Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Israel has warned supporters not to travel to Paris for Thursday's Uefa Nations League match against France with authorities fearing it could become a flashpoint following violence in Amsterdam surrounding a match involving an Israeli team last week.
Israel’s National Security Council on Sunday claimed pro-Palestinian groups were calling for further attacks on Israelis and Jews in multiple European cities “under the pretence of demonstrations and protests”.
A statement said: “In the past few days, there have been calls among pro-Palestinian groups to harm Israelis and Jews, under the pretence of demonstrations and protests, taking advantage of mass gatherings [sports and cultural events] to maximise the damage and the media coverage.
“In addition, preparations to harm Israelis have been identified in several European cities, including Brussels [Belgium], major cities in the UK, Amsterdam [Netherlands], and Paris.”
French President Emmanuel Marcon is expected to attend the match at Stade de France and a large police presence is expected both at the stadium and around Paris.
A right-wing Jewish group has nevertheless announced a rally ahead of the Nations League tie.
The Paris fixture will take place a week after clashes in Amsterdam before and after the Europa League match between Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dutch team Ajax last Wednesday.
Verified social media videos showed Maccabi fans chanting anti-Arab songs while Amsterdam police said supporters had burnt a Palestinian flag on the Dam central square, and vandalised a taxi the day before the game.
More footage emerged of Maccabi supporters chanting anti-Arab slogans on their way to the Johan Cruyff Arena on Thursday afternoon.
Following rising tensions in the run-up to the game, groups of men on scooters launched “hit-and-run” attacks on Maccabi supporters across the city.
Footage showed masked youths on scooters and e-bikes chasing down and beating victims – mostly in Maccabi colours – until about 4am.
Describing the France-Israel fixture as high risk, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said 4,000 gendarmes would be deployed around the Stade de France, on public transport and across the French capital.
Such a massive deployment was “highly unusual” for an international match, Nunez told French broadcaster BFMTV, adding that the national police force's elite unit would be tasked with protecting Israel's footballers.
“We will not tolerate any overspill or disturbances to public order,” he said.
Organisations wishing to attack Israel had been identified in a number of European cities, including Paris, the National Security Council warned, advising its nationals not to have recognisable Israeli or Jewish signs on display.
The match comes amid a tide of rising anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim abuse since the start of Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Macron's office on Sunday said the French president would attend the upcoming tie to “send a message of fraternity and solidarity after the intolerable acts of anti-Semitism that followed the match in Amsterdam this week”.
The scenes in Amsterdam last week sparked widespread international condemnation, with US President Joe Biden and European leaders denouncing the “anti-Semitic” violence against Jews.
The Palestinian foreign ministry reported “anti-Arab chanting”.
At least 63 people have been arrested in connection with last week's violence and more detentions are expected.
Israel’s ambassador to the Netherlands said that 2,000 Israelis were brought home on special flights from Amsterdam following the scenes of violence.
Right-wing Jewish movement Betar on Sunday said it would organise a protest against anti-Semitism ahead of the tie against France.
World Betar, a pro-Israel youth movement, was also planning to host Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on the sidelines of a gala on Wednesday in support of Israel organised by far-right individuals.
Several associations, unions and French leftist parties had denounced the “Israel is forever” event, and in particular Smotrich's planned appearance.
But police chief Nunez – who gave his approval for the gala to be held – said that Smotrich might not attend.
“I understand that in the end, he won't be there,” he said.
Betar is active worldwide and has links to the Israeli right.
Israeli authorities had warned fans against attending a Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball match in the Italian city of Bologna on Friday, which ended without incident.
Following the violence in Amsterdam, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the Mossad spy agency to draw up a plan to prevent unrest at events abroad.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Ways to control drones
Countries have been coming up with ways to restrict and monitor the use of non-commercial drones to keep them from trespassing on controlled areas such as airports.
"Drones vary in size and some can be as big as a small city car - so imagine the impact of one hitting an airplane. It's a huge risk, especially when commercial airliners are not designed to make or take sudden evasive manoeuvres like drones can" says Saj Ahmed, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research.
New measures have now been taken to monitor drone activity, Geo-fencing technology is one.
It's a method designed to prevent drones from drifting into banned areas. The technology uses GPS location signals to stop its machines flying close to airports and other restricted zones.
The European commission has recently announced a blueprint to make drone use in low-level airspace safe, secure and environmentally friendly. This process is called “U-Space” – it covers altitudes of up to 150 metres. It is also noteworthy that that UK Civil Aviation Authority recommends drones to be flown at no higher than 400ft. “U-Space” technology will be governed by a system similar to air traffic control management, which will be automated using tools like geo-fencing.
The UAE has drawn serious measures to ensure users register their devices under strict new laws. Authorities have urged that users must obtain approval in advance before flying the drones, non registered drone use in Dubai will result in a fine of up to twenty thousand dirhams under a new resolution approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Mr Ahmad suggest that "Hefty fines running into hundreds of thousands of dollars need to compensate for the cost of airport disruption and flight diversions to lengthy jail spells, confiscation of travel rights and use of drones for a lengthy period" must be enforced in order to reduce airport intrusion.
WHAT%20IS%20THE%20LICENSING%20PROCESS%20FOR%20VARA%3F
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INVESTMENT PLEDGES
Cartlow: $13.4m
Rabbitmart: $14m
Smileneo: $5.8m
Soum: $4m
imVentures: $100m
Plug and Play: $25m
The distance learning plan
Spring break will be from March 8 - 19
Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm
Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19
Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning
Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay
Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate
It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.
Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.
Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.
Fanney Khan
Producer: T-Series, Anil Kapoor Productions, ROMP, Prerna Arora
Director: Atul Manjrekar
Cast: Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Rajkummar Rao, Pihu Sand
Rating: 2/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 1
Kane (50')
Newcastle United 0
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Company%20profile
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It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
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
Company%20Profile
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Pakistanis%20at%20the%20ILT20%20
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Afro%20salons
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Company%20Profile
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