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Farmers are struggling to supply fresh milk to starving Palestinians in Gaza as cows go hungry due to a lack of food, and as livestock is killed by Israeli air strikes.
Fresh milk is now a rare commodity for many of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza after almost four months of war that has displaced farmers and disrupted the flow of food aid to the enclave.
"People come to ask for milk for their children, but I can't give them any because the cows don't produce enough," said Rafiq Al Dahdouh, a Gaza farmer who lost most of his animals to Israeli shelling.
Before the outbreak of the war, Mr Al Dahdouh owned 50 cows, which he reared on a farm in the east of Gaza and used to produce and sell milk.
Israel's bombardment and subsequent ground invasion destroyed his livelihood and forced him to flee.
Thirty-five of his cows were killed by Israeli shelling, he told The National, before he fled south with the remaining 15.
"Some animals [collapsed from hunger and rotted] where they fell. Those that miraculously survived then endured shelling by tanks," he said.
Like many Gazans displaced by the war, Mr Al Dahdouh is now staying in Rafah, close to the Egyptian border.
His remaining herd has been hit hard by a lack of animal feed, and he has been forced to feed the animals corn stover or hay - the only available sources of food.
"A cow needs to eat well to produce milk," he said.
Back in Gaza city, in the north of the enclave, the situation is even more dire.
Jaber Abu Ajwa is one of the few dairy farmers able to provide fresh milk to the remaining residents of the devastated city.
He used to own a herd of about 240 cows on a farm close to the border with Israel. He was forced to leave about 30 of them behind when war broke out, as they were pregnant and difficult to move. A further 80 cows have since died from starvation, while Mr Abu Ajwa decided to slaughter another 50 to sell their meat amid dwindling food supplies.
Mr Abu Ajwa is now living with his remaining cows at Al Yarmouk stadium in Gaza city, but struggling to keep them alive and healthy.
“I faced difficulties in feeding the cows, so I started to feed them hay instead of animal feed. Even if I find food for them, the prices are so high,” he told The National.
The price of a sack of hay used to be 10 shekels ($2.75) before the war, but now it costs 70 shekels ($19.25). Similarly, a sack of animal feed used to be 100 shekels, and now it costs about 300 shekels - if he is even able to find one to buy.
Mr Abu Ajwa milks his cows twice a day, at 5.30am and 3pm. Some cows used to produce about 40 litres for him, but now they average six litres. He sells a litre for about six shekels.
Like other Palestinians, he has also been forced to use some of the grain set aside for livestock to bake bread to eat.
Despite Mr Abu Ajwa's dwindling supplies, his milk is in high demand as people have no alternatives. Every day, they come from different parts of Gaza early in the morning to buy milk from him. They often wait for hours in the queue.
Zahra Auda travelled from Jabalia refugee camp to buy milk.
“I came at 3pm to get a chance to buy milk for my son,” Ms Auda told The National.
Her son, Asad, has a leg wound and fracture sustained during Israeli shelling.
“I buy the milk to help my son heal his fracture,” she added.
In Rafah, Mr Al Dahdouh appealed for more animal feed to help ease the situation.
"Why doesn't Israel send feed to Gaza for cattle, chickens, sheep and other animals?" he asked.
"The animals are innocent in this war, they are just animals."
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UAE team
1. Chris Jones-Griffiths 2. Gio Fourie 3. Craig Nutt 4. Daniel Perry 5. Isaac Porter 6. Matt Mills 7. Hamish Anderson 8. Jaen Botes 9. Barry Dwyer 10. Luke Stevenson (captain) 11. Sean Carey 12. Andrew Powell 13. Saki Naisau 14. Thinus Steyn 15. Matt Richards
Replacements
16. Lukas Waddington 17. Murray Reason 18. Ahmed Moosa 19. Stephen Ferguson 20. Sean Stevens 21. Ed Armitage 22. Kini Natuna 23. Majid Al Balooshi
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards by claiming to be the victim, often pretending their phone has been lost or stolen in order to secure a new Sim.
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
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
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
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School counsellors on mental well-being
Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.
Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.
Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.
“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.
“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.
“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.
“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”
Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.
The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.
At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.
“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.
“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.
"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”
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Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
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