Live updates: Follow the latest from Israel-Gaza
A second aid ship from the UAE, laden with 4,544 tonnes of humanitarian supplies destined for the residents of Gaza, has reached the Egyptian port of Al Arish, poised for its distribution in the Palestinian territory.
The vessel, which departed from the Port of Fujairah on February 3, is carrying 4,303 tonnes of food, 154 tonnes of shelter materials and 87 tonnes of medical aid provided by Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, the Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation and the Emirates Red Crescent.
Upon reaching Al Arish, UAE Minister of State for Youth Affairs Dr Sultan Al Neyadi, conducted an inspection of the aid and three warehouses where the remaining aid from the UAE is being stored until it can be transported across the Rafah border crossing.
“The United Arab Emirates, from the beginning of this conflict, has sent more than 160 planes carrying humanitarian aid relief and medicine as part of its air bridge programme under the Gallant Knight 3 operations that launched under the directives of His Highness President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed,” Dr Al Neyadi told The National.
“The UAE has spared no efforts both diplomatically and in its humanitarian efforts throughout this conflict to show that it does not simply pledge but makes efforts through action to help our Palestinian brothers and sisters,” he added.
During his tour of the UAE humanitarian efforts in Al Arish, Dr Al Neyadi was accompanied by other officials including the UAE’s ambassador to Egypt Mariam Al Kaabi.
On Sunday, it was confirmed that five automatic bakeries had been sent to the city. These bakeries will meet the daily needs of more than 420,000 people. Additionally, 124,000 parcels comprising food, medical supplies, hygiene kits, lighting projects and blankets were delivered.
The aid included 183 food parcels, 23 hygiene kits, 1,040 heavy winter clothing items, 3,402 undergarment parcels, 38 blankets and more, Wam reported.
Additionally, Gallant Knight 3, which now supports 28 charity kitchens, distributed 13,280 meals to 53,120 beneficiaries.
Tensions at Rafah border
About half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million people have been forced to flee to Rafah, which the UN has described as a “pressure cooker of despair” after Israel had first called it a safe zone.
Over the weekend, Israeli forces carried out arrests in Gaza's largest functioning hospital, health officials and the military said, as air strikes hit the enclave.
Israel's war on Gaza has killed more than 28,900 people, mostly women and children, the territory's health ministry said.
Over the weekend, tensions increased at the Rafah border crossing due to a fire occurring on the Palestinian side, coinciding with heightened security measures on the Egyptian side.
Egypt had increased its “security preparedness” and is closely following the situation in Rafah and is “ready to deal with any potential scenarios” that may break out at the border, an Egyptian army source in the border city of Al Arish told The National.
Checkpoints around the border city of Al Arish were stepped up over the last several days with several lorries carrying cement and concrete blocks could be seen making their way to the crossing.
Surveillance at checkpoints surrounding the border city of Al Arish intensified while numerous lorries transporting cement and concrete blocks have been observed heading towards the crossing.
A group of displaced citizens next to the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side burned car tyres in front of the main gate of the crossing, then opened the gate and tried to take the aid on lorries on their way to the Gaza Strip, a border authority spokesman said.
World Health Organisation doctors in Gaza told The National that the remaining operational hospitals in Rafah are making contingency plans for an expected Israeli military incursion, but warned they would not be able to cope.
“Of course, we are working with our partners in Rafah, the remaining three hospitals, to prepare for when the Israeli military operation takes place but I reiterate that even if the contingency plans are in place, they are nowhere sufficient enough for the level of catastrophe we expect,” said Dr Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the Palestinian territories.
Floating aid ship set to arrive
Rashid Al Mansoori, the acting secretary general of Emirates Red Crescent, told The National that a converted ship, serving as a field hospital, is scheduled to dock at Al Arish port in the upcoming days. Plans are under way to transport medical doctors and personnel to manage the ship's operations upon its readiness.
The 100-bed floating hospital set sail from the UAE on February 8 to provide crucial medical support to Palestinian patients affected by the war and is expected to arrive in the coming week, Mr Al Mansoori added.
The repurposed vessel – which has 100 medical and administrative staff on board – will be docked off the coast of the Egyptian city of Al Arish to support relief efforts for Gaza. It has operating rooms, intensive care facilities, a laboratory, a pharmacy and medical warehouses.
The vast ship, which sailed from Khalifa Port, also boasts an evacuation plane and boat and fully equipped ambulances to transport patients.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
Step by step
2070km to run
38 days
273,600 calories consumed
28kg of fruit
40kg of vegetables
45 pairs of running shoes
1 yoga matt
1 oxygen chamber
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
TOURNAMENT INFO
Opening fixtures:
Friday, Oct 5
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers
Saturday, Oct 6
4pm: Nangarhar Leopards v Kandahar Knights
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Balkh Legends
Tickets
Tickets can be bought online at https://www.q-tickets.com/apl/eventlist and at the ticket office at the stadium.
TV info
The tournament will be broadcast live in the UAE on OSN Sports.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SQUADS
South Africa:
JP Duminy (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, Robbie Frylinck, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle (wkt), Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi
Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed
Fixtures
Oct 26: Bloemfontein
Oct 29: Potchefstroom
Maestro
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBradley%20Cooper%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBradley%20Cooper%2C%20Carey%20Mulligan%2C%20Maya%20Hawke%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
India squad for fourth and fifth Tests
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Shaw, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur, Vihari
