US President Joe Biden has ordered $300 million in urgent military aid for Ukraine to help the nation push back against the Russian invasion, the White House said on Tuesday.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the measure would allow Kyiv's army to continue fighting for a short time, as a much larger aid package remains blocked in Congress.
“Today, on behalf of President Biden, I'm announcing an emergency package of security assistance and $300 million worth of weapons and equipment to address some of Ukraine's pressing needs,” Mr Sullivan said.
“We cannot provide ongoing assistance to Ukraine without significantly impacting our military readiness without congressional action. Congress must act.”
He said the emergency package was coming from unanticipated cost savings from Pentagon contracts and contains a large number of artillery rounds, launchers and munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, which the US first sent to Ukraine in June 2022.
The announcement came as Mr Biden met Poland’s President and Prime Minister later on Tuesday to discuss ways to support Ukraine.
Polish President Andrzej Duda told reporters he agreed with Mr Biden that aid for Ukraine is very important.
"Financial support for Ukraine is cheap if you take into account what other forms of support would be needed if it comes to war and to an attack on Nato countries," he also told US politicians before meeting the President.
Mr Biden also warned how essential backing Ukraine was for western democracy.
"Russia won't stop at Ukraine," he said.
"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin will keep going, putting Europe, the United States and the entire free world at risk."
Pentagon press secretary Maj Gen Pat Ryder said the package would also include Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, small-arms ammunition and cluster munitions.
The weapons will arrive in Ukraine quickly and will give the Ukrainians much-needed capabilities that will probably last for a “few weeks”, Maj Gen Ryder said.
“But nowhere even close to what they need to be able to continue to sustain this fight,” he said, calling on Congress to approve more funds.
Politico, meanwhile, reported that the US is also planning to send a number of additional long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems to Ukraine.
Another $60 billion in Ukraine funding has been approved by the Senate butMike Johnson, the Speaker of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, is refusing to bring the matter to a vote.
Former president Donald Trump – the front-runner for the Republicans' presidential nomination – pressured Mr Johnson not to, as he was wary of giving the Democrats an election-year win.
Thomas Watkins contributed to this report
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
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.
