Amid the deadly missile strikes exchanged between Israel and Iran in recent days, another battle is taking place involving communications, technology and the control of information that might prove decisive in the conflict.
Minutes after the first Israeli strikes last week, Iran's Ministry of Information and Communications Technology imposed "temporary" restrictions on internet access.
Officials in the country have insisted that the internet limits would be lifted when the situation returns to normal, yet that does not seem to be any time soon.
On Tuesday, Iran took measures further and banned officials from using devices connected to public networks.
WhatsApp users in Iran were also dealt a blow when Iranian media warned citizens that Israel may have compromised the app to collect intelligence.
Those concerns are not unfounded, given Mossad's role in the deadly Lebanon pager attacks that killed Hezbollah members and officials, as well as civilians.
Iran, however, is no stranger to using technology and communications in various battles.
It is the home of Mint Sandstorm, a group designated by Microsoft as a cyber crime actor that has been known to cripple computers overseas and hold valuable data in exchange for ransom.
US cyber intelligence agencies documented Iran as trying to hack the email accounts of staffers on Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
Although the widespread availability of computers and prevalence of high-speed internet connection have made technology and communications more important than ever in war, their use is hardly new.
During the Vietnam War, the US use of encrypted radio signals was thought to be a major advantage, but decades later, it was discovered that the North Vietnamese had found a way to read the signals and determine where the US was seeking to strike or to send soldiers.
"Since the advent of telecommunications in the early 20th century, there has been a leapfrogging fight between those who can jam and those who can break codes," said Frank Ledwidge, a former British military intelligence officer.
Mr Ledwidge said that vigilance and even paranoia about potentially compromised technology can be the difference between victory and defeat.
"If you use it, you will be killed, and if you don't, you may have a chance to survive provided that your circle has not been penetrated in in a similar way," he said.
Mr Ledwidge said that although Iran knows how to use technology to cause confusion, the country it appears to have little confidence in securing communication networks or encrypting content critical to national security.
"The Iranian regime in terms of response to the Israeli technological and air onslaught, they're running out of options," he said. "Israel has freedom of operation in the third dimension, so they can strike anywhere they like."
Iranians also lack basic internet access as a result of the country's increased controls.
Although Iran does not officially support other ways of connecting to the internet, such as low-earth-orbit satellite services such as Starlink, there is reason to believe that if Iranians have the proper consoles, they could circumvent internet blackouts.
"The beams are on," Elon Musk, Starlink chief and tech tycoon, posted on X in response to someone asking if the service was available in Iran.
If that is the case, then that could also be a loophole in Iran's attempt to control the flow of information that it considers to be critical to success.
Therein lies how complicated computer network and device security can be, even with all hands on deck.
"You could always have back-up communications plans," said Mr Ledwidge. "The difficulty is that they may feel that those have been compromised as well."
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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- Dubai Sports City Eagles v Dubai Exiles
- Dubai Hurricanes v Abu Dhabi Saracens
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Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
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Red flags
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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
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- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Jawan
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