• Members of the Palestinian security forces stand guard outside the Legislative Council building in the occupied-West Bank town of Ramallah. AFP
    Members of the Palestinian security forces stand guard outside the Legislative Council building in the occupied-West Bank town of Ramallah. AFP
  • Hanna Nasir, head of the Palestinian Central Election Commission, gives a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah. AFP
    Hanna Nasir, head of the Palestinian Central Election Commission, gives a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah. AFP
  • Palestinian medical staff in the newly opened Red Crescent Hospital in the occupied-West Bank city of Nablus. AFP
    Palestinian medical staff in the newly opened Red Crescent Hospital in the occupied-West Bank city of Nablus. AFP
  • Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh talks to medical staff after the opening of Al-Hilal Hospital in the west bank city of Nablus. EPA
    Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh talks to medical staff after the opening of Al-Hilal Hospital in the west bank city of Nablus. EPA
  • Mohammed Mohsen works in his antiques shop in central Baghdad, Iraq. AP Photo
    Mohammed Mohsen works in his antiques shop in central Baghdad, Iraq. AP Photo
  • General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division, during the second day of a military drill in an unknown location in central Iran. EPA
    General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division, during the second day of a military drill in an unknown location in central Iran. EPA
  • Missiles launch during the second day of military drill in an unknown location, central Iran. EPA
    Missiles launch during the second day of military drill in an unknown location, central Iran. EPA
  • Medical staff walk inside a newly opened Hospital in the west bank city of Nablus. EPA
    Medical staff walk inside a newly opened Hospital in the west bank city of Nablus. EPA
  • Environmentalists remove the carcass of a whale off the northern waters of Kuwait City. AFP
    Environmentalists remove the carcass of a whale off the northern waters of Kuwait City. AFP
  • A boy walks past Lebanese police patrol cars in Souk Sabra in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut. AFP
    A boy walks past Lebanese police patrol cars in Souk Sabra in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut. AFP
  • Kurdish women take part in a cycling marathon in the northeastern Syrian town of Amuda in Hasakeh province. AFP
    Kurdish women take part in a cycling marathon in the northeastern Syrian town of Amuda in Hasakeh province. AFP
  • A Sudanese Sufi Muslim performs a dance at a gathering outside the Hamad al-Nile shrine in Omdurman, the capital Khartoum's twin city. AFP
    A Sudanese Sufi Muslim performs a dance at a gathering outside the Hamad al-Nile shrine in Omdurman, the capital Khartoum's twin city. AFP
  • A Yemeni pupil goes to school, in Sanaa. EPA
    A Yemeni pupil goes to school, in Sanaa. EPA

The Middle East framed - regional photography for January 17, 2021


  • English
  • Arabic

More galleries from The National:

Seven wonders of Expo 2020 Dubai to watch as anticipation builds for global event

Anantara's Sir Bani Yas Island resorts to reopen with all-inclusive deals

Neom: everything you need to know about Saudi Arabia's $500 billion ‘megacity of the future’

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

How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed

Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.

Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.

The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.

One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.

That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.

How does ToTok work?

The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store

To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.

The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.

Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.

 

World ranking (at month’s end)
Jan - 257
Feb - 198
Mar - 159
Apr - 161
May - 159
Jun – 162
Currently: 88

Year-end rank since turning pro
2016 - 279
2015 - 185
2014 - 143
2013 - 63
2012 - 384
2011 - 883

CHELSEA'S NEXT FIVE GAMES

Mar 10: Norwich(A)

Mar 13: Newcastle(H)

Mar 16: Lille(A)

Mar 19: Middlesbrough(A)

Apr 2: Brentford(H)

MATCH INFO

Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)

Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm

Quick facts on cancer
  • Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases 
  •  About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime 
  • By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million 
  • 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries 
  • This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030 
  • At least one third of common cancers are preventable 
  • Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers 
  • Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
    strategies 
  • The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion

   

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zakat definitions

Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.

Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.

Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.

Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.

Engine: 5.6-litre V8

Transmission: seven-speed automatic

Power: 400hp

Torque: 560Nm

Price: Dh234,000 - Dh329,000

On sale: now

Ain Dubai in numbers

126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure

1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch

16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.

9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.

5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place

192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.

European arms

Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons.  Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.

If you go

The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.

The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.