At least 15 Syrian children died in a suspected Russian air strike on a school in rebel-held territory near Damascus, while a surprise ISIL attack killed 36 pro-government fighters.
Two women were also killed in the air strike in the besieged Eastern Ghouta suburbs on the edge of the capital, a Britain-based war monitor said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bombing raid on Monday hit Arbin, a key town in the dwindling enclave that has been under attack by forces loyal to President Bashar Al Assad for more than a month.
"Three missiles from a single air strike hit the school, where the underground level was being used as a shelter," said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the monitor.
"Rescue workers are still searching for survivors."
The White Helmets rescue force was pulling bodies out of the rubble on Tuesday and said its workers had been directly targeted in continuous bombing that was complicating their operation.
The Observatory - which identifies air strikes based on flight patterns, munitions used and aircraft - said Russia was believed to have carried out the raid.
Moscow has said it is helping the Assad regime "finish off" fighters in Ghouta but has denied carrying out strikes against civilians.
The attack came as ISIL took control of a district on the outskirts of Damascus after their deadly attack on pro-Assad forces, following days of fighting.
"ISIL took full control of Qadam, and 36 government troops and loyalist fighters have been killed," said the Observatory, which could not provide casualty figures for the insurgents.
There was no immediate comment from the Assad government.
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Mr Abdel Rahman said dozens more forces loyal to the Assad regime were wounded or captured, or are still missing in action.
He said ISIL launched the attack from positions it holds in the adjacent Hajar Al Aswad district.
"Regime forces are bringing reinforcements to the area around Qadam to try to retake it," Mr Abdel Rahman said.
Qadam lies in a southern part of Damascus and has for several years hosted a range of Islamist rebels and extremists, including ISIL and its rival, Al Qaeda's one-time Syrian branch Hayat Tahrir Al Sham.
The Syrian government has used both military pressure and negotiated settlements to try to clear the area.
Last week, hundreds of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham fighters left the district under a deal with the Assad regime that granted them and their family members safe passage. Most headed north-west to Idlib province.
But ISIL put out a statement late on Monday saying it had captured most of Qadam, including areas "surrendered" to regime forces by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham.
The district is smaller than and not connected to Eastern Ghouta.
On Tuesday, the Russian foreign ministry said that 79,702 civilians, most of whom are children, have been moved out of Eastern Ghouta as part of a humanitarian mission.
And it said in a statement posted on its website that on Monday alone, 6,046 civilians left the district via humanitarian corridors.
Since February 18, Syrian troops and allied militia have been waging a ferocious ground and air assault to flush out rebels from Ghouta, just east of Damascus.
They have captured more than 80 per cent of territory there and have splintered what remains into three sections, each held by a separate rebel group.
The pocket where Arbin lies is held by the Faylaq Al Rahman faction.
Syrian troops have made sweeping advances against them in recent days, opening a "corridor" for civilians to flee into government-controlled territory.
Other residents have opted to flee deeper into the shrinking rebel-held areas.
The White Helmets, who work to extract people after air strikes, said on Tuesday its teams in Arbin had come under fire.
"They're not able to use their heavy vehicles because the planes are targeting the Civil Defence directly," Oways Al Shami, a spokesman for the group, said of the rescuers.
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Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
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Find the right policy for you
Don’t wait until the week you fly to sign up for insurance – get it when you book your trip. Insurance covers you for cancellation and anything else that can go wrong before you leave.
Some insurers, such as World Nomads, allow you to book once you are travelling – but, as Mr Mohammed found out, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered.
Check your credit card before booking insurance to see if you have any travel insurance as a benefit – most UAE banks, such as Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, have cards that throw in insurance as part of their package. But read the fine print – they may only cover emergencies while you’re travelling, not cancellation before a trip.
Pre-existing medical conditions such as a heart condition, diabetes, epilepsy and even asthma may not be included as standard. Again, check the terms, exclusions and limitations of any insurance carefully.
If you want trip cancellation or curtailment, baggage loss or delay covered, you may need a higher-grade plan, says Ambareen Musa of Souqalmal.com. Decide how much coverage you need for emergency medical expenses or personal liability. Premium insurance packages give up to $1 million (Dh3.7m) in each category, Ms Musa adds.
Don’t wait for days to call your insurer if you need to make a claim. You may be required to notify them within 72 hours. Gather together all receipts, emails and reports to prove that you paid for something, that you didn’t use it and that you did not get reimbursed.
Finally, consider optional extras you may need, says Sarah Pickford of Travel Counsellors, such as a winter sports holiday. Also ensure all individuals can travel independently on that cover, she adds. And remember: “Cheap isn’t necessarily best.”
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Results
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Results:
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Winner: AZ Dhabyan, Adam McLean (jockey), Saleha Al Ghurair (trainer).
2.45pm: Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 1,200m.
Winner: Ashton Tourettes, Sam Hitchcott, Ibrahim Aseel.
3.15pm: Conditions (PA) Dh60,000 2,000m.
Winner: Hareer Al Reef, Gerald Avranche, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
3.45pm: Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 1,700m.
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4.15pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup (TB) Dh 200,000 1,700m.
Winner: Mystique Moon, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.
4.45pm: The Crown Prince Of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 1,200m.
Winner: ES Ajeeb, Sam Hitchcott, Ibrahim Aseel.
Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
