BEIRUT // Tens of thousands of Lebanese Hizbollah supporters stood under pouring rain yesterday to protest against Israel's air assault on the Gaza Strip, now into its third day.
The protesters thronged a huge square and nearby streets in the militant group's stronghold south of Beirut, carrying Palestinian, Lebanese and yellow Hizbollah flags and banners supporting the Palestinian people.
The rally was by far the largest protest in the Arab world, where outrage over Israel's air strikes continued into a third day.
The massive rally was called for by the Hizbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who in a speech on Sunday urged crowds in the Arab and Islamic world to rise up in support of Gaza and declared yesterday a day of mourning and solidarity with Gaza.
Addressing the crowds yesterday through a large screen from an unknown location, Sheikh Nasrallah urged Palestinians to unite and sought to boost morale. "Israel's air force will fail to destroy the will of the [Palestinian] fighters firing rockets ? and the residents of [Israeli] settlements 20 and 40km away from Gaza will remain either outside their settlements or in shelters," he said.
"Death to Israel," and "At your service, Gaza!" many in the crowd shouted.
Sheikh Nasrallah warned Israel that any ground offensive will result in many losses for the Israelis and said Israel will fail as it did when it fought Hizbollah guerrillas in a month-long air and ground offensive in 2006. The overwhelming Israeli bombing campaign, the deadliest against Palestinians in decades, had killed 325 people by yesterday.
In the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon, around 3,000 people also staged a demonstration, many of them chanting slogans in which they insulted the rulers of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia for perceived complicity with Israel.
In Egypt, which has been particularly criticised for joining Israel in closing its borders with Gaza, thousands of people rallied, calling for the active intervention of Arab armies to protect the Palestinians.
In Iraq, about 1,000 backers of Muqtada al Sadr, the anti-US Shiite cleric, staged a protest in eastern Baghdad. "No, no to Israel," they shouted as they burnt Israeli and US flags.
Thousands of Iranians, joined by high-ranking officials and military commanders, shouted "Down with USA" and "Down with Israel" in Tehran yesterday. Many carried banners reading "Israel must be wiped off the face of the earth" and "We should all rise and destroy Israel".
Witnesses said Saudi police fired rubber bullets to break up a pro-Palestinian protest yesterday, injuring up to eight people, but a government official denied the report.
Residents said between 200 and 300 people took part in the march in Saudi Arabia's oil-producing Eastern Province.
Many protesters held pictures of Palestinians wounded in Israel's military offensive against the Gaza Strip.
At least three witnesses said they saw riot police fire rubber bullets after demonstrators clashed with security forces in the al Qatif area.
However, an interior ministry spokesman, Mansour al Turki, said there had been no protest.
Greek riot police fired tear gas to repel protesters hurling rocks at the Israeli Embassy in Athens yesterday during a rally against the Jewish state's assault on Gaza. About 300 Greek and Arab protesters waving Palestinian flags gathered outside the embassy north of the city centre for one of several rallies or demonstrations planned during the evening.
* Associated Press, with additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
Everything Now
Arcade Fire
(Columbia Records)
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
Company%20Profile
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TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
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.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.