Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday criticised Israel's military operations for bringing death and destruction to Gaza on a scale not seen since he started in his job eight years ago.
“Nothing justifies the horrific terror attacks launched by Hamas against Israel on October 7. Nor is there any justification for the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” Mr Guterres said.
“Yet, Israeli military operations have resulted in destruction and death in Gaza at a scale and speed without parallel since I became Secretary General.”
Mr Guterres, who started his job in 2017, described the situation in Gaza a “festering wound” that threatens the entire region and he called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages.
He said that the world has entered an “age of chaos” with a deeply divided Security Council “deadlocked by geopolitical fissures”.
“We are seeing the results: a dangerous and unpredictable free-for-all with total impunity,” Mr Guterres told the 193-member UN General Assembly, outlining his priorities for 2024.
With the war in Gaza entering its fifth month, Mr Guterres expressed alarm at reports of an imminent Israeli ground invasion of the southern city of Rafah which “would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences”.
Israel vowed to eliminate the Palestinian militant group Hamas and launched air strikes and a ground offensive that have killed more than 27,700 people, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said this week that the army would “reach places where we have not yet fought … right up to the last Hamas bastion, which is Rafah”.
The UN Secretary General’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters since the onset of the Gaza conflict, “civilians have been told for their own safety to move south progressively. And now they're in a last little corner."
"If the fighting that we've seen in the north in the center of Gaza moves to Rafah the consequences would be catastrophic and almost too catastrophic to imagine," he added.
Mr Guterres, who is in his second and final five-year term, called for reform of the Security Council, stressing that this is not the first time it has been divided but “it is the worst”.
He said that unlike during the Cold War, when “well-established mechanisms helped manage superpower relations,” those mechanism are missing “in today's multipolar world”.
“Today’s dysfunction is deeper and more dangerous,” he said. “Our world has entered an age of chaos.”
He said that the Security Council needs the capacity to make and carry out decisions, and should be more inclusive.
“It is totally unacceptable that the African continent is still waiting for a permanent seat,” he said.
In his speech, Mr Guterres also called for the council’s working methods to be updated so that it can make progress, “even when members are sharply divided”, and in light of global conflicts “stoking further inequalities and injustice.”
He noted that trade through the Suez Canal is down by 42 per cent since the start of Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea more than three months ago.
“Trade via the Panama Canal is down 36 per cent in the past month, because of low water levels – a by-product of the climate crisis,” he added.
Mr Guterres urged world leaders to use the Summit of the Future in September in New York, on the sidelines of the annual General Assembly, as a chance to “shape multilateralism for years to come”.
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
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Edited by Sahm Venter
Published by Liveright
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.
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EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old - Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old - Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old - Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old - Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
The biog
Name: Maitha Qambar
Age: 24
Emirate: Abu Dhabi
Education: Master’s Degree
Favourite hobby: Reading
She says: “Everyone has a purpose in life and everyone learns from their experiences”
How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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The burning issue
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Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
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Cherry
Directed by: Joe and Anthony Russo
Starring: Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo
1/5
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
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Plastic tipping point
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
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Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
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Torque: 175Nm
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
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Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
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Towering concerns
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AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
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Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
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The biog
Family: wife, four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren
Reads: Newspapers, historical, religious books and biographies
Education: High school in Thatta, a city now in Pakistan
Regrets: Not completing college in Karachi when universities were shut down following protests by freedom fighters for the British to quit India
Happiness: Work on creative ideas, you will also need ideals to make people happy
Tomorrow 2021
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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Date Started: September 2018
Founders: Walid and Karim Dib
Based: Abu Dhabi
Employees: Nine
Amount raised: $1.2 million
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
Mountain%20Boy
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
