Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Men and women argue in anger and desperation, with some fighting over a few pieces of flatbread, outside one of Gaza's few remaining bakeries where up to 700 people line up at a time.
Some of them, like Nour Al Basyouni, 35, have been there since 8am without any guarantee they would bring home bread.
“I have four kids and I'm pregnant,” Ms Al Basyouni tells The National, on the 20th day of the Israeli bombardment of the besieged strip.
Since the war began, more than 7,000 people have been killed in Gaza, where clean water is almost non-existent, hospitals are collapsing and fuel is running out, rendering doctors helpless.
“I haven't showered in four days,” says Ms Al Basyouni. “We drink from the untreated tap water. We have seen death in front of our eyes ten times.”
Umm Raed is a cancer patient who also has a torn tendon in her leg.
“I have 15 mouths to feed,” she says. “My daughter's house was destroyed in an air strike and her daughter is a bride-to-be. She's crying over her bridal clothes.”
Ismaeel Abu Zor, who works at Al Kholy Al Abbas bakery, says he has been seeing at least 500 people outside his door step in recent days as more bakeries go out of business, unable to make bread.
Many have been destroyed in Israeli air strikes.
“There are only 10 major bakeries operating right now. The pressure is high. There isn't much flour,” he says.
“We're working today but tomorrow we won't have any flour, gas or diesel. The people are fighting and we cannot control the situation at all. God help us all.”
Mr Abu Zor says he has to wait until UNRWA sends in flour so that the bakery can make bread – and even then it's not enough.
“We're getting many times the number of people who usually come to us,” he says as customers shout among themselves.
“We work one day – and have to stop the next.”
Even his shift is affected due to the air strikes, which normally take place at night.
“We usually start at 4am – now we start at 9am and go home at 3pm before [the bombing] starts,” he says.
The UN refugee agency has been trying to meet the needs of the hungry and the injured by rationing its fuel supplies so that water can be desalinated and respirators can continue to function.
“Do we give [fuel] to the incubators, or the bakeries?” UNRWA spokeswoman Tamara Alrifai told the Associated Press. “It's an excruciating decision.”
Noha Abdelaziz Abu Harb has been waiting outside the bakery on Al Wedha street amid the chaotic lines and constant sounds of bombing.
“I will wait until the evening. Hopefully God enables us to bring some bread home to our children.”
Speaking at one of the UNRWA schools doubling as shelters, one Gaza man lamented the misery in having to ration a loaf of bread so his children can eat.
“I've begun considering how I'm going to make the loaf enough for my family.”
“There are 50 of us here on the pavement as you can see,” he tells The National. “Even salty water – we're not able to get. What are we to do?”
Hisham Mohanna, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza, says even vegetables such as potatoes and tomatoes are getting harder to come by.
“It's hard to get to farms and harvest wheat or whatever crops are available. Canned food is no longer available. The entire population is in panic,” he says.
“Many people are dealing with the challenge of even staying alive.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Canada
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
ATP WORLD No 1
2004 Roger Federer
2005 Roger Federer
2006 Roger Federer
2007 Roger Federer
2008 Rafael Nadal
2009 Roger Federer
2010 Rafael Nadal
2011 Novak Djokovic
2012 Novak Djokovic
2013 Rafael Nadal
2014 Novak Djokovic
2015 Novak Djokovic
2016 Andy Murray
2017 Rafael Nadal
2018 Novak Djokovic
2019 Rafael Nadal
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
More coverage from the Future Forum
Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
Astroworld
Travis Scott
Grand Hustle/Epic/Cactus Jack
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Aayan%E2%80%99s%20records
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Opening day UAE Premiership fixtures, Friday, September 22:
- Dubai Sports City Eagles v Dubai Exiles
- Dubai Hurricanes v Abu Dhabi Saracens
- Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
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.
