CAIRO // Twenty-two members of a Hizbollah terrorist cell were beginning jail sentences last night after being convicted of plotting to blow up ships in the Suez canal and attack tourist sites in Egypt.
Four other members of the cell are on the run, including its Lebanese head, Mohammed Qabalan. Three were given life sentences in their absence, and the fourth received a lesser term. The 22 who were in court, including the senior Hizbollah commander Mohammed Yusef Mansur, received jail terms of between six months and 15 years.
When the verdicts were read out the men, confined to a large cage and wearing prison jumpsuits, shouted: "God is Great", "God is going to avenge us", "Death for God's sake", "Jerusalem and Palestine are Arab and Islamic" and "Salute to Gaza's steadfastness".
They then pointed at the three judges and shouted: "Shame on you", and "You are Israeli government".
Scores of relatives of the men, mainly women, were not allowed inside the courtroom, which had been under tight security since the early hours of the morning.
Most of the men were arrested between late 2008 and January 2009. The Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah admitted after the arrests were made public in April that he had sent Mansur, alias Sami Shihab, to Egypt to support Palestinian militants in Gaza.
He said the cell comprised no more than 10 people and denied that they planned attacks in Egypt. The convicted men said in a handwritten letter to the court that they had never planned attacks in Egypt but had tried to help the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers, who have close ties with Hizbollah.
But Judge Adel Abdul Salam Gomaa ruled that the men were not simply acting in support of Hamas, but had planned to carry out attacks on Egyptian soil.
"Is targeting ships in the canal support for the Palestinian cause? Is preparing explosives and targeting tourist resorts support for the Palestinians?" the judge asked. "Hizbollah's members rant that they came to Egypt to support the Palestinian cause and they dare to posture against what Egypt has given for the Palestinian people and cause."
During the trial, prosecutors produced explosives, including suicide belts, that they said police had seized from the men.
Lawyers for Mansur admitted that he had proposed to carry out attacks against Israeli targets in Egypt in retaliation for the February 2008 assassination in Damascus of the Hizbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh, but said the plan had been rejected by the Iranian-backed Shiite movement's leadership in Lebanon.
The defence lawyers said Mansur had instead admitted to training recruits to carry out attacks but only inside Israel and the Palestinian territories.
An Egyptian newspaper published a transcript of the prosecution's interrogation of Mansur in which he said Qabalan had trained two men from Gaza on the use of explosives before helping them infiltrate Israel. Mansur said the two men were arrested in Israel in September 2008. Mansur himself said during a break in the trial that he and the other defendants had been tortured into confessing, an accusation denied by police.
After the verdict, defence lawyer Abdelmoneim Abdel Maqsud challenged the legitimacy of the court, a special tribunal set up under Egypt's three-decade-old state of emergency. "This is a political trial that was taken to a court that offered no guarantee of justice," he said.
Outside the courtroom, relatives of the men cried and shouted in support. One woman could be seen crying out and slapping her face.
Salma Suleiman, 73, the mother of Shahin Mohamed Shahin said her son had not been involved in militancy.
"He had nothing to do with these operations or this group. This is all utterly unfair. He has four children. Let them all be happy now, his excellency the president [Hosni Mubarak] and Israel and America."
The wife of Hany al Sayed Mutlaq, who was there with their two young children, said: "I want to know why they took him? They found nothing in our house when they searched. They took him in the middle of the night. They humiliated me."
The trial reignited a war of words between Egypt, Hizbollah and its Iranian backers. Egypt, which maintains no formal diplomatic ties with Iran, accuses Tehran of backing the plot, while Iran and Hizbollah charge that Egypt had contrived the case against the men.
nmagd@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
RESULTS
Catchweight 63.5kg: Shakriyor Juraev (UZB) beat Bahez Khoshnaw (IRQ). Round 3 TKO (body kick)
Lightweight: Nart Abida (JOR) beat Moussa Salih (MAR). Round 1 by rear naked choke
Catchweight 79kg: Laid Zerhouni (ALG) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ). Round 1 TKO (punches)
Catchweight 58kg: Omar Al Hussaini (UAE) beat Mohamed Sahabdeen (SLA) Round 1 rear naked choke
Flyweight: Lina Fayyad (JOR) beat Sophia Haddouche (ALG) Round 2 TKO (ground and pound)
Catchweight 80kg: Badreddine Diani (MAR) beat Sofiane Aïssaoui (ALG) Round 2 TKO
Flyweight: Sabriye Sengul (TUR) beat Mona Ftouhi (TUN). Unanimous decision
Middleweight: Kher Khalifa Eshoushan (LIB) beat Essa Basem (JOR). Round 1 rear naked choke
Heavyweight: Mohamed Jumaa (SUD) beat Hassen Rahat (MAR). Round 1 TKO (ground and pound)
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammad Ali Musalim (UAE beat Omar Emad (EGY). Round 1 triangle choke
Catchweight 62kg: Ali Taleb (IRQ) beat Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR). Round 2 KO
Catchweight 88kg: Mohamad Osseili (LEB) beat Samir Zaidi (COM). Unanimous decision
Company%20profile
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The%20specs
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Company%20Profile
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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.
Company%20profile
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Bridgerton%20season%20three%20-%20part%20one
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nicola%20Coughlan%2C%20Luke%20Newton%2C%20Jonathan%20Bailey%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Alan%20Wake%20Remastered%20
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In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
Tell-tale signs of burnout
- loss of confidence and appetite
- irritability and emotional outbursts
- sadness
- persistent physical ailments such as headaches, frequent infections and fatigue
- substance abuse, such as smoking or drinking more
- impaired judgement
- excessive and continuous worrying
- irregular sleep patterns
Tips to help overcome burnout
Acknowledge how you are feeling by listening to your warning signs. Set boundaries and learn to say ‘no’
Do activities that you want to do as well as things you have to do
Undertake at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. It releases an abundance of feel-good hormones
Find your form of relaxation and make time for it each day e.g. soothing music, reading or mindful meditation
Sleep and wake at the same time every day, even if your sleep pattern was disrupted. Without enough sleep condition such as stress, anxiety and depression can thrive.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
HAJJAN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Abu%20Bakr%20Shawky%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3EStarring%3A%20Omar%20Alatawi%2C%20Tulin%20Essam%2C%20Ibrahim%20Al-Hasawi%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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What is 'Soft Power'?
Soft power was first mentioned in 1990 by former US Defence Secretary Joseph Nye.
He believed that there were alternative ways of cultivating support from other countries, instead of achieving goals using military strength.
Soft power is, at its root, the ability to convince other states to do what you want without force.
This is traditionally achieved by proving that you share morals and values.
Sly%20Cooper%20and%20the%20Thievius%20Raccoonus
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