UN peacekeepers guard the entrance to a 'weapons-free zone' in Kaga Bandoro, Central African Republic. Jack Losh for The National
UN peacekeepers guard the entrance to a 'weapons-free zone' in Kaga Bandoro, Central African Republic. Jack Losh for The National
UN peacekeepers guard the entrance to a 'weapons-free zone' in Kaga Bandoro, Central African Republic. Jack Losh for The National
UN peacekeepers guard the entrance to a 'weapons-free zone' in Kaga Bandoro, Central African Republic. Jack Losh for The National

US criticises Russia’s shadow mercenary war in central Africa


James Reinl
  • English
  • Arabic

The US on Wednesday urged Russia to rein in a mercenary force that is fighting in a civil war in the Central African Republic, pointing to evidence of lootings, mass killings and other abuses.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Washington’s UN envoy, said Russian mercenaries were operating on behalf of defence chiefs in Moscow in the landlocked African nation and have been linked to “horrific acts” there.

Her comments follow a report by UN monitors on the arms embargo imposed on Bangui in 2013 which found that Russian military trainers and Central African Republic forces had indiscriminately killed civilians, occupied schools and looted towns.

“The UN has provided evidence, including eyewitness accounts, detailing violence and abuses carried out in the Central African Republic by mercenaries working as an arm of Russia’s Ministry of Defence,” Ms Thomas-Greenfield said.

“Russia must immediately stop the violence, hold those responsible accountable and remove mercenaries endangering UN peacekeepers."

Russia has sent hundreds of military experts to arm and train government troops fighting rebels in the resource-rich ex-French colony, which collapsed into civil war in 2013.

The paramilitary troops from the Russian group Wagner are reportedly well connected in the Kremlin and even reputedly have ties to President Vladimir Putin — though Moscow denies any involvement with the group.

Russia’s UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia on Wednesday rejected the findings of the UN panel.

"We saw this report, analysed it and prepared comments to it, which were fully ignored,” Mr Nebenzia told reporters in New York.

“This is the same story: unfounded accusations, evidence collected God-knows-where, witnesses who cannot be identified.”

Government officials from the Central African Republic have also rejected the report.

The country has been wracked by violence since the Seleka coalition of mostly Muslim rebels seized power in March 2013. The Central African Republic's military, backed by UN peacekeepers as well as Russian and Rwandan troops, has in recent months been battling the rebels.

US President Joe Biden and his counterpart Mr Putin tackled worsening US-Russia ties at a summit in Geneva earlier this month, but they continue to disagree over everything from cyber attacks to the wars in Syria, Ukraine and the Central African Republic.

Brief scoreline:

Toss: South Africa, elected to bowl first

England (311-8): Stokes 89, Morgan 57, Roy 54, Root 51; Ngidi 3-66

South Africa (207): De Kock 68, Van der Dussen 50; Archer 3-27, Stokes 2-12

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017

Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free

Fixtures - Open Men 2pm: India v New Zealand, Malaysia v UAE, Singapore v South Africa, Sri Lanka v England; 8pm: Australia v Singapore, India v Sri Lanka, England v Malaysia, New Zealand v South Africa

Fixtures - Open Women Noon: New Zealand v England, UAE v Australia; 6pm: England v South Africa, New Zealand v Australia

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Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:

- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools

- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say

- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance

- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs

- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills

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Founder(s): Dr Baher Al Hakim, Dr Nadine Nehme and Makram Saleh

Based: Vienna, Austria; started in Dubai

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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. 

 

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Name: Xpanceo

Started: 2018

Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov

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252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome

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The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants

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Hundreds of millions of people under-served by traditional institutions, for one thing. In China, India and elsewhere, digital wallets such as Alipay, WeChat Pay and Paytm have already become ubiquitous, offering millions of people an easy way to store and spend their money via mobile phone. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are also among the world’s biggest under-banked countries; together they have almost half a billion people.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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Baby boomers (those born before 1964): Owing to market uncertainty and the need to survive amid competition, many in this generation are looking for options to hoard more cash and increase their overall savings/investments towards risk-free assets.

Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980): Gen X is currently in its prime working years. With their personal and family finances taking a hit, Generation X is looking at multiple options, including taking out short-term loan facilities with competitive interest rates instead of dipping into their savings account.

Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996): This market situation is giving them a valuable lesson about investing early. Many millennials who had previously not saved or invested are looking to start doing so now.

Updated: July 01, 2021, 7:14 AM`