UAE jumps in global competitiveness ranking - GN Midday
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00:00Good day. Welcome to the Gulf News Update for Wednesday, September the 3rd. Here are
00:08the top stories at this hour. The World Economic Forum named the UAE the
00:1312th most competitive nation in the world for 2014-15. That's a jump of seven ranks
00:18from last year. The ranking puts it ahead of countries such as Canada, Denmark and South
00:23Korea, as well as putting it on top of all the Middle East and North African nations.
00:28The UAE ranks first for the absence of inflation and the absence of organized crime globally
00:33and second for the effectiveness of government spending. It was also rated as having the
00:38third best infrastructure in the world. Pakistan's military says it has killed more
00:43than 900 militants and lost 82 soldiers since the start of a major operation against the
00:48Taliban in the tribal northwest in June. Airstrikes, artillery, mortars and ground troops have
00:54all been used to retake territory in North Waziristan. U.S. President Barack Obama has
00:59ordered about 350 more U.S. troops to Baghdad to safeguard American diplomats in the Iraqi
01:05capital. The White House issued the announcement hours after the Islamic State of Iraq and
01:10the Levant released another video showing a masked militant with a British accent slitting
01:15the throat of an American captive. Apple has acknowledged that computer hackers broke into
01:20the accounts of several Hollywood celebrities to steal personal photos that have been posted
01:25online. However, the iPhone maker blamed the security breakdown on the intruder's ability
01:30to figure out passwords and bypass other safeguards. And Canadian pop star Justin Bieber faces new
01:36charges after he was arrested for dangerous driving and assault following a collision
01:40between a minivan and an all-terrain vehicle. The collision led to a physical altercation
01:45involving a photographer, according to his lawyer. And finally, the weather today is
01:50high across the UAE. It will be 41 degrees Celsius, dropping to 31 tonight. That's all
01:55for now. Thanks for watching. And as always, you can get the latest news on gulfnews.com.