00:00Good day and welcome to the Gulf News Update for Tuesday, May 20. Here are the top stories
00:10at this hour.
00:12The UAE will stop jailing terminally ill patients, seniors, pregnant women and minors under 18
00:18years of age for defaulting on debts, Gulf News has learned. The relaxation comes as
00:24part of changes suggested by the government in the UAE Civil Procedure Code to be debated
00:29by the Federal National Council today. The legislation will stop the imprisonment of
00:34both Emirati and expatriates who fall under the above categories.
00:39Thailand's powerful army declared martial law before dawn today, deploying troops into
00:45the heart of Bangkok in a dramatic move, it said, was aimed at stabilising the country
00:50after six months of political unrest. The military insisted a coup d'etat was not
00:55underway. The surprise operation places the army in charge of public security nationwide.
01:02An elite Libyan unit joined renegade General Khalifa Haftar Monday to battle Islamists
01:08in the east, as rising lawlessness in the nation's two largest cities edges it closer
01:14to civil war. The government, meanwhile, suggested in an open letter that the parliament take
01:19a recess as a way out of the crisis.
01:22A bloc led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is heading for a commanding lead in Iraqi
01:27elections held last month. With at least 92 seats in the 325-member parliament, al-Maliki's
01:35state-of-law coalition was far ahead of its nearest rival, the Shiite Islamic Supreme
01:40Council of Iraq, which won 29 seats.
01:45Sport and Barcelona has appointed their former captain Luis Enrique as their new coach to
01:50replace Gerardo Martino after a disappointing season. Enrique, 44, scored 109 goals in 300
01:58appearances for the Catalan team in eight years after joining from rivals Real Madrid
02:04in 1996.
02:07An Indian bar waiter has identified Salman Khan in a Mumbai court as trial resumed in
02:13a 2002 hit-and-run case. The waiter said the actor had come with his friends to drink alcohol
02:20in a five-star hotel 12 years ago, hours before his car allegedly mowed down a group
02:25of people sleeping on the pavement and killed one of them. The deposition came during the
02:31retrial of the Khan hit-and-run case, which started on April 28.
02:37Beyonce and Jay-Z have released a trailer for a fake movie online with guns blazing,
02:43and now fans want to see the film actually made. Fans launched a petition on Monday to
02:49support a feature-length version of Run.
02:52And finally, the weather. Today's high across the UAE will be 36 degrees Celsius, dropping
02:57to 28 degrees at night.
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