One can lose focus amid the fog of war, particularly one such as the current Israeli-Gaza conflict that has been characterised by lightning-fast developments and a stream of questionable or outright bogus information. In this scenario, it is worth returning to the facts.
Just over a week ago, Hamas gunmen breached the heavily fortified border with Israel, breaking the siege of Gaza, and launched an attack on several communities and a music festival that left hundreds of Israelis soldiers and civilians dead. About 150 Israelis, including civilians, were abducted and taken back to Gaza as hostages.
Since then, the two million Palestinians already forced to live a life of struggle in the overcrowded and besieged Gaza Strip, denied basic rights due to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, have been on the receiving end of a barrage of Israeli air strikes that have killed families to the last member and reduced entire neighbourhoods to rubble. More than 2,500 Palestinians have been killed so far, and close to 10,000 injured.
On Sunday, a spokeswoman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said an estimated one million people – half of the Gaza Strip’s population – have been displaced in a single week. It is still not clear how many Palestinians remain in northern Gaza following a scarcely believable Israeli military order to thousands of traumatised and distressed citizens that they move south ahead of an impending ground operation that will involve thousands of heavily armed troops. The UN has described moving more than one million people in an orderly and safe manner based on this order as “impossible”.
The Gaza Strip is without power and is suffering from acute shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine – an act of Israeli collective punishment that affects the lives of everyone in the blockaded territory and does not differentiate between Hamas operatives and civilians, at least half of whom are children. The World Health Organisation has condemned an Israeli order for 22 hospitals in Gaza to be evacuated, saying that forcing 2,000 patients to relocate "could be tantamount to a death sentence".
It is an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe that cannot and should not be ignored. During talks on Saturday in Abu Dhabi between President Sheikh Mohamed and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the issue of establishing humanitarian corridors to Gaza for medical and relief aid was among the topics discussed. The prioritising of such initiatives is welcome, and the UAE has already gone further than talks: Sheikh Mohamed has directed $20 million in aid for the Palestinian people and on Friday, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, directed an additional Dh50 million in aid to be disbursed through Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives.
In addition, a UAE plane has carried medical aid to the Egyptian city of Al Arish with the intention of it being brought into Gaza through the Rafah crossing, state news agency Wam reported on Friday. The Emirates Red Crescent, in collaboration with the World Food Programme, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Community Development, has launched a Compassion for Gaza campaign to collect humanitarian relief packages.
But the fact that such efforts are required at all is a damning indictment of the political and strategic failures that have led us to such a dire situation. Sadly, it seems that Gaza will experience no respite; Israel’s military said on Saturday it was in the final stages of preparations for a “significant ground operation”. What the final outcome of this conflict will be is uncertain, but one thing is clear amid the deluge of claim and counter-claim: it is the civilians of Palestine who will pay the highest price.
The 15 players selected
Muzzamil Afridi, Rahman Gul, Rizwan Haider (Dezo Devils); Shahbaz Ahmed, Suneth Sampath (Glory Gladiators); Waqas Gohar, Jamshaid Butt, Shadab Ahamed (Ganga Fighters); Ali Abid, Ayaz Butt, Ghulam Farid, JD Mahesh Kumara (Hiranni Heros); Inam Faried, Mausif Khan, Ashok Kumar (Texas Titans
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
Allardyce's management career
Clubs (10) - Limerick (1991-1992), Perston North End (1992), Blackpool (1994-1996), Notts County (1997-1999), Bolton Wanderers (1999-2007), Newcastle United (2007-2008), Blackburn Rovers (2008-2010), West Ham United (2011-2015), Sunderland (2016), Crystal Palace (2016-2017)
Countries (1) - England (2016)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- 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 specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Top tips to avoid cyber fraud
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.
3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.
5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world
New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.
"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."
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
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
