Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Arch foes Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in daily exchanges of fire across the Lebanese border since October, running in parallel with Israel's brutal war on Gaza.
Hezbollah launched attacks on Israeli positions on October 8, in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas in Gaza. Since then the exchanges of fire have steadily increased in scope and intensity.
On Sunday, Hezbollah launched its largest assault, targeting 11 Israeli military sites with more than 320 Katyusha rockets, according to a statement published by the group. But it is just one of many escalations in the tit-for-tat conflict.
Here are five of the most significant escalatory attacks since the war began:
1) Israel assassinates Hamas deputy leader Saleh Al Arouri in Beirut
On January 2, Israel assassinated Hamas deputy political leader Saleh Al Arouri in a strike in Beirut's southern suburbs. The top official was killed alongside six others in a drone strike on one of the group's offices in the first attack on the Lebanese capital since October 8.
It marked a major escalation in a conflict that had been contained in the border areas until then. Many Hamas officials are based in Lebanon, but Mr Al Arouri was the most senior.
His killing came only days before Israel assassinated Wissam Tawil, a top commander in Hezbollah's elite Radwan force. At the time, he was the most senior Hezbollah official killed since the war started.
2) Iran and allies respond to attack on Damascus consulate
Iran fired a barrage of more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel in April, that came after Tehran had vowed to retaliate for an Israeli strike on its Damascus embassy compound on April 1 that killed two senior Iranian commanders and other members of its elite force.
Hezbollah announced it had fired rockets at Israeli positions in the occupied Golan Heights at about the same time, as well as a second barrage hours later.
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah had pledged that Iran will retaliate against Israel, describing its attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus as a “turning point”.
3) Hezbollah launches 215 rockets after commander killed
Hezbollah launched a major barrage of rockets on Israel in June in response to the assassination of a senior commander from the Lebanese armed group overnight. Israel's military reported about 215 projectiles had been fired into the country from Lebanon, while Hezbollah said it had launched dozens of rockets at various targets.
Hezbollah named its commander killed in the Israeli strike as Sami Abdallah – also known as Abu Taleb. He was assassinated in the village of Jouaiya, about 15km from the Israeli border, and was a senior commander in south Lebanon.
4) Israel assassinates top Hezbollah commander
In July, Israel assassinated Hezbollah's top military commander Fouad Shukr in a strike on Beirut's suburbs, only the second time the Lebanese capital has been targeted since October. Multiple civilians were also killed.
Mr Shukr is the most senior Hezbollah commander to be killed since Mustafa Badreddine was assassinated in Syria in 2016.
Israel claimed Mr Shukr ordered the strike on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 children days before, and described the strike on Beirut as revenge for that attack. Hezbollah has denied any responsibility for that explosion.
5) Hezbollah launches largest attacks yet on Israel
Hezbollah launched more than 300 rockets and drones against Israel on Sunday in what it called the first retaliation for the killing of Mr Shukr. The attacks were preceded by pre-emptive Israeli strikes and then targeted responses.
Hezbollah said it targeted 11 Israeli military sites with more than 320 Katyusha rockets, with most of its projectiles launched against military bases in the Galilee region of northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights.
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Griselda
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ARGENTINA SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Franco Armani, Agustin Marchesin, Esteban Andrada
Defenders: Juan Foyth, Nicolas Otamendi, German Pezzella, Nicolas Tagliafico, Ramiro Funes Mori, Renzo Saravia, Marcos Acuna, Milton Casco
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes, Guido Rodriguez, Giovani Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios, Roberto Pereyra, Rodrigo De Paul, Angel Di Maria
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Lautaro Martinez, Paulo Dybala, Matias Suarez
SPECS
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PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Kamindu Mendis bio
Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis
Born: September 30, 1998
Age: 20 years and 26 days
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team
Batting style: Left-hander
Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Boulder shooting victims
• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
• Eric Talley, 51
• Kevin Mahoney, 61
• Lynn Murray, 62
• Jody Waters, 65
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
The biog
Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates
Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.
Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.
Favourite quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.
Favourite Movie: Mona Lisa Smile
Favourite Author: Kahlil Gibran
Favourite Artist: Meryl Streep
Other IPL batting records
Most sixes: 292 – Chris Gayle
Most fours: 491 – Gautam Gambhir
Highest individual score: 175 not out – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Highest strike-rate: 177.29 – Andre Russell
Highest strike-rate in an innings: 422.22 – Chris Morris (for Delhi Daredevils against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017)
Highest average: 52.16 – Vijay Shankar
Most centuries: 6 – Chris Gayle
Most fifties: 36 – Gautam Gambhir
Fastest hundred (balls faced): 30 – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Fastest fifty (balls faced): 14 – Lokesh Rahul (for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Daredevils in 2018)
