- City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
- Dubai 04:31 05:49 12:21 15:48 18:47 20:05
It’s finally time to say goodbye to yet another year that was filled with tragedies, triumphs and a dazzle of celebrations that included the momentous win for Dubai as the host city for Expo 2020.
As we are poised for yet another moment in history, with the city attempting to shatter a world record with the largest fireworks display this New Year’s Eve, the jubilant mood will mark 2013 as the year of possibilities for Dubai, with the city’s financial rally a landmark testament that impossible is nothing.
Yet, while residents celebrated this meteoric rise in global economic rankings, the world itself saw many a shakedown, especially in the cellular turf war. The combatants ultimately saw an arguable end of the road for one-time key player, RIM and its infamous BlackBerry brand, with the company taking a financial beating that will go down in history as a turning point for the mobile industry.
The year 2013 also saw its share of notable deaths including revered South African leader Nelson Mandela, ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ actor Peter O’Toole, author Tom Clancy, former British PM Margaret Thatcher, Indian cinema’s director Rituparno Ghosh, Hollywood’s Paul Walker and Cory Montieth and most recently, Bollywood’s legendary, Farooque Sheikh.
With 2014 promising a road of economic growth and technological advancements, Emirates 24|7 takes a look back at the year’s top 10 headlines that changed perceptions and history itself.
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince sits by roadside with ‘lost’ schoolgirl till dad comes for her
The year 2013 began on a heart-warming note with a sight that humbled many a resident of UAE when a picture of General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, made it to the news sites in January, which saw him sitting calmly by the side of a road in the capital.
The news, and its corresponding image, sparked a frenzy and got this story to the number 10 position on our list, especially when it transpired that Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed was driving in Abu Dhabi when he saw a girl outside a school looking around as though she was lost.
Sheikh Mohammed parked his car and went with his assistant to the girl, asking if she was lost and offering to drive to her home.
The little girl replied that her father was supposed to pick her up and she was waiting for him and she could not accept the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi’s offer to drive her home because her dad told her not to speak to strangers.
Touched by her wise words, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed decided to wait next to the girl till her father showed-up.
The picture was taken by one of the school teachers.
Bigg Boss 7: Gauhar's wish accepted; Kushal to enter the show?
At number nine is a headline that occupied many a dinner table conversation these past few months, underscoring the perception we reside in a voyeuristic society. If you haven’t figured out already, these are the infamous antics in the ‘Bigg Boss’ house, specifically the romance that blossomed between now winner of the reality TV show, Gauhar Khan and her beau, Kushal Tandon.
Perhaps more than the show finale itself was the episode that saw the dramatic exit of Gauhar and Kushal from the ‘Bigg Boss’ house, hand-in-hand. When the world saw the ‘drama queen’ return to the house the following day, speculation continued to fodder the headlines whether Kushal was to follow next.
The news that broke records was the story that saw Gauhar’s return to the show, where made a wish by the ‘wishing wall’ that she wanted Kushal to come back. While the world sat with bated breath for his entry back into the house, the story continued to spark a comment war of words between avid viewers.
Katrina Kaif happy after 'bikini leak' pictures with Ranbir Kapoor
Entertainment world ruled the roost when at number eight the news that grabbed headlines was Bollywood’s Katrina Kaif allegedly ‘happy’ that her bikini pictures with a certain Ranbir Kapoor holidaying in Spain, had made it to the press.
Katrina loyalists stated the actress was elated that the truth was finally out in the open. The truth that she wished to scream at the top of her voice while media went gaga about Ranbir and ex-flame Deepika Padukone’s bond after ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’.
Now, is wedding on the cards for the duo? Who knows what 2014 will bring.
Pictures from Pakistani singer Atif Aslam's wedding and reception
Meanwhile, at number seven was the headline that broken many a fluttering heart, when news broke that Pakistani singer Atif Aslam, 30, got married to his educationist girlfriend of seven years, Sarah Bharwana, in Lahore on March 29.
News spread after pictures of the couple’s mehendi ceremony made their way online, and microblogging site Twitter was immediately flooded with heartbreak tweets from Aslam’s fans.
Meet Emirati expelled from Saudi for being 'handsome'
Another story of a similar vein raised the question, if someone could be too handsome to walk in public?
Such was the headline that grabbed global attention when three Emirati men were escorted out of an annual culture festival in Saudi Arabia for being too handsome, according to a Saudi news website.
It was later uncovered one of the men in question was Omar Borkan Al Gala, an actor and poet from Dubai, who was told to leave because the Commission members who were heavily deployed at the Genadariya festival in Riyadh feared women could fall for them on the grounds they are too handsome.
A few days after their expulsion was reported regionally, the news hit headlines in world newspaper while at least 80,000 women are believed to have poured admiration words on Gala’s page on Facebook and Twitter, according to regional newspapers.
Naturally, such a story would round up our top 10 list at number six.
Transparent iPhone 6 confirmed by Apple Inc.
As the buzz around Apple’s latest iPhone reached fever pitch, as did this news story when leaked images of the new transparent phone made it to the blogsphere.
It was indicated the Cupertino-based tech giant would release a transparent iPhone 6 that might have a transparent glass display on both sides, giving the user the choice of rendering the content in one seamless continuous presentation across the device, or in two individual displays.
With official details of a ‘wraparound display’ revealed, the iPhone 6 was as futuristic in looks as it could get, with one masterstroke, Apple planning on doubling the screen size of the upcoming iPhone 6 to about 10 inches without losing the handheld functionality.
The images created enough buzz to take this headline to number five on our list.
Latest Man Utd transfer news: Fabregas, Ozil dreams for Red Devils…
At number four was the big debate whether Cesc Fabrgas or Marouanne Fellaini would emerge as the first ‘big signing’ under Manchester United manager David Moyes.
As the clock ticked by, in reality, Moyes faced the first big decision of his Manchester United reign while he debated whether to bring unsettled striker Wayne Rooney in from the cold.
Rooney missed United’s entire pre-season programme with hamstring and shoulder problems amid claims he had been frozen out by Moyes after telling him he wanted to join Chelsea.
Needless to say, currently scenario speaks for itself as Moyes has admitted he has to ask Rooney to play through the pain of injury due to Manchester United’s taxing schedule. In a tweet on its official account, the Red Devils confirmed his return, saying: “Wayne Rooney didn’t travel to Norwich due to the recurrence of a groin strain. He should be available for the Spurs match on 1 Jan.”
Earthquake rocks UAE: No more aftershocks expected
It was April 16th, a day that UAE residents will never forget as the world literally shook under their feet when neighbouring Iran was struck by a massive earthquake that measured 7.8 on the Richter scale.
The news story, ‘earthquake rocks UAE’ became the centrepiece of information on a day when chaos ensued and people were seen evacuating their buildings fearing aftershocks.
At the time, the NCMS confirmed to Emirates 24|7 that due to epicentre of the quake being 650km off the coast of Ras Al Khaimah, “the impact that we felt here would range between 4 and 5 on the Richter scale.”
The live reporting saw an onslaught on online traffic, catapulting this piece of news to the third spot.
In second place was the news that confirmed the historic win of Dubai’s bid to host Expo 2020.
Celebrations erupted across the UAE after Dubai was voted winner of the World Expo 2020 bid at the 154th BIE General Assembly in Paris, receiving 116 votes out of a total of 165.
‘It was a hard-fought victory; we were up against strong competitors, to whom we offer our full respect and sincere wishes’, said the Dubai Expo 2020 team in a tweet.
The World Expo 2020 will be held in Dubai under the theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’, which is poised to make many more headlines as the date draws near.
Free download of BlackBerry BBM for Android, iPhone: Click here to jump the queue
At the pole position is the story that was perhaps the most awaited moment in mobile phone history, when the Blackberry Messenger App finally leaked online, much to the delight of iPhone and Android users.
With the botched-up initial release of BlackBerry’s BBM for Android and iPhone devices, the Canadian firm announced a wait-list for the download as it has begun rolling out its in-demand messenger on rival platforms.
However, while the wait got users impatient, our headline told the world that we had managed to jump the queue to get instant access to the BBM service on the iPhone and Android devices.
That news drove a mass exodus to the website, catapulting the story to the top of our news feed.
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