GN Midday Wednesday Jan 23 2013

Daily news headlines from the UAE and around the world brought to you by Gulf News. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv

Transcript

00:00Good day. Welcome to the Gulf News Update for Wednesday, January the 23rd. Here are

00:16the top stories at this hour. Heavy fog again ruined visibility today, restricting

00:21people in traffic snarls in early morning rush hours across the UAE. Forecasters said

00:26the fog will continue for the next several days. Today's high across the UAE will be

00:3125 degrees Celsius, dropping to 5 degrees at night. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

00:36Netanyahu has narrowly won his third term in office, according to exit polls. However,

00:42Israel's centrist Yesh Atid party came in close second, suggesting that the government

00:46will not be as right-wing as originally predicted. Jordanians go to the polls today to elect

00:51a new parliament. Observers say that the vote, which Islamists have decided to boycott, is

00:56seen on Jordan's gradual reforms. The Pentagon has cleared General John Allen, the top US

01:01commander in Afghanistan, of misconduct in a sex scandal that led to the resignation

01:06of CIA Director General David Petraeus. A defence official said the Marine Corps' general

01:11had been cleared of any wrongdoing over the emails. British Prime Minister David Cameron

01:16will today propose holding a referendum after 2015. The move will give British people the

01:21choice of staying in or leaving the European Union. In business, Dubai prized a two-tranch

01:26bond sale last night, comprising both conventional and Islamic notes. It has sold $750 million

01:34of a 10-year sukkuk at 3.875%, as well as $500 million in its first 30-year conventional

01:41bond with a yield of 5.375%. In sport, teenage Sloane Stephens upset her idol Serena Williams

01:49with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 win to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open.

01:55Stephens will now face world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka. Entertainment and questions are

02:00being asked whether Beyonce's rendition of the national anthem at President Barack Obama's

02:04inauguration was live or lip-synched. The US Marine Band said Tuesday that Beyonce had

02:10lip-synched, but by late afternoon it backed off that statement. A spokesman said because

02:15there was no opportunity for Beyonce to rehearse with the band, they used a pre-recorded track

02:20for the band's portion of the song.