• An Israeli Iron Dome defence system missile intercepts a rocket fired from Gaza over the city of Ashdod, southern Israel. Abir Sultan / EPA
    An Israeli Iron Dome defence system missile intercepts a rocket fired from Gaza over the city of Ashdod, southern Israel. Abir Sultan / EPA
  • View of damages following the 6.9 quake that hit the area, in San Marcos department, 240km from Guatemala City. A strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake rocked parts of southern Mexico and Guatemala on Monday, killing at least two people and injuring more than 40 others. Johan Ordonez / AFP
    View of damages following the 6.9 quake that hit the area, in San Marcos department, 240km from Guatemala City. A strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake rocked parts of southern Mexico and Guatemala on Monday, killing at least two people and injuring more than 40 others. Johan Ordonez / AFP
  • A ball of fire is seen following an Israel air raid on Gaza International Airport in Rafah, southern Gaza. Israeli air strikes on Gaza killed eight Palestinian militants, medics said after recovering several bodies from a collapsed tunnel in Rafah. Said Khatib / AFP
    A ball of fire is seen following an Israel air raid on Gaza International Airport in Rafah, southern Gaza. Israeli air strikes on Gaza killed eight Palestinian militants, medics said after recovering several bodies from a collapsed tunnel in Rafah. Said Khatib / AFP
  • Youths relax sitting on the sill of a window during the second day of the San Fermin Running Of The Bulls festival in Pamplona, Spain. Christopher Furlong / Getty
    Youths relax sitting on the sill of a window during the second day of the San Fermin Running Of The Bulls festival in Pamplona, Spain. Christopher Furlong / Getty
  • Supporters of the Kenyan Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) led by former prime minister Raila Odinga, also the leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), raise their hands as they react to Odinga’s speech during the Saba Saba (or Seven-Seven in Swahili language) rally held in central Nairobi, Kenya, 07 July 2014. Dai Kurokawa / EPA
    Supporters of the Kenyan Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) led by former prime minister Raila Odinga, also the leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), raise their hands as they react to Odinga’s speech during the Saba Saba (or Seven-Seven in Swahili language) rally held in central Nairobi, Kenya, 07 July 2014. Dai Kurokawa / EPA
  • View of houses damaged by an earthquake, in San Marcos, 240km of Guatemala City. A strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake rocked parts of southern Mexico and Guatemala. Johan Ordonez / AFP
    View of houses damaged by an earthquake, in San Marcos, 240km of Guatemala City. A strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake rocked parts of southern Mexico and Guatemala. Johan Ordonez / AFP
  • Members of the Syrian Civil Defence rescue a man under the rubble following a reported barrel-bomb attack by Syrian government forces in the Qadi Askar neighbourhood in Aleppo. Ahmed Deeb / AFP
    Members of the Syrian Civil Defence rescue a man under the rubble following a reported barrel-bomb attack by Syrian government forces in the Qadi Askar neighbourhood in Aleppo. Ahmed Deeb / AFP
  • A man is gored by a bull during the traditional running of bulls “Bous à la mar” (Bull in the sea) at Denia’s harbour, near Alicante. Jose Jordan / AFP
    A man is gored by a bull during the traditional running of bulls “Bous à la mar” (Bull in the sea) at Denia’s harbour, near Alicante. Jose Jordan / AFP
  • Palestinians try to salvage what they can of their belongings from the rubble of a house destroyed by an overnight Israeli air raid in Gaza City. Khalil Hamra / AP
    Palestinians try to salvage what they can of their belongings from the rubble of a house destroyed by an overnight Israeli air raid in Gaza City. Khalil Hamra / AP
  • Runners enter the bullring during the second running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona. Two runners were hospitalised following a run that lasted two minutes and twenty seconds, according to local media. Vincent West / Reuters
    Runners enter the bullring during the second running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona. Two runners were hospitalised following a run that lasted two minutes and twenty seconds, according to local media. Vincent West / Reuters
  • In this photo taken with a fisheye lens, a massive storm cloud packing high winds, hail and heavy rains sweeps over downtown Denver as lightning strikes on the horizon on Monday. David Zalubowski / AP
    In this photo taken with a fisheye lens, a massive storm cloud packing high winds, hail and heavy rains sweeps over downtown Denver as lightning strikes on the horizon on Monday. David Zalubowski / AP

Best photography from around the world, July 8


  • English
  • Arabic

The National View’s photo editors pick the best images of the day from around the world

MATCH INFO

Watford 1 (Deulofeu 80' p)

Chelsea 2 (Abraham 5', Pulisic 55')

THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

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

How to get there

Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
 

The biog

Job: Fitness entrepreneur, body-builder and trainer

Favourite superhero: Batman

Favourite quote: We must become the change we want to see, by Mahatma Gandhi.

Favourite car: Lamborghini

Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

The five pillars of Islam
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What is Diwali?

The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.

According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.

In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.  

 

TRAP

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Rating: 3/5

Winners

Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)

Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)

Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)

Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)

Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)

Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)

Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)

Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.