Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Yemen's Houthi rebels have vowed to attack Israeli ships in the strategic waters of the Red Sea and to continue striking Israel with missiles and drones, as long as the war in Gaza continues.
The heavily armed group has emerged as a threat to Israel despite being 1,600km away, marking the opening of an off-script front in the conflict by one of the Iran-backed militias in the Middle East.
Both the Houthis and the Hamas group that controls Gaza are supported by Iran.
The Houthis, who are in control of Yemen's capital and some regions amid a civil war, claimed responsibility for a series of missiles and drones that the US Navy and Israeli defence systems intercepted.
The Yemeni rebels’ leader Abdul-Malik Al Houthi vowed on Tuesday to continue with the attacks and to strike Israeli ships passing through the strategic trade and oil tankers’ routes.
“We will continue to plan for additional operations. We can't stop,” he said.
“Our eyes are open. We will monitor and locate Israeli ships in the Red Sea and we will not hesitate to target them.”
Up until the end of 2018, the Houthis frequently used ballistic missiles they captured from army depots.
But in the past five years, they have shifted to small, long-range, explosive unmanned aircraft that can evade radar detection.
The Houthis have also indicated in the past years that they are capable of launching attacks against ships by using remotely controlled boats carrying explosives.
Earlier this month, the Israeli military said it had deployed missile boats in the Red Sea as reinforcements, after the Houthis confirmed they had launched missile and drone attacks on Israel.
Images shared by the Israeli army showed Saar-class corvettes patrolling near Eilat port in the Red Sea, which Israel considers a new front as its war in Gaza draws retaliation from Iran-aligned, pro-Hamas forces elsewhere in the region.
Iran and Israel have previously accused each other of carrying out several attacks on each other's ships in the Red Sea.
The launch of the Houthi missiles and drones coincides with pro-Iranian militant groups attacking US bases hosting American troops in Syria and Iraq.
Last week, Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah praised recent attacks by Iran's proxies in Yemen and Iraq, which sparked fears of a regional conflagration.
“If the Americans want these operations against them to stop [in Iraq and Syria], they must stop the aggression on Gaza,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy to Yemen, warned the war in Gaza is threatening progress towards peace in Yemen and the prospect of the country being drawn into the conflict between Israel and Hamas is his “worst fear.”
He later said that peace efforts there must not be wasted as Washington works to contain the war in Gaza from escalating across the Middle East.
Israel’s air strikes and land offensive have killed more than 11,000 people in Gaza, including at least 4,500 children, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.
Hamas launched attacks on October 7 in Israel, which killed 1,200 Israeli soldiers and civilians.
The Houthis said on Tuesday that they would continue attacking Israel's interests as long as it is fighting against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave.
“We will spare no effort at the military level with the available means,” Mr Al Houthi said.
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Planes grounded by coronavirus
British Airways: Cancels all direct flights to and from mainland China
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific: Cutting capacity to/from mainland China by 50 per cent from Jan. 30
Chicago-based United Airlines: Reducing flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong
Ai Seoul: Suspended all flights to China
Finnair: Suspending flights to Nanjing and Beijing Daxing until the end of March
Indonesia's Lion Air: Suspending all flights to China from February
South Korea's Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air and Jin Air: Suspend all flights
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Top 5 concerns globally:
1. Unemployment
2. Spread of infectious diseases
3. Fiscal crises
4. Cyber attacks
5. Profound social instability
Top 5 concerns in the Mena region
1. Energy price shock
2. Fiscal crises
3. Spread of infectious diseases
4. Unmanageable inflation
5. Cyber attacks
Source: World Economic Foundation
The specs: 2019 Audi A8
Price From Dh390,000
Engine 3.0L V6 turbo
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 345hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy, combined 7.5L / 100km
Honeymoonish
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More on Quran memorisation:
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
