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Four of the world's five biggest shipping companies have suspended their operations in the Red Sea after missile attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels, risking disruption to trade.
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world's largest shipping group, and French company CMA CGM took the step following similar decisions taken by shipping major Maersk and German company Hapag-Lloyd.
The move comes after missiles launched from areas controlled by the Houthis were aimed at a cargo ship carrying jet fuel last week, escalating a crisis started by the Israel-Gaza war.
The Houthis said they will continue to attack ships they believe to be heading to Israel as a conflict in Gaza that has killed more than 18,400 Palestinians continues.
MSC said its container ship Palatium III was "attacked" on Friday while transiting the Red Sea, with the vessel suffering "limited fire damage". It has now been taken out of service. "Due to this incident and to protect the lives and safety of our seafarers, until the Red Sea passage is safe, MSC ships will not transit the Suez Canal Eastbound and Westbound. Already now, some services will be rerouted to go via the Cape of Good Hope instead," the company said. "This disruption will impact the sailing schedules by several days of vessels booked for Suez transit."
AP Moeller Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd also aid their vessels had come under Houthi fire. Maersk made the decision following a “near-miss incident involving Maersk Gibraltar”, which was en route from Oman to Saudi Arabia.
Copenhagen-based Maersk said “the recent attacks on commercial vessels in the area are alarming and pose a significant threat to the safety and security of seafarers”.
“Following the near-miss incident involving Maersk Gibraltar yesterday and yet another attack on a container vessel today, we have instructed all Maersk vessels in the area bound to pass through the Bab Al Mandeb to pause their journey until further notice.”
Maersk's suspension is understood to be indefinite. Germany's Hapag-Lloyd, meanwhile, made a similar statement, but said it was pausing its operations until December 18.
“Hapag-Lloyd is interrupting all container ship traffic across the Red Sea until Monday,” the Hamburg-based company said.
Hapag-Lloyd said “there has been an attack on one of our ships”, which was on its way to Singapore from the Greek port of Piraeus.
No casualties have been reported as a result on the attacks on the companies' ships, both of which continued their journeys.
“Commercial traffic transit in the Red Sea is more dangerous now than it was before because of these Houthi attacks on commercial shipping,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
The suspensions – it is unclear whether other shipping companies will follow suit – will add to an already highly tense and fraught situation in the area.
The Bab Al Mandeb stretches 32km from the southern end of the Red Sea to the western end of the Gulf of Aden, and is a critical route, especially for oil tankers, between the Arabian Gulf, Asia, Europe and North America, through the Suez Canal.
More than 17,000 ships pass through the strait annually – meaning any disruption there would have a significant impact on global trade, according to Coalition Task Force Sentinel, the operational arm of the Bahrain-based International Maritime Security Construct.
The Suez Canal also accounts for 30 per cent of all ship traffic, meaning any disruption within these waterways will have a domino effect that could have dire consequences.
Most petroleum and natural gas exports from the Arabian Gulf to Europe and North America pass through chokepoints such as the Suez Canal or the Sumed pipeline, and both the Bab Al Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz.
Total oil shipments through these routes accounted for about 12 per cent of total seaborne-traded oil in the first half of 2023, and shipments of liquefied natural gas comprised 8 per cent of global LNG trade, data from the US Energy Information Administration showed.
The Suez Canal and Sumed pipeline, meanwhile, are located in Egypt and connect the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea. Sumed transports crude north through Egypt and has a capacity of 2.5 million barrels per day, the EIA said.
Although oil flow trends through Bab Al Mandeb are similar to those of the Suez Canal, more oil exits the Red Sea than it enters through these chokepoints.
LNG shipments through Bab Al Mandeb have matched those in the Suez Canal over the last few years because the few LNG import terminals in the Red Sea have been used less, it said.
Aside from oil, food products, like palm oil and grains, and practically anything that is shipped pass through these routes, and any disturbance could significantly affect commodities markets and supplies.
Shipping costs have shot up. Israeli ship operators, in particular, have had to deal with costs that are as much as 250 per cent higher, with some insurers refusing to cover them, the Associated Press reported.
“This issue cannot be addressed by the global shipping industry alone, and we urge the international society to come together to find a swift resolution to bring the situation under control,” Maersk said.
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Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
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The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km
Price: from Dh547,600
On sale: now
The Lowdown
Kesari
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
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 Vines - In Miracle Land
Two stars
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Dir: Ron Howard
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson
3/5
RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
Dubai World Cup Carnival Thursday race card
6.30pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes Group Three US$200,000 (Turf) 2,000m
7.05pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m
7.40pm: UAE Oaks Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
8.15pm: Zabeel Mile Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,600m
8.50pm: Meydan Sprint Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,000m
9.25pm: Handicap $135,000 (D) 1,400m
10pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
RESULTS
Dubai Kahayla Classic – Group 1 (PA) $750,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
Winner: Deryan, Ioritz Mendizabal (jockey), Didier Guillemin (trainer).
Godolphin Mile – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
Dubai Gold Cup – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (Turf) 3,200m
Winner: Subjectivist, Joe Fanning, Mark Johnston
Al Quoz Sprint – Group 1 (TB) $1million (T) 1,200m
Winner: Extravagant Kid, Ryan Moore, Brendan Walsh
UAE Derby – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Rebel’s Romance, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
Dubai Golden Shaheen – Group 1 (TB) $1.5million (D) 1,200m
Winner: Zenden, Antonio Fresu, Carlos David
Dubai Turf – Group 1 (TB) $4million (T) 1,800m
Winner: Lord North, Frankie Dettori, John Gosden
Dubai Sheema Classic – Group 1 (TB) $5million (T) 2,410m
Winner: Mishriff, John Egan, John Gosden
Jawab Iteiqal
Director: Mohamed Sammy
Starring: Mohamed Ramadan, Ayad Nasaar, Mohamed Adel and Sabry Fawaz
2 stars
As it stands in Pool A
1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14
2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11
3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5
Remaining fixtures
Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am
Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm
Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
RESULTS
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