Israeli soldier in 'callous' photo row


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TEL AVIV // A former Israeli soldier has posted photos of herself on Facebook smiling next to handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian prisoners. The photos created uproar among left-wing Israeli activists, and the Israeli army said the woman's behaviour was "ugly and callous". The furore has also cast a darker cloud over relations between Israel and the Palestinians amid expectations that the Quartet of Middle East mediators - the US, UN, European Union and Russia - is about to issue a formal invitation to both parties to direct peace talks.

Israeli media said the woman was Eden Abergil, from Ashdod in southern Israel. The photos were uploaded this month to her profile page on the social networking website. They were taken during her compulsory army service in 2008 and placed in an online album named "Army?best time of my life :)". The photos were removed from public view on Facebook yesterday, but had already been circulated widely on the internet. In two of them the soldier appears to be mocking the Palestinian prisoners.

In one, she is sitting cross-legged on a stone block in her olive-coloured military uniform with her brown hair pulled back in a bun as she glances sideways at a thin Palestinian seated next to her. He is slouching as his hands are bound and eyes covered. In another photo, the soldier stares straight at the camera smiling as two grey-haired Palestinian men are seated handcuffed and blindfolded on a stone block behind her. The Palestinians in the images do not appear to be aware that they are being photographed.

On Facebook, one of the woman's friends commented on one photo by writing: "You're super sexy here." The woman replied: "Yeah I know, ha ha, what a day that was, see how he completes my picture. I wonder if he's on Facebook! I have to tag him in the photo! Ha ha." Dana Golan, the head of an Israeli group called Breaking the Silence, which collects evidence from soldiers about abuse of Palestinians, said "This is what the Israeli occupation looks like. These photos are not an exceptional phenomenon." She added: They show the moral price that we are paying for the occupation and for sending 18-year-olds who think it's cool to be photographed with Palestinians to manage it for us." Israeli bloggers speculated that the photos were taken in the Gaza Strip during Israel's devastating three-week onslaught in late 2008 and early 2009. One prominent blogger, Lisa Goldman, wrote on her Facebook profile that she tried to contact the woman to get her reaction to the wide distribution of the photos, but that the woman responded to her message by saying: "I don't speak to leftists." The wide circulation of the photos comes amid expectations of a possible re-launching of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks, which were cut off in December 2008 when Israel launched its attack on Gaza. The Quartet is expected to say that Israel should halt settlement building in the West Bank and reach an agreement with the Palestinians within two years, creating a state on the basis of the borders that existed before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. While the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has indicated that he may agree to face-to-face talks with Israel if they are based on such conditions, Israel is reported to have rejected what it called the "preconditions" in the Quartet's anticipated statement. Yesterday, Israeli media reported that Benjamin Netanyahu, the country's prime minister, and his seven-member inner cabinet decided late on Sunday that they would oppose any such statement. Haaretz, a liberal Israeli daily newspaper, cited an unidentified senior government official as saying: "The Quartet announcement could serve as camouflage for Palestinian preconditions, and that is unacceptable." The official added that the US, Israel's closest ally, is expected to issue a statement later this week that would serve as a compromise between the Israeli and Palestinian stances. foreign.desk@thenational.ae

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)

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Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre 

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UAE jiu-jitsu squad

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BIG SPENDERS

Premier League clubs spent £230 million (Dh1.15 billion) on January transfers, the second-highest total for the mid-season window, the Sports Business Group at Deloitte said in a report.

Match info:

Real Betis v Sevilla, 10.45pm (UAE)

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

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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

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Going grey? A stylist's advice

If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
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Ireland 16 (Tries: Stockdale Cons: Sexton Pens: Sexton 3)

New Zealand 9 (Pens: Barrett 2 Drop Goal: Barrett)

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Second Test

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Pakistan 418-5 (declared)
New Zealand 90 and 131-2 (follow on)

Day 3: New Zealand trail by 197 runs with 8 wickets remaining

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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

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Saturday

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TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)

What is THAAD?

It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.

Production:

It was created in 2008.

Speed:

THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.

Abilities:

THAAD is designed to take out  ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".

Purpose:

To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.

Range:

THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.

Creators:

Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.

UAE and THAAD:

In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.

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UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer

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Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.

GAC GS8 Specs

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Price: From Dh149,900

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Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:

Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona

Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate

Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid

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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

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Indoor Cricket World Cup

Venue Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23

UAE squad Saqib Nazir (captain), Aaqib Malik, Fahad Al Hashmi, Isuru Umesh, Nadir Hussain, Sachin Talwar, Nashwan Nasir, Prashath Kumara, Ramveer Rai, Sameer Nayyak, Umar Shah, Vikrant Shetty

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Managing the separation process

  • Choose your nursery carefully in the first place
  • Relax – and hopefully your child will follow suit
  • Inform the staff in advance of your child’s likes and dislikes.
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  • The longer you stay, the more upset your child will become. As difficult as it is, walk away. Say a proper goodbye and reassure your child that you will be back
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  • Stick at it. Don’t give up after the first day or week. It takes time for children to settle into a new routine.And, finally, don’t feel guilty.  
Grand slam winners since July 2003

Who has won major titles since Wimbledon 2003 when Roger Federer won his first grand slam

Roger Federer 19 (8 Wimbledon, 5 Australian Open, 5 US Open, 1 French Open)

Rafael Nadal 16 (10 French Open, 3 US Open, 2 Wimbledon, 1 Australian Open)

Novak Djokovic 12 (6 Australian Open, 3 Wimbledon, 2 US Open, 1 French Open)

Andy Murray 3 (2 Wimbledon, 1 US Open)

Stan Wawrinka 3 (1 Australian Open, 1 French Open, 1 US Open)

Andy Roddick 1 (1 US Open) 

Gaston Gaudio 1 (1 French Open)

Marat Safin 1 (1 Australian Open)

Juan Martin del Potro 1 (1 US Open)

Marin Cilic 1 (1 US Open)

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."
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
  • 2018: Formal work begins
  • November 2021: First 17 volumes launched 
  • November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
  • October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
  • November 2024: All 127 volumes completed

Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics