wasn't a public health
00:42concern and that it's taken all necessary measures as per international standards and
00:47recommendations.
00:49Saudi Arabia has replaced its veteran intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan with the deputy
00:53chief of general intelligence, General Yusuf bin Ali al Idrisi. Prince Bandar, who was
00:59Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington for 22 years, was appointed intelligence chief
01:03in July 2012. He was absent from the forefront for two months amid reports that he was out
01:09of the Saudi kingdom for medical reasons.
01:12Palestinian and Israeli negotiators are due to meet today in an effort to extend peace
01:16talks beyond an April 29th deadline. The US State Department said a range of issues would
01:21be discussed but the parties remain highly engaged. Talks appeared on the verge of collapse
01:25earlier this month amid a series of disputes between the two sides.
01:30Russian leader Vladimir Putin has warned that Ukraine is on the verge of civil war. That's
01:35according to a statement by the Kremlin last night. The comments came after the Ukraine
01:39government sent in troops against pro-Moscow separatists in the east of the country. Ukraine
01:44pushed tanks towards a flashpoint eastern city to quash a separatist surge backed by
01:49Moscow.
01:50And finally, the weather. Today's high across the UAE will be 37 degrees Celsius dropping
01:54to 26 tonight.
01:56That's all for now. Thanks for watching and as always you can get the latest news at gulfnews.com
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