Police outside the home of New York City truck attack suspect Sayfullo Saipov in Paterson, New Jersey, USA, where he is believed to live with his wife and children. Andrew Gombert / EPA
Police outside the home of New York City truck attack suspect Sayfullo Saipov in Paterson, New Jersey, USA, where he is believed to live with his wife and children. Andrew Gombert / EPA
Police outside the home of New York City truck attack suspect Sayfullo Saipov in Paterson, New Jersey, USA, where he is believed to live with his wife and children. Andrew Gombert / EPA
Police outside the home of New York City truck attack suspect Sayfullo Saipov in Paterson, New Jersey, USA, where he is believed to live with his wife and children. Andrew Gombert / EPA

New York attack was planned 'for weeks', say police


  • English
  • Arabic

Police believe an Uzbek immigrant suspected of killing eight people in New York city planned his attack for weeks using instructions circulated by ISIL.

Sayfullo Saipov, 29, was shot and then arrested on Monday after a rented pickup truck raced along a bicycle path in Lower Manhattan hitting pedestrians and cyclists.

The chaos erupted just five blocks from the site of the old World Trade Centre towers and represented the deadliest attack in the city since 9/11.

The dead included five Argentinian men who travelled to the city for a 30-year school reunion, two Americans and a woman believed to be either German or Belgian.

Police said they had interviewed the suspect despite his serious wounds and believe he acted alone.

“It appears that Mr Saipov had been planning this for a number of weeks,” said John Miller, deputy police commissioner.

He said handwritten notes in Arabic found in the vehicle proclaimed that ISIL “would endure forever”.

“He did this in the name of ISIL, and along with other items recovered at the scene were some notes that indicate that," said Mr Miller. "He appears to have followed almost exactly the instructions that ISIL has put out on its social media channels to its followers."

He added that Saipov had never been the subject of a New York police investigation but appeared to have links to other people who had been investigated.

Officers declined to comment on reports that Saipov was boasting about the attack in hospital, where he underwent surgery after the attack.

President Donald Trump described the suspect as an “animal”. He promised tighter restrictions on people entering the country and said he would terminate the Diversity Visa Programme, better known as the “green card lottery”, which he said was how Saipov arrived in the country.

“We will take all necessary steps to protect our people,” Mr Trump added.

Officers searched the suspect’s home in Paterson, New Jersey, where he was believed to live with his wife and two children, as they tried to piece together his life in the US after arriving in 2010.

A friend and fellow Uzbek national, who knew him when he lived in Florida, said there was no sign he would carry out such an attack.

Kobiljon Matkarov said,  "He was very happy guy. He liked the US. He is no terrorist. He's all the time happy, smiling all the time.”

He added that Saipov, who has a commercial truck licence, was working as an Uber driver.

Officers have begun constructing a timeline of the attack. They believe he rented the vehicle from Home Depot in Passaic, New Jersey, at about 2 pm before driving into Manhattan.

Witnesses said they saw the pickup careering at speeds of up to 65 kph  down the West Side Highway bike path shortly after 3pm.

The vehicle came to a halt only after it collided with a school bus. Witnesses told police that Saipov shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he leapt from the vehicle, wielding what appeared to be two guns. His rampage finally ended when he was shot in the abdomen by a police officer.

City officials immediately praised the quick thinking of Ryan Nash, 28, a five-year veteran of the force who happened to be responding to an unrelated call.

“He was a hero,” said Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York. “I think Officer Nash showed how important (patrol officers) are, and how talented they are and how brave. So we all applaud and congratulate him.”

The two weapons turned out to be a BB gun (a type of air gun which fires spherical projectiles similar to shot pellets) and a paintball gun.

No group has yet claimed involvement in the attack. However, both ISIL and  Al Qaeda have encouraged followers in the West to turn vehicles into weapons.

The November issue of Rumiyah, a magazine published by ISIL, offered detailed instructions for mounting such an attack, including recommending that a gunman leaps from the vehicle to launch a second phase of killing, and offering suggestions on how best to ensure the movement gets full credit.

“An example of such would be simply writing on dozens of sheets of paper “The Islamic State will remain!” or “I am a soldier of the Islamic State!” prior, and launching them from the vehicle’s window during the execution of the attack,” the magazine recommends.

New Yorkers woke to a heavy police presence outside the World Trade Centre and at other key locations around the city, which is gearing up for the New York City Marathon on Sunday, when as many as 2.5 million people are expected to cheer on more than 50,000 runners.

Officials said they had no intelligence of further imminent plots but said extra security would be provided.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, said terrorists could never change New York’s status as an international, global city.

“We will not be cowed. We will not be thrown off by anything,” he said, before remembering the six foreigners who died.

“They saw New York as a special place to be,” he said. “We now and forever will consider them New Yorkers.

The squad traveling to Brazil:

Faisal Al Ketbi, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Khalfan Humaid Balhol, Khalifa Saeed Al Suwaidi, Mubarak Basharhil, Obaid Salem Al Nuaimi, Saeed Juma Al Mazrouei, Saoud Abdulla Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Zayed Saif Al Mansoori, Saaid Haj Hamdou, Hamad Saeed Al Nuaimi. Coaches Roberto Lima and Alex Paz.

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

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Western Clubs Champions League:

  • Friday, Sep 8 - Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Bahrain
  • Friday, Sep 15 – Kandy v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
  • Friday, Sep 22 – Kandy v Bahrain
Arrogate's winning run

1. Maiden Special Weight, Santa Anita Park, June 5, 2016

2. Allowance Optional Claiming, Santa Anita Park, June 24, 2016

3. Allowance Optional Claiming, Del Mar, August 4, 2016

4. Travers Stakes, Saratoga, August 27, 2016

5. Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita Park, November 5, 2016

6. Pegasus World Cup, Gulfstream Park, January 28, 2017

7. Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse, March 25, 2017

World record transfers

1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m

Day 1 results:

Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)

Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)

The biog

Name: Dr Lalia Al Helaly 

Education: PhD in Sociology from Cairo

Favourite authors: Elif Shafaq and Nizar Qabbani.

Favourite music: classical Arabic music such as Um Khalthoum and Abdul Wahab,

She loves the beach and advises her clients to go for meditation.

Intercontinental Cup

Namibia v UAE Saturday Sep 16-Tuesday Sep 19

Table 1 Ireland, 89 points; 2 Afghanistan, 81; 3 Netherlands, 52; 4 Papua New Guinea, 40; 5 Hong Kong, 39; 6 Scotland, 37; 7 UAE, 27; 8 Namibia, 27

The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars

The specs: 2018 Maserati GranTurismo/GranCabrio

Price, base Dh485,000 (GranTurismo) and Dh575,000 (GranCabrio)

Engine 4.7L V8

Transmission Six-speed automatic

Power 460hp @ 7,000rpm

Torque 520Nm @ 4,750rpm

Fuel economy, combined 14.3L (GranTurismo) and 14.5L (GranCabrio) / 100km

ELECTION%20RESULTS
%3Cp%3EMacron%E2%80%99s%20Ensemble%20group%20won%20245%20seats.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20second-largest%20group%20in%20parliament%20is%20Nupes%2C%20a%20leftist%20coalition%20led%20by%20Jean-Luc%20Melenchon%2C%20which%20gets%20131%20lawmakers.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20far-right%20National%20Rally%20fared%20much%20better%20than%20expected%20with%2089%20seats.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20centre-right%20Republicans%20and%20their%20allies%20took%2061.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Manchester United v Club America

When: Thursday, 9pm Arizona time (Friday UAE, 8am)

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20DarDoc%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Samer%20Masri%2C%20Keswin%20Suresh%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%24800%2C000%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Flat6Labs%2C%20angel%20investors%20%2B%20Incubated%20by%20Hub71%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi's%20Department%20of%20Health%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2010%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House

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.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20ASI%20(formerly%20DigestAI)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Quddus%20Pativada%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Artificial%20intelligence%2C%20education%20technology%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%243%20million-plus%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20GSV%20Ventures%2C%20Character%2C%20Mark%20Cuban%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sunday's games

All times UAE:

Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace, 4pm

Manchester City v Arsenal, 6.15pm

Everton v Watford, 8.30pm

Chelsea v Manchester United, 8.30pm

RESULT

Manchester United 1 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Man United: Dunk (66' og)

Man of the Match: Shane Duffy (Brighton)

 

 

What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE

Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

McIlroy's recent struggles

Last six stroke-play events (First round score in brackets)

Arnold Palmer Invitational Tied for 4th (74)

The US Masters Tied for 7th (72)

The Players Championship Tied for 35th (73)

US Open Missed the cut (78)

Travellers Championship Tied for 17th (67)

Irish Open Missed the cut (72)