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In a single moment in Gaza on Sunday, an Israeli air strike killed Ibrahim Abu Mahadi's six sons. The man who enjoyed the respect of his neighbours in Deir Al Balah says he now feels like the most broken man in the world.
When an Israeli warplane bombed a car near Deir Al Balah that day, there were seven people inside – six of them were Mr Abu Mahadi's sons. The eldest was 33. The youngest was 16.
“With the loss of my six sons, I lost the most precious part of my life,” Mr Abu Mahadi told The National. “They were my support, my joy, my life. Every detail of my existence was tied to them.
“When the news came that they had all been martyred at once, I felt my heart would stop. It was a blow no words can describe."
The father, who took pride in his sons, asked to lead their funeral prayers. “Never in my life did I imagine that I would lead the prayer over my own children,” he said. “But I did. And then we buried them together, side by side, in one grave. My sons: Ahmad, Mahmoud, Mohammad, Mustafa, Zaki and Abdullah.”
The Israeli army said on Sunday that it had attacked a command centre belonging to the Palestinian group Hamas in the Deir Al Balah area of the Gaza Strip, claiming that a large number of its operatives were working in the area, without mentioning the car.
Israel said Hamas "planned to carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians" and the country's troops from a compound in central Gaza. They added that steps were taken to minimise harm to civilians, including the use of precision weaponry and aerial surveillance in the attack.
“My sons were civilians, killed in cold blood while in their car. No weapons, no threat – just on their way to run family errands. Yet the Israeli army executed them as if their lives meant nothing,” Mr Abu Mahadi said.
His neighbour, Atta Hussein, 31, told The National that the sons were “some of the kindest, most noble people we knew. Always ready to help, always quick to offer a hand to anyone in need.”
“They were always together – whether visiting family or walking the neighbourhood – known for their good manners and elegance,” he added.
The boys now number among the more than 50,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza since the war began on October 7, 2023, health authorities in the enclave said.
The US, Egypt and Qatar brokered a Gaza ceasefire that came into effect on January 19. The first phase expired on March 1 without any progress on negotiating the next phase, but Gaza remained relatively quiet until Israel resumed air strikes last month and then launched ground operations.
Both Israel and the US insist that hostilities have restarted because Hamas is refusing to free its remaining hostages from among the 240 taken on October 7, 2023.
However, the agreement reached in January includes a second phase of negotiations for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire, to take place alongside the release of remaining hostages in exchange for more Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Those talks were due to begin in early February, but they never did, as Israel proposed instead an extension of the first phase.
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
The%20specs
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About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
