An Emirati couple who were shot by a gunman in Prague are scheduled to be airlifted to Munich for further medical treatment by the end of this week.
Ahmed Ibrahim Obaid Ali Al Ali and his wife Rowdah Al Mehrezi were on holiday in the Czech capital with their two daughters when they were injured in the mass shooting nearly two weeks ago.
They were returning to a nearby hotel when a student opened fire in the city's Charles University campus at about 4pm on December 21, in an incident which left 14 dead and 25 injured.
After Mr Al Ali was shot in the shoulder and collarbone, Ms Al Mehrezi grabbed their daughters, 10-year-old Maryam and eight-year-old Latifa, in a bid to hide out of the gunman's sight.
After leaving the girls in a safe position, she ran back to Mr Al Ali, who was lying on the ground screaming for help. As she was running to him, she was shot twice – with two bullets puncturing her liver, intestine and lungs.
Although doctors initially considered her chances of survival low, Ms Al Mehrezi can now speak. Her and her husband are both in a stable condition but remain in intensive care as they prepare for a transfer to Munich later this week for further treatment.
Mr Al Ali is the director general of Umm Al Quwain municipality and Ms Al Mehrizi is the director of marketing and corporate communication at Dubai's Road and Transport Authority.
“The support we have received from the [UAE] leadership from the moment of this incident is overwhelming,” her elder brother, Khalifa Al Mehrezi, told The National.
The 50-year-old, who flew to be with his 37-year-old sister after the shooting, added: “There are no words to describe our gratitude – from the leadership’s daily calls, to the tremendous support and prayers my family have been receiving from UAE nationals. It's humbling.”
The children, Maryam and Latifa, were flown back to the UAE immediately after the shooting and representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been with the wounded couple to offer support.
There are no words to describe our gratitude
Khalifa Al Mehrezi,
brother of Rowdah Al Mehrezi
After the attack, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs, thanked the Czech Republic for their treatment of the Emirati couple.
He condemned the shooting and wished other injured victims a quick recovery.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, called the couple to check on them and issued directives to authorities to ensure the couple received the best care possible.
Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla, Ruler of Umm Al Quwain, also called Mr Al Ali to offer support.
The 24-year-old gunman, David Kozak, was a student with no criminal record and no known links to international terrorists or extreme ideologies. His motive for the shooting was unclear.
Police said they “eliminated” the gunman on the day of the attack, which was the worst mass shooting in Czech history.
Kozak was said to have an arsenal of weapons including long-barrel rifles and shotguns.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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.