Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Fouad Shukr, the Hezbollah commander targeted in an Israeli strike on Beirut on Tuesday night, is regarded as having played a major role in the build-up of the Lebanese group's missile capabilities and its expansion into Syria in the last decade, furthering Iran's rise as a regional power.
If his death is confirmed, Shukr would be the most senior Hezbollah figure to be assassinated since Imad Mughniyeh, its planner who was killed in Damascus in February 2008.
Two former Syrian military figures described Shukr as Mughniyeh's successor in Hezbollah, and second in importance only to leader Hassan Nasrallah.
“He was crucial as an organiser, especially to Hezbollah's missile capabilities. His role in Syria lessened in recent years, but he led the Hezbollah build-up there,” one of the sources said.
The sources said Shukr was sent to Damascus soon after the start of the uprising against President Bashar Al Assad in 2011 to oversee what would become a pervasive Hezbollah presence.
There, Hajj Mohsen, as Shukr was known, was responsible for Hezbollah personnel, the group's arsenal, and setting up loyalist auxiliary brigades.
His contact on the Syrian side was Maj Gen Basam Al Hassan, the director of Presidential Palace Security and Military Office and one of the people closest to Mr Al Assad outside of his family circle, sources said.
In 2019, the US government's Rewards for Justice programme offered $5 million for information leading to Shukr's whereabouts. It described him as a senior adviser on military affairs to Mr Nasrallah.
Shukr, the US government said, also played a central role in the October 23, 1983 bombing of the US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut.
The attack, one of the most defining moments in Middle East history, killed 241 personnel and wounded 128. It showed the lethal reach of Iranian-backed Shiite militants and led to the end of most of the direct US involvement in the Lebanese civil war.
Shukr is the latest of many Hezbollah commanders and senior figures linked to the group to be targeted by Israel in Lebanon and in Syria since the war in Gaza started in October.
Israel's military said the strike on Tuesday was in retaliation for a rocket attack from Lebanon that killed 12 Druze children. Shukr, they said, was the commander responsible for the attack. Hezbollah denied any involvement in the strike.
He was also responsible for “the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians”, the Israeli military said in a statement.
Hezbollah has attacked Israeli targets in northern Israel and in the occupied Golan Heights as part of a wider, Iranian-led retaliation against Israel for its invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian health officials say that more than 39,400 Palestinians has been killed in the Gaza war, which started on October 7, when Hamas and other militants supported by Iran killed 1,200 civilians in an attack on southern Israel.
Hezbollah has signalled in recent days that it will respond to any Israeli retaliation but so far it has not taken any significant action.
Notable Yas events in 2017/18
October 13-14 KartZone (complimentary trials)
December 14-16 The Gulf 12 Hours Endurance race
March 5 Yas Marina Circuit Karting Enduro event
March 8-9 UAE Rotax Max Challenge
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
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
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs: 2018 Audi RS5
Price, base: Dh359,200
Engine: 2.9L twin-turbo V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 450hp at 5,700rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 1,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Breast cancer in men: the facts
1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.
3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.
4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
Porsche Macan T: The Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 265hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,800-4,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Speed: 0-100kph in 6.2sec
Top speed: 232kph
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
On sale: May or June
Price: From Dh259,900
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
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Results:
5pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic (PA) Prestige Dh 110,000 1.400m | Winner: AF Mouthirah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic (PA) Prestige Dh 110,000 1,400m | Winner: AF Saab, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 1,600m | Winner: Majd Al Gharbia, Saif Al Balushi, Ridha ben Attia
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship (PA) Listed Dh 180,000 1,600m | Winner: RB Money To Burn, Pat Cosgrave, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh 70,000 2,200m | Winner: AF Kafu, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 2,400m | Winner: Brass Ring, Fabrice Veron, Ismail Mohammed
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.
