Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Turkey joined South Africa’s case against Israel on Wednesday at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, a diplomatic official has confirmed to The National.
Ankara has presented its filing for the case – known legally as an "intervention" – to the UN court's seat in the Netherlands, the source said, following remarks by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during a visit to Egypt last weekend.
Turkey is one of around 150 countries that have signed the UN Genocide Convention, making it eligible to intervene in cases concerning the treaty. State parties to the convention – including South Africa and Israel – are bound to make attempts to prevent and to punish acts of genocide.
The move makes Turkey the latest country to join South Africa’s case, in which it accuses Israel of breaching the UN's Genocide Convention in its military operations in Gaza.
“According to the court rules, the ICJ will notify the parties to the case [South Africa and Israel] of the declaration of intervention and request their written observations,” the Turkish diplomatic official said.
“The court will make its decision on admissibility, if necessary by holding an oral hearing.”
Turkey's legal team flew to the Netherlands to present the filing, according to Turkish media and politicians.
“The petition for intervention expresses how the relevant articles of the Genocide Convention should be interpreted, especially within the context of the massacres committed by Israel in Gaza since October 7, 2023," said Cuneyt Yuksel, head of the Turkish Parliament's justice committee, in a post on X.
"With its application for intervention, Turkey will show the entire world that it stands by the Palestinian cause and against the inhuman genocide in Gaza, also in the eyes of international law."
Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Mexico and Spain, as well as Palestinian officials, have already filed similar interventions in the case, although the court has yet to rule on their admissibility. Egypt also recently signalled its intent to join the case.
Israel has denied accusations of genocide and claims its military operations in Gaza are a legitimate response to eliminate Hamas after its October 7 attacks, in which more than 1,200 people were killed and at least 240 were taken hostage by Hamas militants.
More than 39,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the past 10 months, with tens of thousands injured.
In January, the ICJ ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians. In May, it said that Israel should halt a planned military offensive in Gaza's southern Rafah province, and ensure unhindered humanitarian aid access through the border crossing with Egypt.
But a final ruling on whether Israel has breached the Genocide Convention could take years and any decision will not be legally binding.
Before Turkey's application on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry's representative in Ankara urged the ICJ's previous orders to be "implemented as soon as possible".
Israel's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Turkey’s move is the latest in a series of actions that have distanced Ankara from its previously healthy economic ties with Israel, and has frozen previously warming diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Turkish and Israeli officials have exchanged strong criticism on social media. This week Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an “anti-Semitic dictator”.
The Turkish leader has described Hamas members as “freedom fighters" and even normally reserved Turkish diplomats, including Mr Fidan, have traded barbed comments online with Israeli officials.
In May, Ankara banned trade with Israel, leading to a steep drop in business previously worth hundreds of millions of dollars every month.
Mass marches have taken place across Turkey in protest over the war in Gaza. The two countries have yet to downgrade diplomatic ties officially.
List of alleged parties
- May 15 2020: Boris Johnson is said to have attended a Downing Street pizza party
- 27 Nov 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff
- Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson
- Dec 13 2020: Mr Johnson and his then-fiancee Carrie Symonds throw a flat party
- Dec 14 2020: Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative Party headquarters
- Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
- Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
Key developments
- Singapore summit: Trump and Kim launch charm offensive as meetings begin
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un shake hands ahead of one-on-one discussion
- US and North Korean teams sit down for bilateral summit
- Kim: “I believe this is a good prelude for peace."
- Trump: “We will solve it, we will be successful.”
All times UTC+4
While you're here
Sulaiman Hakemy:Really, everything is not fine in Canada
HA Hellyer:Don't put a full stop after the Christchurch sentence
Sholto Byrnes:The urgency of tackling extreme views in Australia
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
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 1 (Carroll 82')
Leicester City 2 (Maddison 55', Tielemans 72')
Man of the match James Maddison(Leicester)
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
While you're here
National Editorial:Sea slime is not just Turkey's problem
Barham Salih:Climate fight is key to revitalising Iraq
Andrew Wilks: Is Turkey a water-hoarding bogeyman?
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxiesformed
Most ODI hundreds
49 - Sachin Tendulkar, India
47 - Virat Kohli, India
31 - Rohit Sharma, India
30 - Ricky Ponting, Australia/ICC
28 - Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka/Asia
27 - Hashim Amla, South Africa
25 - AB de Villiers, South Africa/Africa
25 - Chris Gayle, West Indies/ICC
25 - Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka/ICC/Asia
22 - Sourav Ganguly, India/Asia
22 - Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka
MATCH INFO
UefaChampions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech7', Neres 18', Tadic62', Schone72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
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.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE coins
Dh5 note
Dh10 note
Dh20 note
Straightforward ways to reduce sugar in your family's diet
- Ban fruit juice and sodas
- Eat a hearty breakfast that contains fats and wholegrains, such as peanut butter on multigrain toast or full-fat plain yoghurt with whole fruit and nuts, to avoid the need for a 10am snack
- Give young children plain yoghurt with whole fruits mashed into it
- Reduce the number of cakes, biscuits and sweets. Reserve them for a treat
- Don’t eat dessert every day
- Make your own smoothies. Always use the whole fruit to maintain the benefit of its fibre content and don’t add any sweeteners
- Always go for natural whole foods over processed, packaged foods. Ask yourself would your grandmother have eaten it?
- Read food labels if you really do feel the need to buy processed food
- Eat everything in moderation
MEDIEVIL (1998)
Developer: SCE Studio Cambridge
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation, PlayStation 4 and 5
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE results
Lost to Oman by eight runs
Beat Namibia by three wickets
Lost to Oman by 12 runs
Beat Namibia by 43 runs
UAE fixtures
Free admission. All fixtures broadcast live on icc.tv
Tuesday March 15, v PNG at Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Friday March 18, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
Saturday March 19, v PNG at Dubai International Stadium
Monday March 21, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
SPEC SHEET: APPLE M3 MACBOOK AIR (13")
Processor: Apple M3, 8-core CPU, up to 10-core CPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Display: 13.6-inch Liquid Retina, 2560 x 1664, 224ppi, 500 nits, True Tone, wide colour
Memory: 8/16/24GB
Storage: 256/512GB / 1/2TB
I/O: Thunderbolt 3/USB-4 (2), 3.5mm audio, Touch ID
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
Battery: 52.6Wh lithium-polymer, up to 18 hours, MagSafe charging
Camera: 1080p FaceTime HD
Video: Support for Apple ProRes, HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10
Audio: 4-speaker system, wide stereo, support for Dolby Atmos, Spatial Audio and dynamic head tracking (with AirPods)
Colours: Midnight, silver, space grey, starlight
In the box: MacBook Air, 30W/35W dual-port/70w power adapter, USB-C-to-MagSafe cable, 2 Apple stickers
Price: From Dh4,599
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
The biog
Hobby: "It is not really a hobby but I am very curious person. I love reading and spend hours on research."
Favouriteauthor: Malcom Gladwell
Favouritetravel destination: "Antigua in the Caribbeanbecause I have emotional attachment to it. It is where I got married."
WHAT START-UPS IS VISA SEEKING?
Enablers of digital services
• Blockchain and cryptocurrency
• Crowdfunding
• Banking-as-a-service
• Banking identification number sponsors
• Issuers/processors
• Programme managers
Digital issuance
• Blockchain and cryptocurrency
• Alternative lending
• Personal financial management
• Money transfer and remittance
• Digital banking (neo banks)
• Digital wallets, peer-to-peer and transfers
• Employee benefits
• Payables
• Corporate cards
Value-add for merchants/consumers
• Data and analytics
• ID, authentication and security
• Insurance technology
• Loyalty
• Merchant services and tools
• Process and payment infrastructure
• Retail technology
SME recovery
• Money movement
• Acceptance
• Risk management
• Brand management
New categories for 2023
• Sustainable FinTechs
• Risk
• Urban mobility
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
MEFCC information
Tickets range from Dh110 for an advance single-day pass to Dh300 for a weekend pass at the door. VIP tickets have sold out. Visit www.mefcc.com to purchase tickets in advance.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
Final round
25 under - Antoine Rozner (FRA)
23 - Francesco Laporta (ITA),Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA), Andy Sullivan (ENG),Matt Wallace (ENG)
21 - Grant Forrest (SCO)
20 - Ross Fisher (ENG)
19 - Steven Brown (ENG),Joakim Lagergren (SWE),Niklas Lemke (SWE), Marc Warren (SCO),Bernd Wiesberger (AUT)
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Power: 268bhp / 536bhp
Torque: 343Nm / 686Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
On sale: Later this year
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
Saudi National Day
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Developer: Sucker Punch Productions
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation 2 to 5
Rating: 5/5
KEY DATES IN AMAZON'S HISTORY
July 5, 1994: Jeff Bezos founds Cadabra Inc, which would later be renamed to Amazon.com, because his lawyer misheard the name as 'cadaver'. In its earliest days, the bookstore operated out of a rented garage in Bellevue, Washington
July 16, 1995: Amazon formally opens as an online bookseller. Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought becomes the first item sold on Amazon
1997: Amazon goes public at $18 a share, which has grown about 1,000 per cent at present. Its highest closing price was $197.85 on June 27, 2024
1998: Amazon acquires IMDb, its first major acquisition. It also starts selling CDs and DVDs
2000: Amazon Marketplace opens, allowing people to sell items on the website
2002: Amazon forms what would become Amazon Web Services, opening the Amazon.com platform to all developers. The cloud unit would follow in 2006
2003: Amazon turns in an annual profit of $75 million, the first time it ended a year in the black
2005: Amazon Prime is introduced, its first-ever subscription service that offered US customers free two-day shipping for $79 a year
2006: Amazon Unbox is unveiled, the company's video service that would later morph into Amazon Instant Video and, ultimately, Amazon Video
2007: Amazon's first hardware product, the Kindle e-reader, is introduced; the Fire TV and Fire Phone would come in 2014. Grocery service Amazon Fresh is also started
2009: Amazon introduces Amazon Basics, its in-house label for a variety of products
2010: The foundations for Amazon Studios were laid. Its first original streaming content debuted in 2013
2011: The Amazon Appstore for Google's Android is launched. It is still unavailable on Apple's iOS
2014: The Amazon Echo is launched, a speaker that acts as a personal digital assistant powered by Alexa
2017: Amazon acquires Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, its biggest acquisition
2018: Amazon's market cap briefly crosses the $1 trillion mark, making it, at the time, only the third company to achieve that milestone
Copa del Rey
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez6')
Second leg, February 27
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
The low down on MPS
What is myofascial pain syndrome?
Myofascial pain syndrome refers to pain and inflammation in the body’s soft tissue. MPS is a chronic condition that affects the fascia (connective tissue that covers the muscles, which develops knots, also known as trigger points).
What are trigger points?
Trigger points are irritable knots in the soft tissue that covers muscle tissue. Through injury or overuse, muscle fibres contract as a reactive and protective measure, creating tension in the form of hard and, palpable nodules. Overuse and sustained posture are the main culprits in developing trigger points.
What is myofascial or trigger-point release?
Releasing these nodules requires a hands-on technique that involves applying gentle sustained pressure to release muscular shortness and tightness. This eliminates restrictions in connective tissue in orderto restore motion and alleviate pain. Therapy balls have proven effective at causing enough commotion in the tissue, prompting the release of these hard knots.
