Israeli residents inspect the damage caused by a rocket fired from Lebanon into the Gesher Haziv kibbutz in northern Israel.
Israeli residents inspect the damage caused by a rocket fired from Lebanon into the Gesher Haziv kibbutz in northern Israel.

Lebanese fire rockets at Israel



JERUSALEM // A rare rocket barrage from Lebanon yesterday deepened Israeli concern that Al Qaeda affiliates were opening a new front for confrontation with Israel.

The Israeli military said several rockets were fired from southern Lebanon, but one was intercepted by an anti-missile shield and two or three others fell outside Israeli territory. However, Israeli security sources said at least five rockets hit Israel.

Israel's Magen David Adom ambulance service said there were no casualties.

Southern Lebanon is a stronghold of Hizbollah, the Lebanese Shiite group that fought a war against Israel in 2006. But Israel blamed the attack on a "global jihadi organisation", its term for Al Qaeda and its Islamist militant offshoots.

In Syria, Sunni militants are battling alongside rebels trying to remove the president, Bashar Al Assad, who is supported by Hizbollah fighters.

A strike on Israel by extremists would be a show of force just a day after opposition activists in Syria accused Assad's loyalists of using chemical weapons to kill hundreds of people in a rebel-held Damascus suburb. The Syrian army denied the allegations.

Israel believes militant groups in Egypt's lawless Sinai along Israel's southern border have been behind sporadic rocket attacks on its Red Sea resort of Eilat, where an Iron Dome battery shot down a rocket on August 13. On Monday, Islamist militants killed 25 Egyptian policemen in Sinai.

Israeli leaders have said they feared groups linked with Al Qaeda in Syria could eventually turn their sights on Israel and the occupied Golan Heights, or that Hizbollah might do so to deflect criticism from much of the Sunni world for its potent support for Assad's regime.

Yesterday's rocket strike "is directly connected to all of the events taking place in the Middle East", said Brig Gen Yoav Mordechai, the Israeli military's chief spokesman.

"Global jihad is looking for areas in which there is anarchy and chaos. We see them in Sinai, we find them in the Golan Heights, we find them in Lebanon, too," he said. "They exploit opportunities ... and sometimes they try to attack Israeli citizens."

The prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that "anyone who tries to attack us should know that we will hurt them".

Israel's military, however, signalled it would not retaliate for now for the launchings, which triggered warning sirens and sent residents in the north scrambling for shelter.

"The military is regarding this as a one-time incident. There is no change in regulations or orders," Brig Gen Mordechai was quoted as saying by Channel 2 television, looking to play down the attack, the first on northern Israel since May.

Israeli television showed photos of an Iron Dome interceptor blowing up an incoming rocket. The military said it was destroyed between the Israeli coastal towns of Acre and Nahariya.

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Teams

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shanwari, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.

Crops that could be introduced to the UAE

1: Quinoa 

2. Bathua 

3. Amaranth 

4. Pearl and finger millet 

5. Sorghum

Normcore explained

Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.

Rainbow

Kesha

(Kemosabe)

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Power: 400hp

Torque: 475Nm

Transmission: 9-speed automatic

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