Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Hezbollah confirmed the death of its leader Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday, hours after the Israeli military announced he had been killed in a strike targeted at the central headquarters of the Lebanese militant group in Beirut on Friday.
In a statement, the group vowed to continue its battle against Israel “in support of Gaza and Palestine, and in defence of Lebanon”.
Earlier, the Israeli army said: “Yesterday, September 27, 2024, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation and one of its founders, was eliminated by the IDF.” Its statement, added that the attack also killed Ali Karaki, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, and another Hezbollah commander.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps deputy commander for operations Brig Gen Abbas Nilforooshan was also killed in Friday's strike on Beirut, Iranian media reported.
The Israeli army said its fighter jets conducted a targeted strike on the central headquarters of Hezbollah “which was located underground embedded under a residential building” in Dahieh. Six buildings were almost entirely destroyed in the attack, leaving huge craters behind.
At least six people were killed and 91 wounded in the attack in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said, but the death toll is likely to rise significantly as rescue teams comb through the rubble.
“The strike was conducted while Hezbollah’s senior chain of command were operating from the headquarters and advancing terrorist activities against the citizens of the State of Israel,” the Israeli army said in the statement.
The death of Hezbollah's leader marks a significant Israeli blow to the group and to the Iran-backed “Axis of Resistance.” Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that all the resistance forces in the region stand by Hezbollah and support it. He called on all Muslims to support the people of Lebanon in confronting Israel.
“The Zionist criminals must know that they are too small to cause significant harm to the strong structure of the Lebanese Hezbollah,” he said shortly after the Israeli announcement.
The Iranian foreign ministry said Hezbollah would carry on despite the death of its leader. “The glorious path of the leader of the resistance, Hassan Nasrallah, will continue and his sacred goal will be realised in the liberation of Quds [Jerusalem], God willing,” the ministry's spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a post on social media platform X.
Israel launches wave of strikes on Hezbollah targets – in pictures
Thousands of people have fled the area of the attack, congregating in squares, parks and on pavements in downtown Beirut and seaside areas.
Mr Nasrallah became the leader of Hezbollah following the assassination of his mentor Sheikh Abbas Al Musawi by Israel in 1992, 10 years after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon that sparked the group's inception. Hezbollah has since become the strongest political power in Lebanon, arguably better armed than the country's own forces, and a foe of the Israeli military in the south, notably during the month-long 2006 war. Israel tried and failed to assassinate Mr Nasrallah in 2006, destroying his offices and home.
He had become an increasingly elusive figure, despite appearing regularly on television to give briefings. He had not been spotted in public for years.
Hezbollah began low-intensity attacks across the border a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas staged an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 251, taking them into Gaza.
Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip daily in the year since, killing more than 41,500 people and displacing millions multiple times. Hezbollah has said it will not end its assaults over the border – which have been reaching further into Israeli territory – until Israel stops its attacks on Gaza.
It has in the past days shifted the focus of its operation from Gaza to Lebanon, where heavy bombing has killed more than 1,000 people and sparked an exodus of around 118,000. The bombing followed an Israeli operation which blew up thousands of walkie talkies and radios owned by the group, killing 42 and injuring thousands.
According to figures released by the Lebanese Health Ministry on Saturday, between September 16 and 27, Israeli strikes killed 1,030 people, including 56 women and 87 children. More than 6,300 people have been injured.
In a statement, Hamas condemned the Israeli attacks on residential buildings in the southern Beirut suburb and the killing of Mr Nasrallah. “We consider this a cowardly terrorist act, a massacre and a heinous crime that proves once again the bloodiness and brutality of this [Israeli] occupation.”
Yemen's Houthis said Mr Nasrallah's death would strengthen their determination to confront “the Israeli enemy”.
The Israeli army's chief of staff said it had not emptied its “toolbox” with his killing. “This is not the end of our toolbox. The message is simple, anyone who threatens the citizens of Israel – we will know how to reach them,” Herzi Halevi said in a statement.
US President Joe Biden called Israel's killing of Nasrallah "a measure of justice for his many victims", including Americans, Israelis and Lebanese people, "over a four-decade reign of terror".
In his statement, Mr Biden called for the region to "de-escalate" through diplomatic resolutions the US and other allies are pushing.
Strikes continued into Saturday morning on dozens of Hezbollah targets in the area of Bekaa in eastern Lebanon and across the south, its military said, adding it had targeted launchers aimed at Israeli civilians, weapons storage and Hezbollah's infrastructure.
The Israeli military said it carried out another round of strikes on Dahieh on Saturday afternoon.
Strikes hit two storage areas near Beirut airport on Saturday evening, a Lebanese security source told The National. "Strikes, presumably carried out by Israel, hit two storage areas that were reportedly used to store ceramics and steel," said the source. "They are located near the airport," added the source.
Hezbollah had launched a surface-to-surface missile from Lebanese territory into central Israel, which fell in an open area, the Israeli military said, adding it had called up three reserve battalions for operational activities and to strengthen the defence in the central command.
Hezbollah on Saturday claimed a rocket attack on northern Israel, the first after heavy Israeli strikes pounded Beirut's southern suburbs overnight. Its fighters targeted Kibbutz Kabri in northern Israel “with a salvo of Fadi-1 rockets”, the group said in a statement.
Israel has approved battle plans for its campaign on the northern border with Lebanon, its military chief said. Lt Gen Herzi Halevi did not give details about the plans but said in a statement that “challenging days await us”. He added that the military is at “peak readiness” and that Israeli is “determined to continue destroying the Hezbollah terrorist organisation and to keep fighting”.
The escalation has sharply increased fears the conflict could spiral out of control, potentially drawing in Iran, Hezbollah's principal backer, as well as the US.
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
RESULTS
Lightweight (female)
Sara El Bakkali bt Anisha Kadka
Bantamweight
Mohammed Adil Al Debi bt Moaz Abdelgawad
Welterweight
Amir Boureslan bt Mahmoud Zanouny
Featherweight
Mohammed Al Katheeri bt Abrorbek Madaminbekov
Super featherweight
Ibrahem Bilal bt Emad Arafa
Middleweight
Ahmed Abdolaziz bt Imad Essassi
Bantamweight (female)
Ilham Bourakkadi bt Milena Martinou
Welterweight
Mohamed Mardi bt Noureddine El Agouti
Middleweight
Nabil Ouach bt Ymad Atrous
Welterweight
Nouredine Samir bt Marlon Ribeiro
Super welterweight
Brad Stanton bt Mohamed El Boukhari
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
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
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.”
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
Abu Dhabi card
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 2,400m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 2,200m
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
The National selections:
5pm: Valcartier
5.30pm: AF Taraha
6pm: Dhafra
6.30pm: Maqam
7pm: AF Mekhbat
7.30pm: Ezz Al Rawasi
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
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.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
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if you go
The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/
