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Shiite Muslims in Lebanon on Wednesday commemorated Ashura, an annual religious day associated with suffering and the struggle against injustice, as many drew parallels with the suffering in Gaza today.
Ashura is one of the holiest days of the year for Shiite Muslims. They mourn the death of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, Imam Hussein bin Ali, an early leader in their faith who was martyred at the Battle of Karbala against the Umayyad caliph in 680 AD.
In the Shiite community, the death of Imam Hussein is a symbol of the struggle against injustice, and many of those marching on Wednesday said they were thinking of the plight of Palestinians in Gaza after more than nine months of Israel's war in the enclave.
“Throughout our lives we are raised that we should not give up on the oppressed,” said Zahra, holding a picture of her cousin Ali Hodroj, a Hezbollah fighter who was killed in an Israeli attack near his home in Al Bazourieh in south Lebanon in January.
“Especially this year it is very important because the world is being blind to what is happening to Gaza. It is very important to say you are not alone … seeing all this happen and saying nothing, we couldn't,” Zahra told The National at the Ashura procession.
Thousands attended the procession in Beirut's southern suburbs, the area known as Dahieh that is home to many Shiite Muslims, where Lebanese armed group and political party Hezbollah retains strong support. Rallies organised by Hezbollah often seek to make a political statement and show its ability to rally crowds.
The group has been engaged since October 8 in daily cross-border clashes with Israel of ever-increasing intensity in parallel with the war on Gaza.
Nearly 39,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in Gaza since October.
The procession through Dahieh saw people hold portraits of top Shiite clerics and leaders, while also paying tribute to the hundreds of Hezbollah fighters who have been killed in south Lebanon since the clashes began. Dozens of civilians have also been killed.
Most of the attendees were dressed in all black, as is customary for Ashura processions.
Many waved Hezbollah flags as well as flags from other Shiite political and militant organisations.
Initially, people sat on the ground to mourn Imam Hussein before beginning the procession, with food and water handed out. Sitting to the side in wheelchairs were a handful of injured, fighting aged men.
Hezbollah deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem and Hashem Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah's Executive Council, were among the senior leaders present.
While the event in Beirut was packed, commerations in south Lebanon, which is also home to many Shiite Muslims, were either cancelled or toned down amid the conflict. Around 100,000 people have been displaced in south Lebanon by fighting, which has caused large-scale devastation in many border villages.
Multiple civilians have been killed in south Lebanon by Israeli attacks, something Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah referred to in a speech after the Ashura procession.
“Continuing to target civilians will push the Resistance to launch missiles at settlements that were not previously targeted,” Mr Nasrallah said.
Israel has approved plans for a land invasion of south Lebanon in a bid to clear the area of Hezbollah, but has not made a decision whether to act on them yet.
“If your tanks came to Lebanon and southern Lebanon … you won't have any left,” Mr Nasrallah said.
Hezbollah says it does not want a full war but is ready for one if it is imposed on Lebanon. It is also demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, from where its Palestinian ally Hamas launched an unprecedented incursion into south Israel on October 7.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
PSG's line up
GK: Alphonse Areola (youth academy)
Defence - RB: Dani Alves (free transfer); CB: Marquinhos (€31.4 million); CB: Thiago Silva (€42m); LB: Layvin Kurzawa (€23m)
Midfield - Angel di Maria (€47m); Adrien Rabiot (youth academy); Marco Verratti (€12m)
Forwards - Neymar (€222m); Edinson Cavani (€63m); Kylian Mbappe (initial: loan; to buy: €180m)
Total cost: €440.4m (€620.4m if Mbappe makes permanent move)
THE SPECS
Cadillac XT6 2020 Premium Luxury
Engine: 3.6L V-6
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 310hp
Torque: 367Nm
Price: Dh280,000
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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South Korea
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World Sevens Series standing after Dubai
1. South Africa
2. New Zealand
3. England
4. Fiji
5. Australia
6. Samoa
7. Kenya
8. Scotland
9. France
10. Spain
11. Argentina
12. Canada
13. Wales
14. Uganda
15. United States
16. Russia
MEFCC information
Tickets range from Dh110 for an advance single-day pass to Dh300 for a weekend pass at the door. VIP tickets have sold out. Visit www.mefcc.com to purchase tickets in advance.
UAE Team Emirates
Valerio Conti (ITA)
Alessandro Covi (ITA)
Joe Dombrowski (USA)
Davide Formolo (ITA)
Fernando Gaviria (COL)
Sebastian Molano (COL)
Maximiliano Richeze (ARG)
Diego Ulissi (ITAS)
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Mobile phone packages comparison
MATCH INFO
Northern Warriors 92-1 (10 ovs)
Russell 37 no, Billings 35 no
Team Abu Dhabi 93-4 (8.3 ovs)
Wright 48, Moeen 30, Green 2-22
Team Abu Dhabi win by six wickets
MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
Last 10 winners of African Footballer of the Year
2006: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2007: Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla and Mali)
2008: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal and Togo)
2009: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2010: Samuel Eto’o (Inter Milan and Cameroon)
2011: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2012: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2013: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2014: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2015: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund and Gabon)
2016: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City and Algeria)
Factfile on Garbine Muguruza:
Name: Garbine Muguruza (ESP)
World ranking: 15 (will rise to 5 on Monday)
Date of birth: October 8, 1993
Place of birth: Caracas, Venezuela
Place of residence: Geneva, Switzerland
Height: 6ft (1.82m)
Career singles titles: 4
Grand Slam titles: 2 (French Open 2016, Wimbledon 2017)
Career prize money: $13,928,719
Chelsea 2 Burnley 3
Chelsea Morata (69'), Luiz (88')
Burnley Vokes (24', 43'), Ward (39')
Red cards Cahill, Fabregas (Chelsea)
England World Cup squad
Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures and results:
Monday, UAE won by three wickets
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
