Russia has acquired and used ballistic missiles from North Korea and is seeking close-range ballistic missiles from Iran to use in its continued invasion of Ukraine in “a significant and concerning escalation”, the White House said on Thursday,
Citing recently declassified intelligence, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said North Korea has provided Russia with ballistic missile launchers as well as several ballistic missiles.
Russian forces fired at least one missile into Ukraine on December 30, which landed in an open field in the Zaporizhzhia region, Mr Kirby said. On Tuesday, several more ballistic missiles were launched in an overnight attack and the US was still assessing their impact, he said.
“Our information indicates that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea recently provided Russia with ballistic missile launchers and several ballistic missiles,” Mr Kirby told reporters.
“We expect Russia and North Korea to learn from these launches, and we anticipate that Russia will use additional North Korean missiles to target Ukraine civilian infrastructure and to kill innocent Ukrainians.”
These North Korean ballistic missiles are capable of ranges of about 900 kilometres, Mr Kirby said.
The development comes as the administration of President Joe Biden voices concern over Pyongyang seeking military assistance from Russia in exchange for weapons. Mr Kirby said such support could include fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, armoured vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment and other advanced technologies.
Mr Kirby also said that Russia was looking to acquire close-range ballistic missiles from Iran. The deal has not been completed yet, he said but “the United States is concerned that Russia negotiations to acquire close-range ballistic missiles from Iran are actively advanced”.
He said the US would raise its concerns about the new arms deals at the UN Security Council and would impose more sanctions against North Korean and Iranian individuals or entities involved in the deals.
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley
Two-and-a-half out of five stars
Australia tour of Pakistan
March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi
March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi
March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore
March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi
March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi
April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi
April 5: T20I, Rawalpindi
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
Spec%20sheet
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