Daily headlines from the UAE and around the world brought to you by Gulf News. Facebook to buy WhatsApp for $19 billion. Qasr Al Hosn Festival. Iran Nuclear talks. Lebanon blasts. India court stays Rajiv killers release. US shoe bomb threat. Dubai Duty Free Tennis. Jennifer Lopez to perform at Dubai World Cup. Rolling Stones to rock Abu Dhabi. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv
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00:00Good day. Welcome to the Gulf News Update for Thursday, February 20. Here are the top
00:09stories at this hour.
00:11The world's largest social network, Facebook, has agreed to purchase mobile messaging startup
00:16WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash and stock, the biggest Internet acquisition in more than
00:21a decade. The accord includes $12 billion in stock, $4 billion in cash and $3 billion
00:27in restricted shares, Facebook said in a statement.
00:31The Qasr al-Husn festival begins in Abu Dhabi at 2 p.m. today, a celebration of the glorious
00:36history of Abu Dhabi dating back through the decades. Several arterial streets, including
00:41Hamdan Street and Zayed I Street, will be partially closed from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
00:47Iran and six world powers have agreed on an agenda for negotiation over Tehran's nuclear
00:52program and will meet again next month in Vienna. The agenda is an early step forward
00:56in the elusive search for a settlement of the decade-old dispute.
01:00Lebanon was reeling after twin blasts hit southern Beirut yesterday, killing six people
01:05and wounding at least 100. The attack was an apparent reprisal for Hezbollah's involvement
01:10in the war in Syria.
01:11Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh denounced plans to release former Prime Minister Rajiv
01:16Gandhi's killers as contravening the principles of justice. Singh's federal government began
01:21a legal challenge to the planned release of seven convicted killers in Tamil Nadu.
01:26U.S. security officials have warned about a potential shoe-bomb threat on international
01:31flights to the United States. The Department of Homeland Security issued a warning to airlines
01:35based on a very recent intelligence that assailants would try to attack passenger jets using explosives
01:41hidden in shoes.
01:43Sport and defending champion Petra Kvitova was felled in her opening match at the Dubai
01:48Duty Free Tennis Championship last night. She lost 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 to Spain's Carla Suarez
01:55Navarro. Venus Williams kicks off today's quarterfinal action against Italian qualifier
02:01Flavia Panetta while her top-seeded sister Serena takes on Jelena Jankovic on centre
02:06court.
02:07Jennifer Lopez will perform after the world's richest horse raised the Dubai World Cup at
02:12Maidan on March 29.
02:13I'm looking forward to returning to Dubai," Lopez said in a statement. Tickets for the
02:18Dubai World Cup will go on sale on Sunday. Over the weekend, Carlos Santana performs
02:23at the Dubai Jazz Festival tonight, while the Rolling Stones make their UAE debut at
02:27the DOO Arena in Abu Dhabi tomorrow.
02:30And finally, the weather. Today's high across the UAE will be 23 degrees Celsius, dropping
02:35to 17 degrees at night.
02:37That's all for now. Thanks for watching. We'll be back with the newscast on Sunday, but you
02:41can always get the latest news at gulfnews.com