A UN mission on Sunday arrived in the conflict-hit region of Nagorno-Karabakh, after more than 100,000 people fled to Armenia in what Azerbaijan denies is a case of ethnic cleansing.
The UN inspectors will assess humanitarian needs in the area after gaining access for the first time in about 30 years.
Azerbaijan agreed to let them in but was criticised by France for only allowing the mission after most ethnic-Armenian residents had already fled.
Pope Francis used his Sunday prayer to urge dialogue in the region, expressing hope for a "lasting agreement that will put an end to the humanitarian crisis".
The region's separatist government surrendered last week after a lightning military offensive by Azerbaijan, agreeing to disarm and disband.
As of Sunday morning a total of 100,483 people had arrived in Armenia after being "forcefully displaced", according to authorities there – most of the population.
About 46,000 refugees are living in temporary accommodation, said Nazeli Baghdasaryan, a spokeswoman for the Armenian Prime Minister's office.
The exodus has rewritten the centuries-old ethnic makeup of the region, which is formally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but has been in dispute since the break-up of the Soviet Union.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has several times accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing and "depriving people of their motherland" since the separatists lost control of the region on September 20.
Hikmet Hajiyev, a diplomatic adviser to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, insisted there was "no single case of violence or atrocity against civilians".
"We cannot accept accusations of ethnic cleansing or genocide," he told AFP. "Ethnic cleansing is a forceful action, when somebody is using force against civilians."
Mr Hajiyev said Azerbaijan had detained "five to six" people whom it accused of war crimes but added people leaving the country were doing so of their own free will.
"They are free. If somebody puts down his gun, they are free and they have decided on their own choice to go to the republic of Armenia," he said.
"If they accept Azerbaijan citizenship, we will protect and ensure their rights and their security, and we will establish a municipality system so that they can govern their affairs at a local level, and religious and cultural rights will be assured."
Day of prayer
Armenia was on Sunday observing a national day of prayer for the region. Hundreds attended a service led by the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the country's main cathedral.
The nation of 2.8 million people faces a major challenge housing the sudden influx of refugees. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has launched an emergency appeal to raise $22 million to help those fleeing. Armenia has asked the EU for temporary shelters and medical supplies, according to the Italian government.
Protesters have voiced their anger at Mr Pashinyan, who has been blamed by the opposition for failing to defend a region regarded as an ancestral Armenian homeland.
At least 170 people were killed in an explosion at a fuel depot on Monday as refugees scrambled to stock up on petrol, adding to the human toll of the conflict on the mountainous border.
Azerbaijan is holding talks with separatist leaders on the region's "reintegration", while also detaining some senior figures from its former government and military command. Armenia says people are fleeing out of fear of reprisals.
The leaders of the two countries, Mr Aliyev and Mr Pashinyan, are set to meet for western-mediated talks on Thursday after previous EU attempts to broker peace failed to prevent escalation. Previous wars ended in ceasefires in 1994 and 2020.
Thursday's talks will come on the sidelines of a meeting of the European Political Community in Granada, Spain. The EU has urged the two sides to "reiterate publicly their commitment to each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty".
Armenia, traditionally an ally of Russia, has described its current alliances as inadequate after peacekeepers sent by Moscow failed to enforce a truce.
Mr Pashinyan has urged his country's parliament to make Armenia a member of the International Criminal Court, a step which would aggravate Russia given the court's arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin.
The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
Pakistan World Cup squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez(subject to fitness), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain
Two additions for England ODIs: Mohammad Amir and Asif Ali
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
More on animal trafficking
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier
The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier
Final: UAE beat Qatar by nine wickets
Third-place play-off: Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by five runs
Table
1 UAE 5 5 0 10
2 Qatar 5 4 1 8
3 Saudi 5 3 2 6
4 Kuwait 5 2 3 4
5 Bahrain 5 1 4 2
6 Maldives 5 0 5 0
The five pillars of Islam
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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Japan
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ENGLAND SQUAD
Joe Root (captain), Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Dan Lawrence, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
First-round leaderbaord
-5 C Conners (Can)
-3 B Koepka (US), K Bradley (US), V Hovland (Nor), A Wise (US), S Horsfield (Eng), C Davis (Aus);
-2 C Morikawa (US), M Laird (Sco), C Tringale (US)
Selected others: -1 P Casey (Eng), R Fowler (US), T Hatton (Eng)
Level B DeChambeau (US), J Rose (Eng)
1 L Westwood (Eng), J Spieth (US)
3 R McIlroy (NI)
4 D Johnson (US)
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amit%20Joshi%20and%20Aradhana%20Sah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECast%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shahid%20Kapoor%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%2C%20Dharmendra%2C%20Dimple%20Kapadia%2C%20Rakesh%20Bedi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
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liverpool youngsters
Ki-Jana Hoever
The only one of this squad to have scored for Liverpool, the versatile Dutchman impressed on his debut at Wolves in January. He can play right-back, centre-back or in midfield.
Herbie Kane
Not the most prominent H Kane in English football but a 21-year-old Bristolian who had a fine season on loan at Doncaster last year. He is an all-action midfielder.
Luis Longstaff
Signed from Newcastle but no relation to United’s brothers Sean and Matty, Luis is a winger. An England Under-16 international, he helped Liverpool win the FA Youth Cup last season.
Yasser Larouci
An 18-year-old Algerian-born winger who can also play as a left-back, Larouci did well on Liverpool’s pre-season tour until an awful tackle by a Sevilla player injured him.
Adam Lewis
Steven Gerrard is a fan of his fellow Scouser, who has been on Liverpool’s books since he was in the Under-6s, Lewis was a midfielder, but has been converted into a left-back.