Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Two people were killed on Monday following an Israeli air strike that levelled a residence in the southern Lebanese town of Ainata, Lebanon's state news agency said.
They are the latest casualties in an intensifying border conflict between armed militants, led by the Lebanese group Hezbollah, and Israel.
It was not clear whether the two Lebanese people killed in the strike were civilians or fighters.
The Israeli Electricity Company also announced the death of one of its employees on Monday from critical injuries sustained in Hezbollah’s attack on a convoy near the Dovev military barracks.
The Israeli military vowed on Sunday to "change the security situation in the north [of Israel]" after the attacks, which resulted in at least 14 additional injuries, both military and civilian.
In a separate incident, Israel twice fired artillery at the southern Lebanese town of Yaroun, metres away from where a group of journalists from various outlets were operating.
Only minor injuries were reported.
The southern Lebanese village of Yaroun lies directly across the border from the Israeli town of Dovev, where electricity company employees and Israeli soldiers had been hit in a Hezbollah attack the previous day.
The incident was filmed live by Al Jadeed, a local Lebanese channel. The news anchor could be heard speaking to correspondent Rif Akil over the air, who was on the ground reporting when the artillery struck nearby.
“It’s clear the rocket has fallen just a few metres away from you,” the anchor said as the camera filmed the destruction caused by the strike. “It’s clear this is a direct strike on journalists operating in Yaroun.”
“Yes,” Akil answered as she caught her breath.
The strike on the journalists Monday came exactly one month after Israeli strikes on Reuters, Al Jazeera, and AFP journalists who, clearly marked as press, were reporting on clashes near Ayta al Shaab. Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah was killed in that attack.
Hezbollah and allied groups have waged a war of attrition against Israel since October 8, seeking to divert Israel’s focus from Gaza.
The border conflict has escalated significantly since Saturday, when Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the southern Lebanese front would “remain a front of pressure”.
Sunday’s significant progression of hostilities on the Lebanon-Israel border prompted Israeli army spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari to say that Israel will “change the security situation in the north”.
“Lebanese citizens will pay the price of this lawlessness and the decision of Hezbollah to be the protector of ISIS," Admiral Hagari said, comparing Hamas with the extremist group.
He said Hezbollah and the Lebanese government would bear responsibility for the attacks.
Daily clashes have intensified between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel in the past month, as both parties fight a war of attrition while attempting not to be drawn into full-scale war.
Hezbollah has conducted or provided armed groups with cover for daily attacks on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, seeking to prevent Israel from focusing its full attention on its bombardment of the blockaded Gaza Strip.
But the Iran-backed group has not launched a full-scale campaign, despite escalating tension at the border.
Armed Iran-allied groups in Syria, Yemen and Iraq have also attacked Israel, seeking to divert its attention from Gaza.
Israel has also tempered its responses in an attempt to prevent a full-scale confrontation from breaking out and turning into a regional war.
More than a month of violence has claimed at least 90 lives on the Lebanese side, with 72 Hezbollah fighters and at least 10 civilians among the dead.
Members of armed Palestinian groups operating from Lebanon were also among the casualties.
The Israeli army told The National that eight of its soldiers have been killed on the Lebanon-Israel front since the fighting began, but declined to provide numbers for civilian casualties.
After Mr Nasrallah’s speech last week, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned that residents of Beirut would pay the price if Israel was dragged into war with Hezbollah.
“What we are doing in Gaza we know how to do in Beirut,” he threatened during a visit to the border region.
“I am saying here to the citizens of Lebanon, I already see the citizens in Gaza walking with white flags along the coast and moving south."
Mr Nasrallah has repeatedly conditioned the end of Hezbollah’s war of attrition on a ceasefire in Gaza – but he also said that “all options are open” on the Lebanese front against Israel, and that every action would be met with an equal and corresponding reaction.
“For every civilian, a civilian,” he promised in his televised speech.
Earlier this month three schoolgirls and their grandmother were killed in an Israeli air strike. Hezbollah promised retribution for their killing.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
