Israel shelled a site in Syria belonging to Hezbollah early on Monday morning, according to reports in state-affiliated Syrian media. No injuries have been reported.
The barrage was claimed to have taken place just across Israel's border, with Israeli forces also reportedly dropping Arabic-language pamphlets in the same area warning Syrian troops against working with Hezbollah.
Images of the purported documents on social media read: “We are closely watching and aware of the ongoing intelligence co-operation with Hezbollah within the Syrian army’s positions in the region, including near the Israeli border … co-operation with Hezbollah leads to harm!”
They also show images that appear to depict a Syrian military officer next to a Hezbollah commander, according to Israeli media.
Israel has a long-standing policy of not commenting on specific strikes in Syria, but it has on previous occasions accused Syrian President Bashar Al Assad of helping Hezbollah operate in its territory.
The news came as Israel's public broadcaster Kan reported that air defence systems in Iran were triggered in the centre of the country. Social media sources said that they were activated to intercept a drone.
Last week, reports emerged of Israeli artillery striking sites near allegedly fired at on Monday morning, and dropping similar leaflets.
At the beginning of April, Israel downed a suspected Iranian drone that was launched from Syrian territory.
Days later, tit-for-tat strikes were exchanged between both countries, as Ramadan tensions mounted after footage emerged of Israeli forces beating people who had locked themselves in Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam.
Israel said that the worshippers were stockpiling weapons to use against Israelis who were planning to visit the site, on which Al Aqsa Mosque stands, in an area that is sacred to both Muslims and Jews.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Community Shield info
Where, when and at what time Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday at 5pm (UAE time)
Arsenal line up (3-4-2-1) Petr Cech; Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal; Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck; Alexandre Lacazette
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
Chelsea line up (3-4-2-1) Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill; Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso; Willian, Pedro; Michy Batshuayi
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte
Referee Bobby Madley
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Top tips to avoid cyber fraud
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.
3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.
5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
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Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
