Daily headlines from the UAE and around the world brought to you by Gulf News. Dubai airport runway closure. UAE National Agenda. Syria in crisis. Egypt referendum. Israel apology. Thailand protests. Australian Open. Bieber home raid. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv
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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