Interactive maps reveal full extent of Hezbollah's global reach


Thomas Harding
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A new interactive map of Hezbollah's activities has shown all the attacks, financing operations and plots by the terror group revealing for the first time its vast global reach.

Researchers, the police and the public will be able to view the group’s activities across the world in a resource that includes information taken from declassified CIA and FBI files.

The document is the painstaking work of former FBI agent Dr Matthew Levitt who hopes will it will demonstrate the nature of Hezbollah to European countries that have yet to fully proscribe it as a terrorist organisation.

If the map proves successful it could also be used as a template to help the fight against other terror groups such as Al Qaeda and ISIS as well as international criminal gangs.

The ‘Lebanese Hezbollah Select Worldwide Activity’ is the first-ever publicly available, interactive map and timeline of Hezbollah-related activities and counter-terrorism action taken against it.

Users can close in on individual cities to see Hezbollah's activities. The Washington Institute
Users can close in on individual cities to see Hezbollah's activities. The Washington Institute

Dr Levitt said he committed to the project because during forums and seminars on Hezbollah he said there was always a lack of information.

“Discussion about Hezbollah’s covert enterprises was rendered virtually impossible by the dearth of publicly available material on the group’s covert activities,” he said.

It is based on open source or recently declassified information and the map has been designed for a variety of users, from intelligence analysts to policymakers, and academics and students. It features photos, videos, intelligence documents as well as news articles.

Users can find more on the variety of Hezbollah's activities. The Washington Institute
Users can find more on the variety of Hezbollah's activities. The Washington Institute

The tool has three main categories: plots and attacks, finance and logistics and counter-terrorism actions.

All have further drop-down menus allowing easy research. For example, a user can click on Paris on the geographical map to see a list of numerous Hezbollah activity, from fund-raising and bomb plots, to drug activities and actual attacks.

“It shows all plots and attacks by Hezbollah and examples of new information or rare or underreported information,” said Dr Levitt, of the Washington Institute.

For example, it gives the real names of European Hezbollah members who have been convicted of crimes from both Britain and France.

It also reveals a Hezbollah plot in 1990 to plan an attack on a Warsaw synagogue and airport, according to a CIA document, and Hezbollah surveillance of the Dutch-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon that is prosecuting terrorists for the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Other examples include a mass bomb arsenal found in Kuwait in 2015 and a bomb plot in Bolivia in 2017.

Juan Zarate, a former US deputy national security adviser, said the map was important in a world “where we are deluged with information”.

“This is a phenomenal curation of information. It shows operations and activities of Hezbollah in parts of the world you would not have been aware of,” he said.

“It clearly reflects Hezbollah is a global organisation, not just in the Levant, that it has links around the world and it demonstrates the scope of Hezbollah activity.”

The map also suggests that both Belgium and France remain key hotspots for Hezbollah activity.

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's deputy assistant on counterterrorism, told the webinar launching the map that it showed that "Hezbollah is the Iranian regime's most dangerous proxy" carrying plots and attack around the globe.
"Hezbollah is a terrorist group," he added. "We see no difference between its political and military wing."

Only last year Britain became the first major European country to designate all of Hezbollah a terrorist group.

BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

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  • Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
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LILO & STITCH

Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Rating: 4.5/5

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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick

Hometown: Cologne, Germany

Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)

Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes

Favourite hobby: Football

Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk

The bio

Favourite vegetable: Broccoli

Favourite food: Seafood

Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange

Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania

Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.

Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes

Anxiety and work stress major factors

Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.

A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.

Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.

One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.

It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."

Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.

“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi. 

“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."

Daniel Bardsley

MATCH INFO

Manchester United v Manchester City, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Match is on BeIN Sports

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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Quick%20facts
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The distance learning plan

Spring break will be from March 8 - 19

Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm

Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19

Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning

Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5

Landfill in numbers

• Landfill gas is composed of 50 per cent methane

• Methane is 28 times more harmful than Co2 in terms of global warming

• 11 million total tonnes of waste are being generated annually in Abu Dhabi

• 18,000 tonnes per year of hazardous and medical waste is produced in Abu Dhabi emirate per year

• 20,000 litres of cooking oil produced in Abu Dhabi’s cafeterias and restaurants every day is thrown away

• 50 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s waste is from construction and demolition

PSL FINAL

Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi
8pm, Thursday
Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Why seagrass matters
  • Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
  • Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
  • Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
  • Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
The Buckingham Murders

Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu

Director: Hansal Mehta

Rating: 4 / 5

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U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES

UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)

  • Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs 
  • Thursday 20 January: v England 
  • Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh 

UAE squad:

Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith  

SPECS
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Director: Chris Winterbauer

Stars: Lana Condor and Cole Sprouse 

Rating: 3/5

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Company profile

Company: Rent Your Wardrobe 

Date started: May 2021 

Founder: Mamta Arora 

Based: Dubai 

Sector: Clothes rental subscription 

Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded 

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