00:00Good day and welcome to the Gulf News Update for Sunday, September the 20th.
00:09Here are the top stories at this hour.
00:11US Secretary of State John Kerry has called for renewed diplomatic effort to end the conflict
00:18in Syria.
00:19Speaking after talks in London, he said Russia's new focus on fighting Daesh could be an opportunity
00:25to push towards a political settlement.
00:28Kerry said this was all the more urgent as violence in Syria was the root cause of Europe's
00:33current refugee crisis.
00:35The EU, which is divided on the issue, is to hold emergency talks next week.
00:42Pope Francis exhorted Cuba and the United States to set an example for the world by
00:46deepening the recent rapprochement that he helped secretly broker between the former
00:52and Cold War foes.
00:53Better sensitized to the issue than predecessors because of his Latin American roots, the 78-year-old
01:00pontiff facilitated a back channel for secret talks and sent missives to Presidents Raul
01:06Castro and Barack Obama at a delicate stage in 2014.
01:12In sport, shell-shocked South African coach Heineken Meijer apologized to the nation after
01:18the two-time champions suffered the biggest Rugby World Cup upset ever against Japan.
01:24Meijer said after the 34-32 defeat in Brighton that it was a very big wake-up call.
01:31In football, champions Chelsea ended their slump with a win over Arsenal while Manchester
01:37City lost their 100% record to West Ham United in the English Premier League.
01:43Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-0 at Stamford Bridge while West Ham won 2-1 at the Etihad to become
01:50the first team not only to beat City in the league but also to score against them this
01:55season.
01:56Jackie Collins, whose dishy novels about the private lives of the Hollywood glitterati
02:03catapulted her to best-seller lists for decades, died Saturday in Los Angeles after a battle
02:09with breast cancer.
02:10She was 77.
02:12Born in London in 1937, Collins, the child of a theatrical agent, began hand-copying
02:19novels in her teens.
02:21The actress Joan Collins was her sister.
02:24And finally, the weather.
02:25Today's high across the UAE will be 42 degrees Celsius dropping to 31 degrees at night.
02:31That's all for now.
02:32Thanks for watching.
02:33And as always, you can get the latest news at gulfnews.com
02:41Thanks for watching.
02:42And as always, you can get the latest news at gulfnews.com
