Delegates attend a UN security council meeting on Syria at the United Nations headquarters in New York. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Delegates attend a UN security council meeting on Syria at the United Nations headquarters in New York. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Fury as Putin blocks UN efforts to resolve Ghouta crisis



Western diplomats at the United Nations expressed anger and frustration on Thursday evening after Russia torpedoed efforts to reach a ceasefire deal for Syria, dimming prospects of international action to halt the death in Eastern Ghouta.

A vote on a draft security council resolution was postponed for at least a day after the Russian ambassador tabled a set of amendments and railed against what he said was a “co-ordinated psychosis spread by global media outlets” about the region.

He spoke after the security council heard a string of appeals for urgent help. Mark Lowcock, the UN’s humanitarian aid chief, said almost 300 people had died during the past three days of shelling and airstrikes.

A Western diplomat said Russia was responsible for sabotaging a much needed humanitarian pause in the fighting.

“There’s a widespread sense of outrage among the majority of council members that Russia would seek to block a humanitarian resolution aimed at securing a 30-day ceasefire,” he said.

It means once again Russia has threatened the use of its veto to delay a humanitarian effort as it tries to shield Syrian forces attacking rebels.

Western diplomats hope a vote is possible on Friday but privately say the Russian amendments are unacceptable to the US and European members of the council.

They include stipulations that aid deliveries can be made only when security conditions allow and that foreign military forces can act only in co-ordination with Damascus.

The resolution had been two weeks in the making and was designed to allow deliveries of aid and medical evacuations.

It was discussed even as the Syrian army dropped leaflets on the area – a suburb of the capital Damascus – warning residents to leave.

Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, said a vote was being pursued even though Sweden and Kuwait, its sponsors, were “fully aware there is no agreement on it”.

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He added that it was unrealistic to think the resolution could impose a ceasefire and said the council would be taking a decision that would be “severed from reality”.

Instead he accused other council members of trying to create “a scandal in order to step up pressure on the Syrian government and taint the Russian government”.

His words fly in the face of growing evidence that a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding amid a growing international outcry over the assault on Eastern Ghouta.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on the European Union to step up pressure on Russia and Iran to end the violence.

“The regime is not fighting against terrorists, but against its own people, killing children, destroying hospitals, and this is a massacre to be condemned,” she told Parliament.

Boris Johnson, the UK’s foreign secretary, demanded urgent UN action to help the people of Eastern Ghouta.

“They are enduring a hell entirely of the making of Asad and his enablers,” he said.

The security council also heard an impassioned plea for action by Mr Lowcock, who said aid workers had been able to reach only two percent of the besieged population for the past three months.

“What we need is a sustained cessation of hostilities and we need it desperately,” he said. “Millions of battered and beleaguered children, women and men depend on meaningful action by this Council.”

He described a litany of human suffering, amid 23 attacks reported on vital human infrastructure, including hospitals and clinics, in the past three days.

“The only primary health care centre in Modira town was reportedly rendered out of service by airstrikes,” he added. “A hospital in Duma city sustained significant damage from nearby barrel bombs.”

The result was, he said, an entirely predictable and preventable humanitarian disaster.

The impasse heaps further pressure on the UN, highlighting its inability to find a solution.

Speaking before the vote was shelved, Francois Delattre, the French ambassador, said failure to act to help Eastern Ghouta could sound “the death knell of the United Nations”.

Stephen Hickey, the UK’s acting deputy permanent representative to the UN, said the security council had failed to uphold its responsibilities to the people of Syria.

“This is hell on earth. The scale of the human suffering and destruction is unbearable,” he said.

“The suffering of the Syrian people, while primarily the responsibility of the Syrian regime, brings shame on all of us in this council.”

Outside UN headquarters in New York, a coalition of aid groups put up three billboards, inspired by the film “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” that said “500,000 dead in Syria. And still no action? How come Security Council?”

Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

Rating: 5/5

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

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What to watch out for:

Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways

The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof

The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history

Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure

Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used

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.

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol

Power: 154bhp

Torque: 250Nm

Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option 

Price: From Dh79,600

On sale: Now

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Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
It's Monty Python's Crashing Rocket Circus

To the theme tune of the famous zany British comedy TV show, SpaceX has shown exactly what can go wrong when you try to land a rocket.

The two minute video posted on YouTube is a compilation of crashes and explosion as the company, created by billionaire Elon Musk, refined the technique of reusable space flight.

SpaceX is able to land its rockets on land  once they have completed the first stage of their mission, and is able to resuse them multiple times - a first for space flight.

But as the video, How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster, demonstrates, it was a case if you fail, try and try again.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.

A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.

Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.

A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.

On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.

The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.

Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.

The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later. 

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The specs

Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

Power: 271 and 409 horsepower

Torque: 385 and 650Nm

Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000

England Test squad

Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes.

RESULT

Bayern Munich 0 AC Milan 4
Milan: Kessie (14'), Cutrone (25', 43'), Calhanoglu (85')

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DIVINE%20INTERVENTOIN
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Temple numbers

Expected completion: 2022

Height: 24 meters

Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people

Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people

First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time

First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres  

Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres

Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor 

The%20specs
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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