FBI deputy director Paul Abbate said the war in Gaza has exacerbated 'an already very severe terrorism environment'. AFP
FBI deputy director Paul Abbate said the war in Gaza has exacerbated 'an already very severe terrorism environment'. AFP
FBI deputy director Paul Abbate said the war in Gaza has exacerbated 'an already very severe terrorism environment'. AFP
FBI deputy director Paul Abbate said the war in Gaza has exacerbated 'an already very severe terrorism environment'. AFP

FBI notes rise in terror cases since start of war in Gaza


Mina Aldroubi
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The FBI is dealing with 4,000 open and active international terrorism investigations after having recorded an increase in cases since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, the bureau's deputy director said on Monday.

Paul Abbate told an audience at the Doha Global Security Forum that the bureau has noted a rise in the threat of terrorism in terms of violence being driven by foreign terrorist groups and ideologies since last October.

“Certainly since [October 7], the threat environment has spiked to an even greater degree in terms of the number of acts that are being reported to us,” Mr Abbate said.

The war began in October after Hamas fighters led an unprecedented attack on Israel from Gaza, the deadliest in the country’s history, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostage.

In the ensuing fighting, more than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children. The number of injured is nearing 80,000.

The Hamas attack on southern Israel “definitely has had an effect on worsening an already very severe terrorism environment”, he said.

The US and the international community must work together to "stay ahead" and to most "effectively meet the threats" of terrorism, Mr Abbate said.

"We all have limited resources, so working together is the best way, in our view, to stay ahead of things, particularly those things that we may not even see coming."

Last month, US officials said they were concerned about the possibility of an attack carried out by an individual or a small group due to the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

FBI director Christopher Wray said: “We expect that October 7 and the conflict that’s followed will feed a pipeline of radicalisation and mobilisation for years to come.”

Soon after the war started, Mr Wray told the House Committee on Homeland Security that violent home-grown extremists posed the single greatest immediate foreign terrorist threat to the US.

The biog

Name: Abeer Al Shahi

Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan

Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.

Favourite activities: Bungee jumping

Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.

'Cheb%20Khaled'
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What can you do?

Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses

Seek professional advice from a legal expert

You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor

You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline

In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support

THE BIO

Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

Education: UAE University, Al Ain

Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6

Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma

Favourite book: Science and geology

Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC

Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.

What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
 
  • Grade 9 = above an A*
  • Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
  • Grade 7 = grade A
  • Grade 6 = just above a grade B
  • Grade 5 = between grades B and C
  • Grade 4 = grade C
  • Grade 3 = between grades D and E
  • Grade 2 = between grades E and F
  • Grade 1 = between grades F and G
The lowdown

Rating: 4/5

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

THE%20SWIMMERS
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Score

Third Test, Day 1

New Zealand 229-7 (90 ov)
Pakistan

New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat

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Most wanted allegations
  • Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
  • Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
  • Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer. 
  • Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
  • Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
  • John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
  • Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
  • Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
  • Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain. 
  • Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
  • James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
  • Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack. 

A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars

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 five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

North Pole stats

Distance covered: 160km

Temperature: -40°C

Weight of equipment: 45kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 0

Terrain: Ice rock

South Pole stats

Distance covered: 130km

Temperature: -50°C

Weight of equipment: 50kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300

Terrain: Flat ice
 

Updated: May 20, 2024, 5:29 PM`