Dawn raids targeting groups suspected of operating on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas were carried out by Austrian police on Monday in a major crackdown.
Officers made 30 arrests in more than 60 raids under anti-terrorism laws, the Austrian government said.
The targets of the raids on flats, houses, businesses and other premises were people suspected of belonging to or supporting the Islamist movements Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
"The suspicion is of belonging to a terrorist organisation, financing terrorism, association against the state, criminal organisation and money laundering," the prosecutor’s office in the southern city of Graz said.
The operation was launched in four of Austria's nine provinces: Styria, of which Graz is the capital, Carinthia, Vienna and Lower Austria. More than 900 police were involved in the sweeps and a trove of documents, mobile telephones and computers seized for further analysis. Franz Ruf, director-general of public security in Graz, said officials had 21,000 hours of surveillance on the suspects and premises.
The police raids took place less than a week after a major terrorist incident in Vienna that was claimed by ISIS but the two investigations are not linked.
Austria's Interior Minister Karl Nehammer and the country's lead counter-extremism minister Susanne Raab stressed there was a focus on the ideological threats posed by the organisations in the country.
Hamas, which won the last Palestinian parliamentary election in 2006, was founded as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and is designated a terrorist organisation by the United States and European Union.
The Muslim Brotherhood is not on the bloc's terrorism blacklist but prosecutors said they were investigating links between the two organisations. In Austria courts have accepted arguments that Muslim Brotherhood activities constitute a terrorist threat and are grounds for criminal prosecution.
Graz prosecutors said the case involved investigations into activities of 70 people based across more than 60 properties, including apartments and offices. They said the raids resulted from more than a year of investigations.
According to a report commissioned by the Austrian authorities and written by the George Washington University scholar Lorenzo Vidino, the country is one of the strongholds of the movement in Europe. Among the keystone groups in Austria is the Moslemischer Sozialdienst (MSD), an organisation that was founded in the early 1960s by Ghaleb Himmat. Another is the Liga Kultur Verein, which has links to the Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe (FIOE), the pan-European umbrella organisation for Muslim Brotherhood affiliates.
Also in Austria the organisation's main magazine outside the Middle East, al- Da'wa fi-Uruba (Predication in Europe), came out of Vienna in the 1970s and 1980s.
"Historically, the Egyptians and Syrians have been the most active Brotherhood branches in Austria; however, the country has seen the presence of activists from other national branches of the movement," the 2017 report said. "For example, several individuals linked more or less directly to Hamas, the official Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, have long called Austria their home."
Youssef Nada, the self-described "foreign policy envoy" of the Muslim Brotherhood, was active in building the movement in Austria in the early 1970s. When Mr Nada’s personal phone book was seized by Swiss authorities it had an entry for "Abdelaziz Khalifa, Vienna”, an important figure in the movement. The report also looked at specific leaders in Graz, where the bulk of the raids were carried out on Monday.
"Arguably, the most prominent Egyptian Brother to reside in Graz in recent years is Ayman Ali," it said. "Ali’s career in the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as his activities in Austria and around the world, have been detailed in an extensive legal case which made its way all the way to the federal appeals court.
"It is relatively unproblematic and straightforward to identify individuals like Yussuf Nada or Ayman Ali as 'Muslim Brotherhood' - it is significantly more complicated to apply the same label to some of the organisations directly or indirectly created by these pioneers."
Mr Nedhammer revealed that millions of euros had been frozen or seized in the investigation, code-named Operation Luxor. He said the target was "religiously motivated, political extremism" that sought to "carry out a long-planned Islamisation".
"Our goal is to protect all people who live in Austria, especially Muslims, from these tendencies," he said.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
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Director:Jason Orley
Stars:Jenny Slate, Charlie Day
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
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
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPowertrain%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20electric%20motor%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E201hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E310Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E53kWh%20lithium-ion%20battery%20pack%20(GS%20base%20model)%3B%2070kWh%20battery%20pack%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E350km%20(GS)%3B%20480km%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C900%20(GS)%3B%20Dh149%2C000%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
UAE squad
Ali Kashief, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdelrahman, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Mohmmed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammad Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Eisa, Mohammed Shakir, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Adel Al Hosani, Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah), Waleed Abbas, Ismail Al Hammadi, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai) Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Mahrami (Baniyas)
SCHEDULE
Thursday, December 6
08.00-15.00 Technical scrutineering
15.00-17.00 Extra free practice
Friday, December 7
09.10-09.30 F4 free practice
09.40-10.00 F4 time trials
10.15-11.15 F1 free practice
14.00 F4 race 1
15.30 BRM F1 qualifying
Saturday, December 8
09.10-09.30 F4 free practice
09.40-10.00 F4 time trials
10.15-11.15 F1 free practice
14.00 F4 race 2
15.30 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Date started: Founded in May 2017 and operational since April 2018
Founders: co-founder and chief executive, Doaa Aref; Dr Rasha Rady, co-founder and chief operating officer.
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: Health-tech
Size: 22 employees
Funding: Seed funding
Investors: Flat6labs, 500 Falcons, three angel investors
Anna and the Apocalypse
Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton
Three stars
