Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Hours after pager attacks killed at least nine people, including a child, and wounded thousands others in Lebanon, families anxiously await news of their loved ones outside the American University of Beirut Medical Centre.
A young woman in a black hijab, her eyes wet with tears, discusses her relative’s injuries with a doctor in white coat. Like many that night, she refused to speak more about the incident.
Tension has gripped Beirut after what Hezbollah described as the “largest security breach” the group has faced in almost a year of conflict with Israel. Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has blamed Israel for the explosion of pagers, on which Hezbollah relies heavily for communications.
Amid the disruption and heightened security, families and visitors have been barred from the hospital. The army controls the entrance.
Amal, 54, who introduced herself as the mother of a “martyr” as she showed a picture of her son who had died fighting for Hezbollah, is more talkative than others.
Amal was waiting for news of her brother and cousins, who are in surgery. She said she initially went to Bahman hospital, another medical centre in Beirut, but her relatives, who suffered critical facial injuries, were sent to the AUBMC.
What she saw in Bahman was straight out of a film, she told The National: “There was blood everywhere, people without eyes, holes in their back and their hands covered in blood.”
Amal insisted that she was not afraid. “Scenes like this make us stronger,” she said. “Our wounded will come back stronger to fight Israel. And if they don’t, it will still be fine. We were expecting this kind of things as we are at war. But we will stay on our land, no matter the cost.”
There is similar chaos at Bahman hospital in Dahieh, a few metres from where Fouad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander, was killed in July.
Families of patients and residents who are waiting to donate blood crowd the entrance. The atmosphere is tense in this neighbourhood, where Hezbollah holds sway.
“I just want to see him; I travelled from the south of Lebanon to see him,” one man begged a soldier at the entrance. But no one is being allowed inside, and journalists are not allowed to film.
A few moments later, a man stumbled out of the hospital with white gauze wrapped around his head, accompanied by family members. He had been discharged, but a dozen wounded are still inside, undergoing crucial operations as the wail of sirens continues to echo through Beirut hours after the attack.
The night is going to be a long one.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
|
Age
|
$250 a month
|
$500 a month
|
$1,000 a month
|
|
25
|
$640,829
|
$1,281,657
|
$2,563,315
|
|
35
|
$303,219
|
$606,439
|
$1,212,877
|
|
45
|
$131,596
|
$263,191
|
$526,382
|
|
55
|
$44,351
|
$88,702
|
$177,403
|
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
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.
World Test Championship table
1 India 71 per cent
2 New Zealand 70 per cent
3 Australia 69.2 per cent
4 England 64.1 per cent
5 Pakistan 43.3 per cent
6 West Indies 33.3 per cent
7 South Africa 30 per cent
8 Sri Lanka 16.7 per cent
9 Bangladesh 0
Under 19 World Cup
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
