ISIS claims Shiraz shrine attack that killed 15 in Iran


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ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack on a shrine in the Iranian city of Shiraz on Wednesday, according to a statement on the group's Telegram channel.

Iran's supreme leader on Thursday vowed to retaliate against those threatening the country's security.

The gunmen's attack on the Shiite shrine killed 15 people and wounded dozens, authorities said, and President Ebrahim Raisi promised that the shooting would not go unanswered.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the assailants "will surely be punished" and called on Iranians to unite.

"We all have a duty to deal with the enemy and its traitorous or ignorant agents," Mr Khamenei said a day after the attack.

Mr Raisi appeared to link the mass protests against the government to the ISIS attack.

“The enemy’s goal is to disrupt the progress of the country. The enemy wants the riots to pave the way for terrorist attacks. The enemy is always an enemy.”

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the protests sweeping Iran paved the way for the Shiraz attack, and Mr Raisi said Iran would respond, according to state media.

"Experience shows that Iran's enemies, after failing to create a split in the nation's united ranks, take revenge through violence and terror," Mr Raisi said before ISIS claimed responsibility.

Bullet holes and blood in the Shah Cheragh shrine in Shiraz, Iran. Reuters
Bullet holes and blood in the Shah Cheragh shrine in Shiraz, Iran. Reuters

"This crime will definitely not go unanswered, and the security and law enforcement forces will teach a lesson to those who designed and carried out the attack."

CCTV footage broadcast on state TV on Thursday showed the attacker entering the shrine after hiding an assault rifle in a bag and shooting as worshippers tried to flee and hide in corridors.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency said the attacker shot an employee at the shrine entrance before his rifle jammed and he was chased by bystanders.

He managed to unjam his weapon and opened fire on his pursuers, before entering a courtyard and shooting worshippers. Women and children were among the dead, according to the agency.

"I heard sounds of gunfire after we prayed," a witness told state TV. "We went to a room next to the shrine. This lowlife came and fired a barrage of shots.

"Then [the bullet] hit my arm and leg, it hit my wife's back, but thank God my child was not hit. He is seven years old."

Iranian officials said they had arrested a gunman who carried out the attack at the Shah Cheragh shrine.

"We have not been able to interrogate him yet," deputy provincial governor Easmail Mohebipour told the Tasnim news agency.

State media blamed "takfiri terrorists", a label Tehran uses for hardline Sunni militants such as ISIS.

The UAE condemned the attack and expressed condolences to the Iranian government and ts people after "this heinous crime". China said it was shocked by the attack and strongly condemned the incident.

The group has claimed previous attacks in Iran, including deadly twin bombings in 2017 at Iran's parliament and the tomb of its founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Iran has been shaken by more than a month of anti-government demonstrations, the biggest challenge to the regime in a decade.

Shah Cheragh shrine staff cleaning up after the attack in Shiraz, Iran. Reuters
Shah Cheragh shrine staff cleaning up after the attack in Shiraz, Iran. Reuters

Thousands of protesters were on the streets of a north-western city to mark 40 days since the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, which sparked the protests.

Shiite Muslims commemorate death 40 days afterwards, typically with an outpouring of grief.

In Amini’s Kurdish home town of Saqez, the birthplace of the nationwide unrest now hitting Iran, crowds walked through the local cemetery and thronged her gravesite.

“Death to the dictator,” protesters shouted at the Aichi cemetery, where women ripped off their headscarves and waved them above their heads.

Other videos showed a large procession making its way along a motorway and through a dusty field towards Amini’s grave.

There were reports of road closures in the area.

While the ayatollah and the president tried to link the ISIS attack to the protests, former Iranian president Mohammed Khatami said that “violence cannot be answered with violence” in a statement carried online.

Mr Khatami’s name and image have been banned in Iranian media since 2015 over his reformist political views, which call for changing the Islamic republic from within.

“If [the people] see that the conditions of this life are not provided [by the government], they have the right to criticise and even protest,” Mr Khatami said.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures

Tuesday, October 29

Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE

Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman

Wednesday, October 30

Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one

Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two

Thursday, October 31

Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four

Friday, November 1

Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one

Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two

Saturday, November 2

Third-place playoff, 2.10pm

Final, 7.30pm

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

FA CUP FINAL

Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')

Watford 0

Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)

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UAE v IRELAND

All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi

1st ODI, Friday, January 8

2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10

3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12

4th ODI, Thursday, January 14

Name: Peter Dicce

Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics

Favourite sport: soccer

Favourite team: Bayern Munich

Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer

Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates 

 

Scoreline

Chelsea 1
Azpilicueta (36')

West Ham United 1
Hernandez (73')

Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten

Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a  month before Reaching the Last Mile.

Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

 

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.

Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
  • 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
  • 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
  • 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

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Fixtures (all in UAE time)

Friday

Everton v Burnley 11pm

Saturday

Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur 3.30pm

West Ham United v Southampton 6pm

Wolves v Fulham 6pm

Cardiff City v Crystal Palace 8.30pm

Newcastle United v Liverpool 10.45pm

Sunday

Chelsea v Watford 5pm

Huddersfield v Manchester United 5pm

Arsenal v Brighton 7.30pm

Monday

Manchester City v Leicester City 11pm

 

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

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:

Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE

Game is on BeIN Sports

Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000

Available: Now

Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side

8 There are eight players per team

There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.

5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs

B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs

Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

'Laal Kaptaan'

Director: Navdeep Singh

Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain

Rating: 2/5

Cricket World Cup League Two

Teams

Oman, UAE, Namibia

Al Amerat, Muscat

 

Results

Oman beat UAE by five wickets

UAE beat Namibia by eight runs

Namibia beat Oman by 52 runs

UAE beat Namibia by eight wickets

 

Fixtures

Saturday January 11 - UAE v Oman

Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia

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Zidane's managerial achievements

La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017

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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas

Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa

Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong

Rating: 3/5

GROUPS

Group Gustavo Kuerten
Novak Djokovic (x1)
Alexander Zverev (x3)
Marin Cilic (x5)
John Isner (x8)

Group Lleyton Hewitt
Roger Federer (x2)
Kevin Anderson (x4)
Dominic Thiem (x6)
Kei Nishikori (x7)

Another way to earn air miles

In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.

An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.

“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.

Real Madrid 1
Ronaldo (87')

Athletic Bilbao 1
Williams (14')

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.

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

RESULTS

Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO

Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke

Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke

Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO

Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision

Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision

Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO

Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)

Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)

Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision

Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke

Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO

Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision

Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision

Defence review at a glance

• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”

• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems

• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.

• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%

• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade

• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Updated: June 19, 2023, 12:43 PM`