Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt condemned Israel's siege of Gaza in retaliation to the Hamas group attacks as Europe reacted to an overnight order for a million Palestinians to evacuate their homes.
"Israel is entitled to defend itself ... but it cannot use all possible means," Ms Huitfeldt said on Friday. "I condemn this siege because you have to, when they ask so many people to leave, when they don't have access to food and medicine."
Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister called on Israel to rescind the order for Gaza residents to leave their homes in the northern areas enmasse, saying "two wrongs don't make a right".
"It simply isn't feasible that a million people can move out of the city in 24 hours," Micheal Martin, who is also Foreign Minister in the coalition government.
"That call by Israel should be rescinded and should be pulled back because I think everybody knows it's not something that can be achieved at all and I think it puts enormous trauma on the ordinary civilians and Gazans.
"Two wrongs don't make a right and there's an obligation to protect civilians in Gaza, to protect children and families and so forth and people who have nothing to do with Hamas."
Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office updated the country's travel advice for its citizens on Friday as it urged anyone affected to obey the Israeli military orders.
"We advise following this advice issued by the Israeli authorities," it said. "We recognise this is a fast-moving situation that poses significant risks."
Rishi Sunak, the British prime minister, leads a government that has taken a line that puts less pressure on Israel. Speaking at a summit of northern European leaders, he said the plight of civilians must always be paramount. “It is something I’ve discussed with Prime Minister Netanyahu myself and underlined with what the secretary of state from the United States and the president have said, that of course Israel should take every possible precaution to protect civilians as they exercise their rightful ability to defend themselves against attacks like this.”
Grant Shapps, UK defence secretary, said the British government supported Israel’s "advance notice" for more than one million people to leave Gaza.
Speaking to Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday, Mr Shapps said the operation must stay within the bounds of international law in its operation to root out Hamas militants.
“It is the case that we want to enable Hamas to be removed from the scene but to do so in a manner that does not affect the Palestinian population, as far as is possible.
“And the difficulty is that Hamas hide themselves within that population deliberately, with a deliberate policy of using the population as human shields.
“So, Israel is letting people know in advance, and we very much support advance notice being given.”
Israel-Gaza war latest - in pictures
Mr Shapps said "it seems very likely" that there are British hostages in Gaza.
"We don't have exact data on that, for obvious reasons. But within Gaza there will also be Brits or possibly people with dual nationalities as well. The Prime Minister has spoken to the Egyptian President about using that border to get people out," he said.
"I can't go into specific detail. What I can tell you is it is highly likely, no one will know for sure, that there are those – either British nationals or people with joint nationality – involved in the hostage situation, as has been reported previously.
"And secondly, that we're sending assistance and expertise, including intelligence, to the region, and to a number of different locations.
"But this is not the same as saying we're sending people into Gaza itself."
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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 four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
More on Quran memorisation:
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What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.