ADEN // At least four militants were killed in US air strikes on Al Qaeda in Yemen on Thursday, including in the same province where American forces carried out a ground raid against the extremists in late January.
The early morning strikes by US drones and warplanes targeted areas of Shabwa, Al Bayda and Abyan – all provinces where the extremists hold significant amounts of territory.
The Pentagon said the strikes against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Aqap), the extremist group’s Yemen branch, were carried out in “partnership” with the government of president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.
The 20 precision strikes targeted militants, equipment and infrastructure, Pentagon spokesman Capt Jeff Davis said.
“The strikes will degrade the Aqap’ s ability to coordinate external terror attacks and limit their ability to use territory seized from the legitimate government of Yemen as a safe space for terror plotting,” Capt Davis said.
However, deaths were reported only from Shabwa, where US drones struck Al Qaeda targets in Al Saeed district, according to a journalist in the province.
Drones also unleashed strikes on an Al Qaeda mountain stronghold in the Shoqra district of Abyan.
"US drones targeted a mountain in Mogan area which is a stronghold of Al Qaeda members. Residents in Shoqra said they heard Explosions in the mountains," a journalist based in Abyan's Zinjubar district told The National.
Since only members of Al Qaeda and their supporters live in the area targeted, it is difficult to get more information on the strikes, the journalist said.
US drones also launched six strikes on Al Qaeda strongholds in Al Sowmaa district of Bayda, the province where US navy Seals carried out a raid in January. However, there were no casualties because the militants had left the district last month, according to reports from local journalists.
The strikes come barely a month after a controversial American commando raid against the extremists in which several civilians and a US commando were killed.
A US official said Tjursdya’s strikes had been planned months ago and were unrelated to the botched raid, which the White House has repeatedly claimed was a success that yielded crucial intelligence.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting from Agence France-Presse
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5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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From Zero
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Company%20Profile
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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Second Test
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
