The Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out at his arch-foe Israel today, saying the Jewish state was "doomed" and accusing the United States of shielding it. Mr Ahmadinejad's tough talk came during a news conference in China, where he was visiting the World Expo two days after the UN Security Council slapped Tehran with fresh sanctions over its suspect nuclear programme. He accused the United States of being disingenuous, saying: "It is clear the United States is not against nuclear bombs because they have a Zionist regime with nuclear bombs in the region."
But he added: "They are trying to save the Zionist regime, but the Zionist regime will not survive. It is doomed." Israel - which has the Middle East's sole, if undeclared nuclear arsenal - regards Iran as its principal threat after repeated predictions by Mr Ahmadinejad of the Jewish state's demise. Yesterday the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the UN sanctions against Iran as a "positive step".
"The resolution makes clear to Iran that the leading powers of the world are opposed to its nuclear weapons programme," Mr Netanyahu said in a statement. "We hope that today's positive step will be followed by strong action on the part of individual countries, including those targeting Iran's energy sector." Israeli leaders have refused to rule out a resort to military action to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapons capability.
Iran insists that its nuclear programme is aimed solely at power generation and medical research and says that the international community should focus its attention on Israel, which, unlike Iran, is not a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. * AFP
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
Day 2, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Pakistan’s effort in the field had hints of shambles about it. The wheels were officially off when Wahab Riaz lost his run up and aborted the delivery four times in a row. He re-measured his run, jogged in for two practice goes. Then, when he was finally ready to go, he bailed out again. It was a total cringefest.
Stat of the day – 139.5 Yasir Shah has bowled 139.5 overs in three innings so far in this Test series. Judged by his returns, the workload has not withered him. He has 14 wickets so far, and became history’s first spinner to take five-wickets in an innings in five consecutive Tests. Not bad for someone whose fitness was in question before the series.
The verdict Stranger things have happened, but it is going to take something extraordinary for Pakistan to keep their undefeated record in Test series in the UAE in tact from this position. At least Shan Masood and Sami Aslam have made a positive start to the salvage effort.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 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 Book of Collateral Damage
Sinan Antoon
(Yale University Press)
GAC GS8 Specs
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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