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Israel has begun a ground invasion of Lebanon. The Israeli military on Tuesday said it launched an offensive against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X that forces had begun to attack Hezbollah infrastructure. The offensive is taking place “in a number of villages near the border from which an immediate and real threat to Israeli towns on the northern border emanates”, he added.
The UAE addressed the UN General Assembly on Monday, with Sheikh Shakhbout bin Nahyan, Minister of State, calling on the warring parties in Sudan to engage in peace talks.
Sheikh Shakhbout also called for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza and said “we regret to see the war spread to Lebanon”.
And the GCC has condemned the attack on the residence of the UAE ambassador in Sudan. Secretary General Jasem Albudaiwi expressed his “strong condemnation of this attack and the GCC’s steadfast and permanent rejection of all forms of violence”.
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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
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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THE%20SPECS
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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