Daily headlines from the UAE and around the world brought to you by Gulf News. Rani Mukherjee scandal. North Korea nuclear tests. Dubai Government Summit. Syria in crisis. Iranian speaker attacked. Pope resigns. Champions League.
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00:00Good day and welcome to the gulf news update for Tuesday, February the 12th.
00:19Here are the top stories at this hour.
00:21North Korea today staged its most powerful nuclear test yet, claiming a breakthrough
00:25with a miniaturized device.
00:28Defying global powers, including its sole patron China, the communist state said it
00:32had staged its third test with a successful underground detonation.
00:37The test comes hours ahead of US President Barack Obama's State of the Union address
00:42later today.
00:43His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister
00:47of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, envisions a virtual government where Emiratis will be
00:52able to complete transactions using mobile phones.
00:55Sheikh Mohammed was speaking at a dialogue session during the first day of the government
00:59summit in Dubai yesterday.
01:02More than 2,500 people are taking part in the two-day summit, including 150 experts
01:08from 30 countries.
01:09Sheikh Mohammed said empowerment, education and emiratization were the UAE leadership's
01:15priorities.
01:16He also answered a number of questions from the people and the media.
01:21Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Monday that his country would not bow to intensifying
01:26pressure or foreign plots.
01:28The statement was seen as a rejection of an offer of talks and an indication that the
01:32war will continue.
01:35The Speaker of Iran's Parliament, Ali Larijani, was pelted with shoes and stones in one of
01:41Iran's holiest shrines, forcing him to cancel a speech.
01:45Larijani is an open rival of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
01:52The Catholic Church entered uncharted waters after Pope Benedict XVI's shock announcement
01:57that he would become the first pontiff to resign of his own free will in 700 years.
02:02The 85-year-old Benedict said yesterday he will step down on February 28 because his
02:08advancing age prevented him from carrying out his duties.
02:11In sport, the UEFA Champions League knockout stages begin tonight, with Paris Saint-Germain
02:17taking on Spanish side Valencia.
02:19One fancied Celtic would be hosting Italian giants Juventus in Glasgow.
02:24The matches kick off at 11.45 p.m. UAE time.
02:29A statue of late Bollywood director Yash Chopra has been unveiled in Mumbai.
02:34Apart from the Chopra family, also in attendance was a tearful Rani Mukerji, whose presence
02:39further fuelled rumours that she is in a relationship with Yash Raj Film's sign Aditya Chopra.
02:46Speaking at the event, actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha went as far as calling her Rani Chopra,
02:52leaving the actress visibly shocked.
02:55And finally, the weather.
02:56Today's high across the UAE will be 29 degrees Celsius, dropping to 10 degrees at night.
03:02That's all for now.
03:03Thanks for watching.
03:04And as always, you can get the latest news at gulfnews.com