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The release of four hostages by Hamas has ignited hope for Israeli families that some of their relatives who were taken captive are alive.
Each day, Israeli mother Hadas Kalderon relives the nightmare of her two young children, elderly mother, niece and ex-husband being abducted by Hamas militants on October 7.
Ms Kalderon’s children Erez, 11, Sahar, 16, mother Carmella Dan, 80, ex-husband Ofer Kalderon, 53, and niece Noya Dan, 12, were among more than 200 Israelis abducted.
Israeli authorities later announced that Carmella and Noya Dan had been found dead.
Hamas released two elderly Israeli women late on Monday for humanitarian reasons, days after freeing an American woman and her teenage daughter.
And Ms Kalderon, a French-Israeli citizen, still holds on to hope that the hostage releases are a sign that some of her family will survive their capture.
She maintains that peace is the only way forward.
“We are very happy about the hostages being released,” Ms Kalderon told The National from Tel Aviv. “It gives us hope. It means they are still alive.”
On Thursday, the family released a series of posts on Facebook to celebrate Erez's 12th birthday with a virtual cycling event, while marking the death of his grandmother Carmella and cousin Noya.
“I believe in peace, my mother always believed in peace,” Ms Kalderon said.
“The only way to get solutions is to keep negotiations open.
“It is terrifying what they [Hamas] did. But this is not just about my family and our tragedy.
“The hostages are alive and Hamas has an opportunity to show the world they are human, they still have a heart, by releasing all the hostages.”
The October 7 attacks struck Israeli communities and a music festival near the Gaza border, as well as several military sites.
Since the shock attack into southern Israel that killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, Israeli retaliatory bombardments have killed more than 7,000 in Gaza, mostly children and women, and displaced one million.
'Mum be quiet'
When Hamas breached the Gaza fence, Ms Kalderon was alone in her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz and heard the spray of bullets draw closer.
For hours as she hid in the safe room, Ms Kalderon messaged her children who were in her ex-husband’s house in the same kibbutz.
Carmella, her mother, also lived near by and was sheltering in her own home with granddaughter Noya.
The last message Ms Kalderon received was after her former partner and children escaped from the house as Hamas fighters entered his home.
She weeps as she reads a final message sent by her young son asking her to be careful.
“Our houses were being burnt and I got a message from my ex-husband – ‘We have a terrorist inside our house, we have jumped out of the window,’" she recalled.
“My son wrote to me, ‘Mum be quiet, don’t move.’ He was worried about me even when he was hiding in the bushes.”
More than eight hours later, when the Israeli army reached the kibbutz to take the residents to safety, she realised that most of her family were missing.
Her young son was spotted by a relative in the back of a vehicle in videos later released by Hamas.
“I know he is alive, I have hope but I can’t see the movie,” she said.
“I can’t imagine what he is feeling, what they are going through.”
Her home and hundreds of others in the kibbutz were torched by Hamas and she is now staying with friends.
Her appeal is for more countries to get involved in freeing the hostages.
“We can’t sleep and we can’t eat,” said Ms Kalderon, who took care of the elderly in the kibbutz.
“We just pray and ask to bring the kidnapped back home.
“I’m begging all the Arab countries to help. We are asking the whole world to scream with us so all the hostages come home."
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BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
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.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
MATCH DETAILS
Barcelona 0
Slavia Prague 0
Squads
Sri Lanka Tharanga (c), Mathews, Dickwella (wk), Gunathilaka, Mendis, Kapugedera, Siriwardana, Pushpakumara, Dananjaya, Sandakan, Perera, Hasaranga, Malinga, Chameera, Fernando.
India Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Rahane, Jadhav, Dhoni (wk), Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Thakur.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
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Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
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Price: From Dh149,900
Emirates Cricket Board Women’s T10
ECB Hawks v ECB Falcons
Monday, April 6, 7.30pm, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
The match will be broadcast live on the My Sports Eye Facebook page
Hawks
Coach: Chaitrali Kalgutkar
Squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Archara Supriya, Chamani Senevirathne, Chathurika Anand, Geethika Jyothis, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kashish Loungani, Khushi Sharma, Khushi Tanwar, Rinitha Rajith, Siddhi Pagarani, Siya Gokhale, Subha Srinivasan, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish
Falcons
Coach: Najeeb Amar
Squad: Kavisha Kumari (captain), Almaseera Jahangir, Annika Shivpuri, Archisha Mukherjee, Judit Cleetus, Ishani Senavirathne, Lavanya Keny, Mahika Gaur, Malavika Unnithan, Rishitha Rajith, Rithika Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Shashini Kaluarachchi, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Vaishnave Mahesh
