Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Israel's military and the Shin Bet intelligence agency have recovered the bodies of two hostages from Gaza, as the death toll from the war passes 55,100.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Wednesday that the body of Yair Yaakov had been retrieved, along with that of another hostage whose identity was not disclosed.
The military said Palestinian Islamic Jihad abducted and killed Mr Yaakov during the attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Militants also took Mr Yaakov’s partner, Meirav Tal, and two of his children hostage, but later released them, the army said. Mr Yaakov was 59 at the time of his death. Israel said it retrieved the two bodies in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza.
They were recovered as Gaza's Health Ministry said the death toll from the war had passed 55,100, with more than 127,390 injured. Many more people are believed to be buried under rubble or in areas inaccessible to medics.
Mr Netanyahu is under increasing pressure over the war. After 20 months of violence, 53 hostages are still in Gaza, with fewer than half believed to be alive. Israel's military estimates that 40,000 armed Palestinian fighters remain in the enclave, according to media reports, despite Israel vowing to “destroy” Hamas.
Mr Netanyahu's coalition survived an opposition-backed effort to collapse the government early on Thursday, as lawmakers rejected a bill that could have paved the way for a dissolution of parliament and snap elections. Out of the Knesset's 120 members, 61 voted against the proposal, with 53 supporting it.
The opposition introduced the bill hoping to force elections with the help of ultra-Orthodox parties angry at Mr Netanyahu over the contentious issue of military conscription for members of their community. While the opposition is composed mainly of centrist and leftist groups, ultra-Orthodox parties that prop up Mr Netanyahu's government had earlier threatened to back the motion.
But most ultra-Orthodox lawmakers ultimately chose to oppose the effort to collapse the government, Israeli media reported on Thursday morning. The opposition will now have to wait six months to submit another dissolution bill.
Mr Netanyahu's coalition, formed in December 2022, is one of the most right-wing in the country's history. It includes two ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism. The parties threatened to back the push for early elections amid the row over conscription.
Military service is mandatory in Israel, but under a ruling that dates back to the founding of the country – when ultra-Orthodox Jews were a small community – men who devote themselves full-time to the study of sacred texts are given a de facto pass. Whether that should change has been a long-running issue.
Efforts to scrap the exemption and the anger that sparked have intensified during the war, as the military looks for more manpower. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Wednesday that bringing down the government at a time of conflict would pose "an existential danger" to Israel's future.
"History will not forgive anyone who drags the state of Israel into elections during a war," he told parliament, adding that there was a "national and security need" for the ultra-Orthodox to fight in the military.
Twenty months into the Gaza war, negotiations over a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remain deadlocked. A brief truce collapsed in March and Israel has since intensified operations to “destroy” the group.
Israel also faces immense international pressure over the humanitarian crisis in the enclave, where the UN has warned the entire population faces famine. Israel last month eased an aid blockade on Gaza.
A convoy carrying hundreds of activists set off from Algeria this week en route for Gaza to challenge Israeli restrictions on aid. On Wednesday, the group arrived at the Egypt-Libya border and plans to enter the enclave at the Rafah crossing, travelling by cars and buses.
The activists are expected to go to Cairo, before travelling to Rafah. It was not clear whether members of the convoy were able to cross into Egypt as of Wednesday night. But the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that foreign delegations needed to obtain approval before visiting the area bordering Gaza.
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
Al Jazira's foreign quartet for 2017/18
Romarinho, Brazil
Lassana Diarra, France
Sardor Rashidov, Uzbekistan
Mbark Boussoufa, Morocco
Hotel Data Cloud profile
Date started: June 2016
Founders: Gregor Amon and Kevin Czok
Based: Dubai
Sector: Travel Tech
Size: 10 employees
Funding: $350,000 (Dh1.3 million)
Investors: five angel investors (undisclosed except for Amar Shubar)
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
if you go
The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
T20 World Cup Qualifier
October 18 – November 2
Opening fixtures
Friday, October 18
ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya
Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan
Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed
Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed
England-South Africa Test series
1st Test England win by 211 runs at Lord's, London
2nd Test South Africa win by 340 runs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
3rd Test July 27-31 at The Oval, London
4th Test August 4-8 at Old Trafford, Manchester
