Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
US President Joe Biden has arrived in Tel Aviv on what has been described as a solidarity visit to Israel amid growing fury over Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.
Air Force One landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday morning, where Mr Biden was pictured embracing officials hours after more than 500 people were killed in an Israeli strike at Gaza's Al Ahli Arab hospital.
Israel has denied responsibility for the strike.
Mr Biden met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly after his arrival.
“Your visit is the first of a US President to Israel during a time of war. It is deeply moving,” Mr Netanyahu said.
“It speaks to the depth of your personal commitment to Israel … and to the Jewish people.”
Speaking in Tel Aviv, Mr Biden said he was “deeply outraged” by the attack and said Israel did not appear to be behind the explosion.
“Based on what I've seen, it was done by the other team, not you,” he said.
He focused on the US-Israel relationship, saying the US also mourns the 1,400 killed in Israel since October 7.
“Americans are grieving with you. The bravery and commitment of Israelis is stunning,” he said.
Mr Biden will also meet families of hostages held in Gaza, according to the White House, but will not travel to Jordan to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
A summit with Mr Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah II was cancelled on Tuesday night as regional fury erupted following the attack on the Gaza hospital, pushing an already crumbling healthcare system past breaking point.
Doctors are reportedly operating on people without anaesthetic on hospital floors.
The strike prompted demonstrations in cities including Ramallah, Baghdad, Istanbul and Amman.
Outrage over Israel's recent actions has been growing, even before the attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital as the UN and western powers urged humanitarian aid to be let through the Rafah crossing and condemned the displacement of more than one million people to the southern Gaza Strip.
Mr Biden will ask “tough questions” of Israel about its intentions in the coming weeks, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said ahead of his arrival.
Speaking at a meeting of Israel's war cabinet, Mr Biden said the US “will continue to have Israel's back”.
“You are not alone,” he said. “75 years ago your founders declared that the nation would be based on freedom, justice and peace. The US stands with you in defence of that freedom, in pursuit of that justice and in support of that peace.”
The army held a press conference shortly before Mr Biden's arrival, deflecting blame for the hospital attack on Palestinian militants and their backer Iran.
“Iran funds Hamas but it 100 per cent funds Islamic Jihad,” said Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.
“Iran is behind these deaths.”
The army claimed the blast was the result of a failed rocket launch from a graveyard within the hospital compound, and shared a transcript of militants supposedly discussing the failed launch.
Admiral Hagari said Israel would provide satellite imagery confirming its claims to the US and other nations.
“The intelligence is credible. Our footage, imagery, those things will show credible to any liberal democracy,” he told reporters, saying there was “no direct Israeli hit” from land, sea or air.
The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which owns and runs the hospital, said it could not determine who was behind the attack, but said the hospital had received three evacuation warnings since Saturday.
It said approximately 5,000 people had sought shelter at the hospital on Saturday when more than a million people were told to leave the northern Gaza Strip.
Mr Netanyahu said Israel “will continue to ask people to move to safer areas”.
The US has reaffirmed its support for Israel in recent days, demonstrated by Secretary of State Antony Blinken's regional tour last week.
Although Mr Biden said Washington stands with Israel, he also said it must act within the confines of international law, adding an Israeli reoccupation of Gaza would be “a huge mistake”.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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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
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Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)
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)
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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If you go
Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.
Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com
A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
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Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
HAJJAN
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
