Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Iran-backed militias in Iraq continued to issue threats to attack the US on Sunday, repeating their insistence that American forces should leave Iraq.
Kataib Sayyid Al Shuhada was the latest faction to issue the warning, speaking to Iraq’s Shafaq news agency.
“The presence of American forces in Iraq – which are occupying forces – is categorically rejected,” the group’s spokesman told the news outlet. He said Kataib Sayyid Al Shuhada was “working to remove those forces through factional operations.”
The militia joined a coalition of mostly Iran-backed Iraqi groups formed to fight ISIS in 2014, the Popular Mobilisation Forces, which is part of the official Iraqi Security Forces.
Attacks on US forces in Iraq are currently rare, after a wave of nearly 200 attacks following the Israel-Gaza war.
The current pause is due to Iraqi government talks with the US to agree on a timeline for withdrawing forces. If the talks fail to reach an agreement, further attacks are widely expected following several warnings by the militias.
Kataib Sayyid Al Shuhada – one of the oldest Iran-backed factions in Iraq, formed in the early 1990s as a militia opposed to the Saddam Hussein regime – has joined a parallel PMF organisation.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq formed after the eruption of the Israel-Gaza war, acting as an umbrella organisation for claiming attacks in support of Hamas.
It includes Kataib Hezbollah, among the most violent and well-armed of Iran’s proxies in Iraq, which fought the US occupation.
The US killed the group’s leader, Jamal Jaafar Al Ibrahim, who went by the pseudonym Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, in a drone strike near Baghdad airport in 2020, alongside senior Iranian general Qassem Suleimani.
Since that strike, which followed a period of rising clashes between the PMF and coalition forces, Iran-backed groups have pressed the Iraqi government to expel US forces, with little success.
Attacks on Israel
Problems encountered include objections from Sunni and Kurdish MPs, and concurrent challenges faced by Iraq, including sharp political factionalism that has paralysed decision making for extended periods.
Islamic Resistance in Iraq and its affiliates have been in the spotlight since late January when they claimed a drone attack on a US outpost in Jordan, killing three soldiers.
The US retaliated with air strikes, hitting militia outposts across the country and killing scores of the fighters. The Jordan attack, which struck the Tower 22 outpost, was an unprecedented escalation by the groups on US forces stationed outside Iraq.
That month, the spokesman for Kataib Hezbollah boasted of possessing an arsenal of long-range missiles and drones, including cruise missiles, which were later used in strikes against Israel.
The threat comes amid long-term, high-level talks between Baghdad and Washington “for a gradual reduction leading to the end of the [coalition’s] mission”, originally to train Iraqi forces in their fight against ISIS, starting in late 2014.
The mission, which involves soldiers from a number of Nato countries, largely depends on the US for the backbone of troops, with about 2,500 still in Iraq.
ISIS can barely muster more than five to 10 attacks across Iraq per month, mostly using light weapons in remote areas, in stark contrast to its peak, when it controlled one third of Iraq and Syria, and carried out hundreds of attacks a week.
But the coalition training mission has been challenged by PMF attacks on US forces, which have surged since the Israel-Gaza war started on October 7.
Hamas is an ally of the PMF and receives arms and funding from Iran. Hundreds of drone and rocket attacks on US forces have disrupted the already slimmed-down counter-ISIS mission.
The militia warning comes amid growing concerns that the Israel-Gaza war will spread, beyond additional fronts in Lebanon and Syria, where almost daily exchanges of fire and air strikes are taking place.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba, another militia within the Islamic Resistance, said it would retaliate if Israeli jets strike its positions in Iraq. Israel has conducted hundreds of air strikes on Iran-linked weapons and arms smuggling in Syria since 2013.
The conflict escalated sharply on April 1 when Israeli jets bombed the Iranian embassy complex in Damascus, killing two senior Iranian generals and five other officers. Iran retaliated on April 13, firing hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones towards Israel, but causing little damage.
The specs
Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder
Power: 70bhp
Torque: 66Nm
Transmission: four-speed manual
Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000
On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
The Case For Trump
By Victor Davis Hanson
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
box
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
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Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification
Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.
Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards
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MORE ON THE US DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES
RESULTS
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner: AF Senad, Nathan Crosse (jockey), Kareem Ramadan (trainer)
2.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Ashjaan, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.
3pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Amirah, Conner Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Jap Al Yaasoob, Szczepan Mazur, Irfan Ellahi.
4pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Cup Prestige Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Jawaal, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri.
4.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Manhunter, Ryan Curatolo, Mujeeb Rahman.
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Under 19 World Cup
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
ALL THE RESULTS
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.
Catch 74kg
Omar Hussein (JOR) bt Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) by decision.
Strawweight (Female)
Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.
Lightweight
Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR) no contest.
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) by KO round 1.
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The distance learning plan
Spring break will be from March 8 - 19
Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm
Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19
Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning
Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Kamindu Mendis bio
Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis
Born: September 30, 1998
Age: 20 years and 26 days
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team
Batting style: Left-hander
Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)
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