Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
At least seven Palestinians have been killed across the occupied West Bank since Wednesday evening, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry and official media.
Three people, including two teenagers, were killed in dawn raids in Nour Shams refugee camp, Bethlehem's Dheisheh refugee camp and the village of Burdrus near Ramallah, the ministry said.
Taha Mohammed died of his wounds in Nour Shams after the army prevented him from being taken to hospital, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Seven Palestinians were killed across the West Bank in a 12-hour period, the news agency said early on Thursday.
Only hours later, Palestinian media said Israeli forces had arrested 153 people across the West Bank, including 50 workers from Gaza, in one of the biggest targeted arrest campaigns in years.
Wafa published the names of dozens of people arrested in numerous locations, with most recorded in the cities of Hebron and Ramallah.
The Israeli army later said it had arrested more than 80 people, including 63 Hamas members.
Gebriel Awad, a young man, was shot dead in Budrus on Thursday morning, said Wafa, which also reported two teenagers shot dead by the army near Ramallah.
The Health Ministry said Mohammed Fawqa, 21, was also killed in a settler attack in the village of Dora Al Qura, near Ramallah.
A 24 year old also died of his injuries after being shot by the army near Nablus, Wafa reported.
The recent increase of violence in the Israel-Gaza conflict follows an attack by Hamas on Israel in early October that killed about 1,400 people, mostly civilians.
Israeli forces have carried out their fiercest bombardment of Gaza in response, killing almost 4,000 Palestinians and imposing a total siege on the blockaded enclave that Hamas controls, fuelling anger in the West Bank and globally.
According to Palestinian news agency Wafa, 69 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank since the Hamas attack. Many parts of the West Bank were placed on lockdown and the Israeli army heavily restricted access into and between Palestinian towns and cities.
Three people were taken to hospital in critical condition on Thursday afternoon as raids continued on Nour Shams near Tulkarm city in the West Bank, the Health Ministry said.
West Bank residents have protested against Israeli aggression on Gaza and also hit out at the US for its support of Israel.
In Ramallah, demonstrators chanted against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the US on Wednesday, following an Israeli strike on Gaza's Al Ahli Arab Hospital that killed more than 500 Palestinians.
Protests have also been held in Nablus and Qalqilya.
The West Bank is home to the Palestinian Authority, which is dominated by Hamas rivals Fatah and 87-year-old Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Mr Abbas pulled out of meetings with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday after the attack on the Gaza hospital.
He withdrew from a summit scheduled with Mr Biden and the Jordanian monarch King Abdullah II in Amman, citing his protest against Israeli aggression on civilians.
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
The burning issue
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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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
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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.
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
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