The Syrian Civil Defence White Helmets and residents search for victims under the rubble of destroyed buildings that was hit by airstrikes in the northern town of Maaret Al Numan, in Idlib province, Syria. Russia has announced a ceasefire in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province from Saturday morning. AP
The Syrian Civil Defence White Helmets and residents search for victims under the rubble of destroyed buildings that was hit by airstrikes in the northern town of Maaret Al Numan, in Idlib province, Syria. Russia has announced a ceasefire in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province from Saturday morning. AP
The Syrian Civil Defence White Helmets and residents search for victims under the rubble of destroyed buildings that was hit by airstrikes in the northern town of Maaret Al Numan, in Idlib province, Syria. Russia has announced a ceasefire in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province from Saturday morning. AP
The Syrian Civil Defence White Helmets and residents search for victims under the rubble of destroyed buildings that was hit by airstrikes in the northern town of Maaret Al Numan, in Idlib province, S

Russia announces ceasefire in Syria's Idlib from Saturday


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Russia has announced a ceasefire in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province from Saturday morning, offering respite to civilians who have endured a months-long campaign of bombardment that has killed hundreds.

An agreement was reached on "a unilateral ceasefire by Syrian government forces in the Idlib de-escalation zone, from 6am [0300 GMT] on August 31," the Russian Reconciliation Centre for Syria said in a statement.

Russia's defence ministry also urged armed militant groups in the region to join the ceasefire, according to Interfax news agency.

The announcement follows talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Moscow earlier this week.

The two countries agreed on a ceasefire in the last major rebel-held Syrian territory in September last year amid concerns about a humanitarian catastrophe that a military campaign would cause. The deal was never fully implemented and collapsed with the start of a Russia-backed offensive by President Bashar Al Assad's forces in April.

The Assad regime has come in for mounting international criticism over the civilian toll from the offensive. At least 900 civilians had been killed and about 400,000 displaced by early August, according to the UN and a war monitor.

On August 1, UN chief Antonio Guterres ordered a special investigation into the repeated bombing of hospitals and schools n Idlib by Syria and Russia. The Syrian government announced a ceasefire hours later but resumed its offensive within days after accusing opposition fighters of failing to withdraw fighters and heavy weapons from a buffer zone around the rebel-held under the terms of the Turkey-Russia truce.

Russia is President Al Assad's main backer along with Iran, while Turkey has supported Syrian opposition groups.

The latest truce announcement came a day after diplomats at the UN said a draft resolution addressing the worsening humanitarian situation in Idlib would be presented to the Security Council within days. Belgium's ambassador to the UN, Marc Pecsteen de Buytswerve, said his country had drafted the resolution along with Kuwait and Germany.

The government scored after a string of victories after resuming its offensive, its first significant gains since April. Troops retook the key town of Khan Sheikhoun, which sits on a highway connecting the capital Damascus to the northern city of Aleppo, and surrounding areas last week after opposition fighters withdrew.

Government forces have also moved deeper into territory along the Turkish border, taking the town of Tamaneh after earlier capturing Khwain, Zarzoor and Tamanah farms, Syrian army defectors and residents said. The advance came after the government intensified air strikes and brought in reinforcements including elite army units and Iran-backed militias, they told Reuters.

"There are daily reinforcements coming from the Iranian militias, elite Republican Guards units and Fourth Armoured Division," said Colonel Mustafa Bakour, a commander in Jaish al Izza rebel group.

In recent weeks, Moscow sent more special forces that helped break months of stalemate on frontlines where rebels had been holding the army back, western intelligence sources have said.

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UK-EU trade at a glance

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Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

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While you're here
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Director: Christian Schwochow

Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons

Rating: 3/5

Have you been targeted?

Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:

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The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

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The Uefa Awards winners

Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)

Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League

Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)

Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)

Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona

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Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

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Ed Sheeran (Atlantic)

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
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In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.

 

There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.

 

More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.

 

The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.

Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.

Based: Riyadh

Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany

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Number of employees: 70

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Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds  

Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices

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Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis

Rating: 2/5

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