• A frame grab from handout video provided by the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Azerbaijan allegedly shows an Armenian tank being destroyed by Azerbaijan's military at Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan. EPA
    A frame grab from handout video provided by the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Azerbaijan allegedly shows an Armenian tank being destroyed by Azerbaijan's military at Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan. EPA
  • In this handout photo taken from a footage released by Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry, Azerbaijan's forces destroy Armenian anti-aircraft system at the contact line of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. AP
    In this handout photo taken from a footage released by Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry, Azerbaijan's forces destroy Armenian anti-aircraft system at the contact line of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. AP
  • In this photo released by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, a woman with her child sit in a bombshelter to protect against shelling, in Stepanakert, the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. AP
    In this photo released by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, a woman with her child sit in a bombshelter to protect against shelling, in Stepanakert, the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. AP
  • In this handout photo released by Armenian Foreign Ministry, an Armenian church priest looks a a baby in a bombshelter to protect against shelling in Stepanakert, the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. AP
    In this handout photo released by Armenian Foreign Ministry, an Armenian church priest looks a a baby in a bombshelter to protect against shelling in Stepanakert, the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. AP
  • In this photo released by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, people gather in a bombshelter to protect against shelling in Stepanakert, the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. AP
    In this photo released by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, people gather in a bombshelter to protect against shelling in Stepanakert, the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. AP
  • This handout photo released by Armenian Foreign Ministry, shows a damaged after shelling flat in Stepanakert, the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. AP
    This handout photo released by Armenian Foreign Ministry, shows a damaged after shelling flat in Stepanakert, the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. AP
  • Volunteers and veterans, who are ready to go to the frontline in Nagorny Karabakh, gather in Yerevan. AFP
    Volunteers and veterans, who are ready to go to the frontline in Nagorny Karabakh, gather in Yerevan. AFP
  • A handout photo released by the Armenian Foreign Ministry shows specialists delivering medical support to a man, who is said to be a civilian injured during clashes in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. REUTERS
    A handout photo released by the Armenian Foreign Ministry shows specialists delivering medical support to a man, who is said to be a civilian injured during clashes in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. REUTERS
  • A grab taken from a handout video released by the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh (NKR) Defense Army, or Artsakh Defence Army, via Youtube claims to show tanks allegedly destroyed in shelling, artillery and air attacks along the front at Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, on a border of Armenia and Azerbaijan. EPA
    A grab taken from a handout video released by the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh (NKR) Defense Army, or Artsakh Defence Army, via Youtube claims to show tanks allegedly destroyed in shelling, artillery and air attacks along the front at Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, on a border of Armenia and Azerbaijan. EPA
  • A grab taken from a handout video released by the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh (NKR) Defense Army, or Artsakh Defence Army, via Youtube claims to show Azerbaijani food rations in a tank allegedly destroyed in shelling, artillery and air attacks along the front at Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, on a border of Armenia and Azerbaijan. EPA
    A grab taken from a handout video released by the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh (NKR) Defense Army, or Artsakh Defence Army, via Youtube claims to show Azerbaijani food rations in a tank allegedly destroyed in shelling, artillery and air attacks along the front at Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, on a border of Armenia and Azerbaijan. EPA
  • A handout photo made available by the Armenian Government Press Office shows Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan meeting with the military leaders in Yerevan, Armenia. EPA
    A handout photo made available by the Armenian Government Press Office shows Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan meeting with the military leaders in Yerevan, Armenia. EPA
  • Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan meets with top military officials in Yerevan. AFP
    Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan meets with top military officials in Yerevan. AFP
  • Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gives a speech at the parliament in Yerevan. AFP
    Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gives a speech at the parliament in Yerevan. AFP

Why are Armenia and Azerbaijan fighting and where is Nagorno-Karabakh?


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Armenia and Azerbaijan, two ex-Soviet republics in the Caucasus, are locked in a decades-long territorial dispute. Deadly fighting erupted on Sunday, killing as many as 100 soldiers on both sides, with Armenia saying that it had lost 49 soldiers and Azerbaijan saying 50 had died.

It is the worst flare up of violence since September 2021 — when nearly 8,000 people died in a short but bloody war. At the heart of the stand-off between Yerevan and Baku is the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The new fighting has left Moscow — which has good relations with both sides — scrambling to mediate for a truce.

Where is Nagorno-Karabakh?

The mountainous, landlocked area lies in the Karabakh mountains — its name literally means "mountainous Karabakh". Its greatest expanse covered about 8,000 square kilometres. The multi-ethnic former Oblast, or region of the Russian Empire, is about 100 kilometres east of Armenia's border.

Russian Empire collapse

The Soviet authorities merged the predominantly ethnic Armenian territory with Azerbaijan in 1921.

After the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenian separatists seized it in a move supported by Yerevan.

An ensuing war killed 30,000 people and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.

Despite a ceasefire mediated in 1994 by Russia, the US and France, peace negotiations struggle to move forward and fighting erupts frequently.

The latest clashes on Sunday involved Azerbaijan and Armenian separatists accusing each other of igniting the fighting that left both sides with casualties, including civilians.

It followed a flare-up along the border in July, which claimed the lives of 17 soldiers from both sides.

The National
The National

In April 2016, some 110 people were killed in the most serious fighting in years.

Armenia, a Christian country since the 4th century, has been rocked by political and economic instability since it gained independence from the former USSR.

The country's post-Soviet leadership was largely beholden to the interests of Russia and accused of blocking opposition to its rule and tampering with election results.

In the spring of 2018, mass street protests brought current Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to power. He has since clamped down on corruption and introduced popular judicial reforms.

Muslim-majority Azerbaijan, on the Caspian Sea, has been under the authoritarian grip of a single family since 1993.

Heydar Aliyev, a former officer of the Soviet security services, the KGB, ruled the country with an iron fist until October 2003. He handed over power to his son, Ilham, weeks before his death.

Like his father, Ilham has quashed all opposition to his rule and in 2017 made his wife, Mehriban, the country's first vice president.

Turkey, with ambitions to be a regional power broker in the Caucasus, has thrown its weight behind oil-rich and Turkic-speaking Azerbaijan.

Their alliance is fuelled by a mutual mistrust of Armenia, and Ankara routinely issues strongly worded statements in support of Baku's ambitions to reclaim Nagorno-Karabakh.

Yerevan harbours hostility towards Turkey over the massacres of some 1.5 million Armenians by Turkey under the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.

More than 30 countries have recognised the killings as genocide, though Ankara fiercely disputes the term.

Russia, which maintains close ties with Armenia, is the major power broker in the region. It leads the Collective Security Treaty Organisation military alliance of ex-Soviet countries that includes Armenia.

Yerevan relies on Russian support and military guarantees because its defence budget is overshadowed by Azerbaijan's spending on arms.

Azerbaijan has recently begun leveraging oil revenue as part of an attempt to overhaul its image in the West.

Baku has invested in massive sponsorship deals including with the Euro 2020 football championship.

Four matches were held in the capital last year, after the tournament was postponed in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Azerbaijan has held Formula One grand prix races since 2016.

It has also tried to pitch itself to European countries as an alternative energy supplier to Russia.

On the international stage, Armenia has a vast and influential diaspora that fled during the Ottoman-era repressions.

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian, the late singer Charles Aznavour, and pop star and actress Cher all trace their roots to Armenia.

Some have appointed themselves unofficial ambassadors, like Kardashian who has been outspoken on the issue of the Armenian genocide.

The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms. 

Company%20profile
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

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Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
FIGHT CARD

Welterweight Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Tohir Zhuraev (TJK)

Catchweight 75kg Leandro Martins (BRA) v Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)

Flyweight Corinne Laframboise (CAN) v Manon Fiorot (FRA)

Featherweight Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Bogdan Kirilenko (UZB)

Lightweight Izzedine Al Derabani (JOR) v Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG)

Featherweight Yousef Al Housani (UAE) v Mohamed Arsharq Ali (SLA)

Catchweight 69kg Jung Han-gook (KOR) v Elias Boudegzdame (ALG)

Catchweight 71kg Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Jerry Kvarnstrom (FIN)

Featherweight title Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)

Lightweight title Bruno Machado (BRA) v Mike Santiago (USA)

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

Skoda Superb Specs

Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol

Power: 190hp

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GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

THE SPECS

Engine: 3.5-litre supercharged V6

Power: 416hp at 7,000rpm

Torque: 410Nm at 3,500rpm

Transmission: 6-speed manual

Fuel consumption: 10.2 l/100km

Price: Dh375,000 

On sale: now 

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

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