Egypt went into full battle mode this weekend with the launch of “Operation Sinai 2018” — a massive security operation drawing on all wings of the armed services and the police force.
The comprehensive deployment is aimed at terror cells and criminal organisations not only in the restive peninsula but also in the Nile Valley and the Western Desert.
Armed forces spokesman Tamer El Refai issued the military's third communique on the operation Saturday afternoon with air, ground and naval units said to be targeting ISIL weapons and ammunition stores in the Sinai.
“Law enforcement, supported by special forces, border guards as well as police have carried out several simultaneous raids on towns in Central and Northern Sinai to chase runaway elements, eradicate them, and continue to demolish targets belonging to terrorists,” said Colonel El Refai.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi pledged in November to wipe out terror elements “within three months” after militants killed more than 300 people at a mosque in the village of Al Rawdah, in the troubled northern sector of the peninsula near Bir El Abd town.
Security officials said forces killed at least 20 militants in Bir El Abd on Saturday and blocked off the highway linking El Arish, the main town in northern Sinai, with Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah to the east.
Meanwhile, the navy increased patrols on the seafront from Rafah to El Arish to cut off terrorist supply lines and guard economic installations in the area, the armed forces spokesman said.
“I follow with pride the heroics of my sons from the armed forces and the police to purge the beloved land of Egypt from terrorists, the enemies of life,” Mr El Sisi declared on Friday as the operation was launched. The interior ministry at the same time raised the national state of alert to the maximum level.
Indicators that the nation was on a war footing emerged on Thursday as the health ministry ordered hospitals in the Suez Canal zone to double the number of doctors per shift in emergency wards and ensure the availability of all blood types for transfusion.
Before an internet blackout in North Sinai on Friday, residents of Bir El Abd and El Arish reported that authorities were blocking private vehicles from entering the Ahmed Hamdi tunnel under the Suez Canal.
School closures and multiple checkpoints reflect the challenge security forces face in securing an area infiltrated by ISIL. Success, the government hopes, would enthuse voters for the presidential election on March 26-28.
On Wednesday the National Elections Authority announced it was printing more than 60 million ballot papers — a signal of the government's determination to more than double voter turnout from the 24.5 million who participated in the 2014 election.
But Mr Sisi’s self-described "brute force" approach to stamping out militancy risks alienating civilians caught in the crossfire, critics say.
"Since 2013, the military policy of collective punishment and not caring one bit about the collateral damage caused in operations reached no success whatsoever," said Mohannad Sabry, an independent journalist and author of Sinai: Egypt's Linchpin, Gaza's Lifeline, Israel's Nightmare.
“Hundreds of civilians have been killed by military fire, including men, women, children and even infants, close to a dozen villages have been partially or fully destroyed by the military and hundreds of thousands of productive trees, farms owned by the locals have been destroyed,” Mr Sabry said.
Analysts with closer ties to the security establishment dismissed claims that the intensified war against ISIL was a response to western media reports that the Israeli air force has been bombing terror targets in the Sinai on behalf of Egypt’s military.
“Political commentators in Egypt and abroad have tried and continue to try to mar Egypt’s record of success by disseminating rumours,” said Said Okasha, a regional security expert at the Al Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.
“Rumours circulated by political and media figures in Israel and the US to the effect that Egypt had agreed to land swap projects [for the Palestinians] or that Cairo had given Israel permission to conduct military strikes against terrorist groups in Sinai are short on professionalism and shorter on accurate information.”
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Read more:
UN experts: ISIL militants still pose world threat
Pence promises Egypt full US backing in fight against militants
Egypt's Sisi to run for second term in March election
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STAR%20WARS%20JEDI%3A%20SURVIVOR
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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
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TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Sour%20Grapes
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
SPECS%3A%20Polestar%203
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Match info
Premier League
Manchester United 2 (Martial 30', Lingard 69')
Arsenal 2 (Mustafi 26', Rojo 68' OG)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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SPECS
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Trolls World Tour
Directed by: Walt Dohrn, David Smith
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake
Rating: 4 stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20Profile
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RESULTS
Light Flyweight (48kg): Alua Balkibekova (KAZ) beat Gulasal Sultonalieva (UZB) by points 4-1.
Flyweight (51kg): Nazym Kyzaibay (KAZ) beat Mary Kom (IND) 3-2.
Bantamweight (54kg): Dina Zholaman (KAZ) beat Sitora Shogdarova (UZB) 3-2.
Featherweight (57kg): Sitora Turdibekova (UZB) beat Vladislava Kukhta (KAZ) 5-0.
Lightweight (60kg): Rimma Volossenko (KAZ) beat Huswatun Hasanah (INA) KO round-1.
Light Welterweight (64kg): Milana Safronova (KAZ) beat Lalbuatsaihi (IND) 3-2.
Welterweight (69kg): Valentina Khalzova (KAZ) beat Navbakhor Khamidova (UZB) 5-0
Middleweight (75kg): Pooja Rani (IND) beat Mavluda Movlonova (UZB) 5-0.
Light Heavyweight (81kg): Farida Sholtay (KAZ) beat Ruzmetova Sokhiba (UZB) 5-0.
Heavyweight (81 kg): Lazzat Kungeibayeva (KAZ) beat Anupama (IND) 3-2.