Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine
A further three million refugees are expected to flee Ukraine, the UN’s refugee agency said on Tuesday — taking the total to 8.3 million, double original estimates.
Almost 5.3 million Ukrainians have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion on February 24, fuelling Europe's fastest-growing refugee crisis since the Second World War.
“The scale of the crisis, definitely the rapidity of people fleeing, we have not seen in recent times,” said UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo.
More than 12.9 million people have fled their homes in the past two months, including 7.7 million displaced internally and those who have left the country, the UNHCR said.
The agency, which initially forecast that up to four million people would leave this year, said it would need $1.85 billion to support refugees in neighbouring countries.
Ms Mantoo said it was “anyone's guess as to when we will reach this 8.3 million figure”.
“These displacements are still occurring every day. Every hour we are seeing people flee Ukraine,” she said in Geneva.
“This has been on such an expansive scale, and the rapidity of this we haven't seen in recent times.”
In the last couple of weeks, the speed of refugees leaving Ukraine has slowed but it is a constant stream into neighbouring countries, with Poland taking the most at almost three million.
After two months of war, the Ukraine conflict appears likely to produce more refugees than Syria, which after 11 years of conflict resulted in 6.8 million nationals registering as refugees.
The demographics of Ukraine's refugee population differ from many other crises.
Women and children account for 90 per cent of those who have fled abroad, with men aged 18 to 60 subject to military call-up and prohibited from leaving.
The UNHCR said that neighbouring countries had the capacity to respond to the crisis, but that “the scale of refugee arrivals and the breadth of their needs requires further support for national social protection systems and services”.
The UN humanitarian agency, the OCHA, also revised its estimates for the number of people needing help inside Ukraine — up to 15.7 million from 12 million.
Before the invasion, Ukraine had a population of 37 million in regions under government control, excluding Crimea, annexed by Russia, and the pro-Russian separatist-controlled regions in the east.
The OCHA has more than doubled its estimate for how much money is needed to assist people inside Ukraine.
It held a flash appeal on March 1, calling for $1.1bn to help six million people inside the country over three months.
On Tuesday, the OCHA said it now estimated that more than $2.25bn was necessary to address the escalating needs inside Ukraine, and said the appeal was meant to cover assistance through August.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
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End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
more from Janine di Giovanni
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
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Chatham House Rule
A mark of Chatham House’s influence 100 years on since its founding, was Moscow’s formal declaration last month that it was an “undesirable
organisation”.
The depth of knowledge and academics that it drew on
following the Ukraine invasion had broadcast Mr Putin’s chicanery.
The institute is more used to accommodating world leaders,
with Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher among those helping it provide
authoritative commentary on world events.
Chatham House was formally founded as the Royal Institute of
International Affairs following the peace conferences of World War One. Its
founder, Lionel Curtis, wanted a more scientific examination of international affairs
with a transparent exchange of information and ideas.
That arena of debate and analysis was enhanced by the “Chatham
House Rule” states that the contents of any meeting can be discussed outside Chatham
House but no mention can be made identifying individuals who commented.
This has enabled some candid exchanges on difficult subjects
allowing a greater degree of free speech from high-ranking figures.
These meetings are highly valued, so much so that
ambassadors reported them in secret diplomatic cables that – when they were
revealed in the Wikileaks reporting – were thus found to have broken the rule. However,
most speeches are held on the record.
Its research and debate has offered fresh ideas to
policymakers enabling them to more coherently address troubling issues from climate
change to health and food security.
