Next week, Russian president Vladimir Putin will speak at the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. This will be his first address to the UN in a decade and the first time he sets foot on US soil since his re-election in 2012.
In much of the West, Mr Putin is seen as a ruthless former KGB spy who heads a corrupt and repressive regime that has annexed Crimea, invaded Ukraine’s eastern border region and meddles in Syria. Most observers expect him to denounce what he sees as the West’s illegal sanctions against Moscow and American arrogance in international affairs.
In a world dominated by western powers, Russia's leader will surely be tempted to extol the virtue of regional alliances in which Moscow plays a prominent role. That includes the Brics countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – and their emerging economies as well as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, often dubbed "Nato of the East". It also applies to the nascent Eurasian Economic Union with Kazakhstan and Belarus.
Amid posturing about Russia’s global power and the crisis of western hegemony, Mr Putin will hardly admit the severe economic crisis at home or Russia’s isolation abroad.
The expectation is that his speech will feature plenty of knee-jerk anti-Americanisms and wishful thinking about Russia’s leadership in upholding a balance against western domination.
However, such views overstate Russia’s reliance on Cold War ideology and underplay Moscow’s pragmatism. In the current context, Mr Putin is far more likely to emphasise shared threats and common ground for cooperation. Since before September 11, 2001, the Kremlin has argued that terrorism is the overriding security threat, not least in the restive region of Chechnya in Russia’s majority-Muslim Caucasus where Moscow has waged two brutal wars in the past 20 years.
Today, terrorism is no longer confined to groups of Chechen independence fighters or Al Qaeda. Russia considers ISIL to be the biggest danger to stability across the wider Middle East that stretches to its southern borders. Moscow is increasingly worried about the possible return of about 2,000 Russian-speaking jihadists who are fighting Russia's ally Bashar Al Assad.
The second shared threat is nuclear proliferation in the hands of rogue regimes such as North Korea or hardliners in Iran. That is why Moscow pushed for a comprehensive deal with Iran that includes a credible verification mechanism to ensure Tehran is using nuclear energy only for civilian purposes.
Crucially, the Kremlin fears that Syria will descend into the same sort of chaos as Iraq or Libya following western military interventions that attempted to introduce democracy by missile and drone, with no regard for basic state institutions or the unleashing of religious forces that have led to sectarian cleansing. Moreover, Russia has consistently raised the fate of Christians and other religious minorities.
Moscow’s stance on Syria has been rightly criticised for supporting Mr Al Assad’s murderous rule and for projecting power across an already volatile region. However, it is hard to see how the Syrian conflict and regional instability can be addressed without Russia. If Mr Al Assad were to go tomorrow, Syria would fall into the hands of various jihadi groups rather than the foreign-backed opposition. For this reason, Mr Putin suggested back in 2012 that there be a political transition at the end of which Mr Al Assad would leave power but the Syrian state would not be dismantled.
Nor is Russian diplomacy merely colluding with the Shia crescent from Syria via Iraq and Iran to Hizbollah. On the contrary, the Kremlin has forged close links with Sunni-dominated Turkey and Egypt, where it agreed with the West in supporting the Egyptian military’s action against president Mohammed Morsi. Recently, Russia has reached out to Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, who is expected to visit Moscow before the end of this year.
All this suggests a strong dose of pragmatic realpolitik rather than rabid nationalism or an unreconstructed Cold War mentality.
For these reasons, Mr Putin would be well-advised not to lecture other countries on upholding international law or giving the UN a greater role. This would amount to the same hypocrisy and double standards of which Russia regularly accuses the West. It would also ignore the new reality of old and new “empires” and zones of influence beyond the borders of sovereign states. If ISIL is at one extreme end of this spectrum, then only a temporary alliance of ancient cultures and new countries who defend civilisation against barbarism can defeat it.
A Russia that wants to show the world it is not synonymous with corruption or occupation needs to play a responsible and constructive role. Mr Putin is a master tactician who has an eye for opportunity, but can he overcome his own worst instincts? His UN intervention should give us a clue.
Adrian Pabst is senior lecturer in politics at Britain’s University of Kent and visiting professor at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Lille (Sciences Po), France
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Juliet, Naked
Dir: Jesse Peretz
Starring: Chris O'Dowd, Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke
Two stars
Ferrari
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl
Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: Dh99,000
On sale: now
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Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Honeymoonish
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The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
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Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
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Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
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MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
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