Iran says no plans to increase missile range, rejects talks with Trump

Iran has no plans to extend the range of its missiles because their 2,000-kilometre reach is enough to protect the country, the Revolutionary Guards commander said on Tuesday, amid mounting US pressure over Tehran's missile programme.

Iran's government again ruled out negotiations with US President Donald Trump over Tehran's military capabilities and regional influence, saying that such talks would be against the values of the country.

Last month, Mr Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 accord between Iran and world powers that curbed Tehran's nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief.

He said the deal was deeply flawed because it had not curbed Iran's ballistic-missile programme or reined in its support for proxies in conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, and said Washington would reimpose tough sanctions on Tehran.

"We have the scientific ability to increase our missile range, but it is not our current policy since most of the enemies' strategic targets are already within this 2,000km range. This range is enough to protect the Islamic Republic," Maj Gen Mohammad Ali Jafari was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

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Iran expands nuclear programme as Netanyahu meets Macron

Iran tells UN it will boost nuclear enrichment capacity

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Maj Gen Jafari said on Tuesday previous negotiations with the United States about Iran's nuclear programme were "an exception", and called Iranian politicians and activists who have favoured fresh talks with Mr Trump as "traitors and anti-revolutionaries".

On Saturday, more than 100 activists associated with the moderate and reformist camps in Iranian politics welcomed Mr Trump's deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un envisaging a complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

In a statement published by Iranian media, the activists urged Tehran to start direct negotiations with Washington "with no preconditions" to resolve decades of enmity between the two countries dating to Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Maj Gen Jafari rejected their call. "The North Korean leader was a revolutionary, but a communist, not an Islamic one. That is why he surrendered, but we will not do the same," he was quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency as saying.

Iranian government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht echoed Maj Gen Jafari's remarks. "There are no grounds or logic to talk to such a person [Trump]. Public opinion would not welcome that either," Mr Nobakht was quoted as saying by ISNA news agency.

Maj Gen Jafari said previously that the range of Iran's ballistic missiles was based on limits set by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who commands the armed forces.

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Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

1921

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21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Yuval Noah Harari, Jonathan Cape

BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES

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Types of bank fraud

1) 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.

2) 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.

3) 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.

4) SIM swap

Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.

5) 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.

6) 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.

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Pools

A – Dubai College, Deira International School, Al Ain Amblers, Warriors
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Recent winners

2018 – Dubai College
2017 – British School Al Khubairat
2016 – Dubai English Speaking School
2015 – Al Ain Amblers
2014 – Dubai College

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

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