Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
At least 17 Israeli air strikes hit Beirut late on Wednesday, while three Lebanese soldiers were killed in Israeli fire in southern Lebanon during a rescue operation.
After a brief lull last week, Israel has recommenced its daily attacks on the Lebanese capital. At least one person was killed and five injured in strikes on Jnah in southern Beirut, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli army gave no warning or displacement orders before the attacks which caused widespread destruction, flattening six residential buildings near the area of Laylaki.
Al Manar, a television station backed by Hezbollah, said one of its cameramen was killed in the attacks. The Israeli army claimed to be attacking Hezbollah weapon caches. Broadcaster Al Mayadeen said an Israeli strike hit an office it had vacated in Beirut.
In Khodr, a village near the city of Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley, at least seven people were killed and 14 were injured in Israeli attacks there. In Halaniya, also in the region, at least five people were killed in Israeli bombings.
Three soldiers were killed on Thursday morning in Yater, southern Lebanon while trying to evacuate injured civilians, the Lebanese Armed Forces said. While the army has mostly remained on the margins of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, it has increasingly come under Israeli attacks.
“The Israeli enemy targeted Lebanese army personnel in the vicinity of Yater village, in the Bint Jbeil area of the south, while carrying out an operation to evacuate wounded, which led to the deaths of three martyrs, including an officer,” the army said.
In a phone call with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed his “deep concern about the reports of strikes against the Lebanese Armed Forces”.
The strikes on Lebanon came as Hezbollah fired precision missiles at Tel Aviv while claiming to have launched a new type of attack drone. About 50 rockets were launched at northern Israel from Lebanon on Thursday morning, the Israeli army said, adding that some were intercepted while others crashed. Israel's emergency services said it was treating two men with moderate shrapnel injuries, who were taken to a medical centre in Nahariya.
On Wednesday, Israeli strikes pounded the historic city of Tyre, regarded as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. At least 16 people were injured in the attacks, which caused widespread destruction in the centre of the Unesco-listed city.
More than 2,500 people have been killed and 1.2 million displaced in Lebanon since the conflict broke out.
In Paris, France is hosting a conference aimed at raising aid for Lebanon and finding a diplomatic path to ending Israel's war on the country.
One proposition floated is bolstering and introducing the UN Security Resolution 1701, which ended a 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. As part of the resolution, which was never fully implemented, the Lebanese Army and peacekeepers would be the only forces allowed in the deep south of Lebanon.
Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Beirut could deploy 8,000 soldiers as part of a ceasefire plan but appealed for international financial support and training.
“The storm we are currently witnessing is unlike any other, because it carries the seeds of total destruction, not only for our country but for all human values,” Mr Mikati told the Paris conference.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Freezer tips
- Always make sure food is completely cool before freezing.
- If you’re cooking in large batches, divide into either family-sized or individual portions to freeze.
- Ensure the food is well wrapped in foil or cling film. Even better, store in fully sealable, labelled containers or zip-lock freezer bags.
- The easiest and safest way to defrost items such as the stews and sauces mentioned is to do so in the fridge for several hours or overnight.
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
Key facilities
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
THE BIO
BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Studying addiction
This month, Dubai Medical College launched the Middle East’s first master's programme in addiction science.
Together with the Erada Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation, the college offers a two-year master’s course as well as a one-year diploma in the same subject.
The move was announced earlier this year and is part of a new drive to combat drug abuse and increase the region’s capacity for treating drug addiction.
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Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
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