France is hosting a high-level meeting on Thursday with US, Saudi and Lebanese officials to discuss security in Lebanon amid warnings of a collapse in the regional ceasefire.
Lebanese army commander Gen Rodolphe Haykal was welcomed by his French chief of defence staff Gen Fabien Mandon, as the Israeli army launched new strikes on Lebanon.
The two men held talks on “strategic environment and security challenges in Lebanon and its region”, Gen Mandon said on X. France’s support for the Lebanese army aims “to contribute to maintaining stability and lasting peace, in respect of Lebanon’s sovereignty”, he added.
France, a former colonial power in the region, wants to set up a new framework to monitor the disarmament of Iran-backed militia Hezbollah. Paris supported the US in brokering a ceasefire in November 2024 after a year of hostilities.
The Paris meeting comes a day before a separate gathering in Beirut of the US-led committee that oversees the implementation of the ceasefire. It includes representatives from Lebanon, Israel, the US, France and the UN.
There are fears of collapse and renewed fighting as Israel intensifies pressure on Lebanon. A December 31 deadline has been set.
“The [army] attacked a camp and military buildings of the terrorist Hezbollah in scattered areas of Lebanon,” Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X on Thursday.
He added that the presence of the group’s infrastructure was a “violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and a threat to the state of Israel”.
There was no comment from Lebanon. No casualties were reported.
‘Second mechanism’
Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France was working on a “second mechanism” that would “monitor the disarmament of Hezbollah, an essential element to avoid escalation and guarantee a credible path towards full and complete sovereignty for Lebanon”.
Israel has bombarded Lebanon daily despite the ceasefire, killing hundreds of people. Thursday’s strikes came two days after Lebanon’s Health Ministry said an Israeli strike had killed one person and wounded others in the Shouf district.
Hezbollah started striking at Israel after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks against Israel. Israel retaliated with heavy bombardments, killing most of Hezbollah’s senior and mid-ranking commanders.
According to the ceasefire, Hezbollah was required to pull its forces north of the Litani River, about 30km from the border with Israel, and have its military infrastructure in the vacated area dismantled.
President Emmanuel Macron’s personal envoy to Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, was in Lebanon last week to meet senior Lebanese officials.
“We are in close co-operation with our Saudi partners, with our American partners on these issues,” foreign ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said last week.
He added that France’s priority was to support the Lebanese armed forces and internal security forces in implement a September 5 government decision to re-establish state monopoly on weapons.
Hezbollah was the only militia at the end of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war to keep its weapons in order to fight Israel.
France also hopes that Saudi Arabia will soon organise a conference to support the Lebanese army but no date has been announced.
City’s slump
L – Juventus, 2-0
D – C Palace, 2-2
W – N Forest, 3-0
L – Liverpool, 2-0
D – Feyenoord, 3-3
L – Tottenham, 4-0
L – Brighton, 2-1
L – Sporting, 4-1
L – Bournemouth, 2-1
L – Tottenham, 2-1
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
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Dust storm
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- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah – Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah – Call 092051100 or 092224411
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Manchester City (0) v Liverpool (3)
Uefa Champions League, quarter-final, second leg
Where: Etihad Stadium
When: Tuesday, 10.45pm
Live on beIN Sports HD
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
BIOSAFETY LABS SECURITY LEVELS
Biosafety Level 1
The lowest safety level. These labs work with viruses that are minimal risk to humans.
Hand washing is required on entry and exit and potentially infectious material decontaminated with bleach before thrown away.
Must have a lock. Access limited. Lab does not need to be isolated from other buildings.
Used as teaching spaces.
Study microorganisms such as Staphylococcus which causes food poisoning.
Biosafety Level 2
These labs deal with pathogens that can be harmful to people and the environment such as Hepatitis, HIV and salmonella.
Working in Level 2 requires special training in handling pathogenic agents.
Extra safety and security precautions are taken in addition to those at Level 1
Biosafety Level 3
These labs contain material that can be lethal if inhaled. This includes SARS coronavirus, MERS, and yellow fever.
Significant extra precautions are taken with staff given specific immunisations when dealing with certain diseases.
Infectious material is examined in a biological safety cabinet.
Personnel must wear protective gowns that must be discarded or decontaminated after use.
Strict safety and handling procedures are in place. There must be double entrances to the building and they must contain self-closing doors to reduce risk of pathogen aerosols escaping.
Windows must be sealed. Air from must be filtered before it can be recirculated.
Biosafety Level 4
The highest level for biosafety precautions. Scientist work with highly dangerous diseases that have no vaccine or cure.
All material must be decontaminated.
Personnel must wear a positive pressure suit for protection. On leaving the lab this must pass through decontamination shower before they have a personal shower.
Entry is severely restricted to trained and authorised personnel. All entries are recorded.
Entrance must be via airlocks.
MATCH INFO
Karnataka Tuskers 110-5 (10 ovs)
Tharanga 48, Shafiq 34, Rampaul 2-16
Delhi Bulls 91-8 (10 ovs)
Mathews 31, Rimmington 3-28
Karnataka Tuskers win by 19 runs
Low turnout
Two months before the first round on April 10, the appetite of voters for the election is low.
Mathieu Gallard, account manager with Ipsos, which conducted the most recent poll, said current forecasts suggested only two-thirds were “very likely” to vote in the first round, compared with a 78 per cent turnout in the 2017 presidential elections.
“It depends on how interesting the campaign is on their main concerns,” he told The National. “Just now, it’s hard to say who, between Macron and the candidates of the right, would be most affected by a low turnout.”
More coverage from the Future Forum
Yemen’s Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha’i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha’i faith in 1844.
The Baha’i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha’is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
“The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen,” the charge sheet said.
Baha’Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith’s highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective “evidence” of Bahai “links” to Israel – which the Houthis consider their enemy.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Benefits of first-time home buyers’ scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
