A critical aid corridor in northern Syria has closed after the UN Security Council failed to agree on extending it for another year.
Most council members wanted the Bab Al Hawa border crossing with Turkey — a conduit of vital aid for nearly four million Syrians — to remain open for a further 12 months.
Russia said it would not be opposed to maintaining it for six months, but vetoed the year-long extension. A new UN resolution would be needed to keep the crossing open for another six months.
Russia says the deliveries — about 9,000 lorries last year, filled mostly with food aid — violate Syrian sovereignty because they pass through areas held by anti-government rebel groups linked to Al Qaeda.
The last aid deliveries from Turkish territory to Syrians in the rebel-held north-west took place on Friday.
Without an agreement, the aid deliveries stopped two days before Sunday's expiration of the council's one-year mandate.
Mazen Allouche, manager of the crossing's media office, said the closure would be a disaster for people in northern Syria, many of whom have been displaced during the decade-long civil war.
"It's a prelude to a complete and uncontrollable famine," Mr Allouche said. "Refugees will nearly immediately suffer the consequences of this vote.”
Syria is in the grip of rising food prices, not only because of the war in Ukraine — which has pushed global wheat prices — but also because of a prolonged drought that has hit local wheat production.
"Russia pushed us to tents, to hunger, thirst and heat. And now they want to deny us the food aid basket that barely sustains us for half of the month," said Zahra Alrahmoon, a resident of the Ahl Al Tah camp in Idlib province for internally displaced Syrians.
International aid groups urged the Security Council to reach an agreement before Sunday's deadline, warning that the Russian veto would harm millions of people in urgent need of help.
Last month, a joint statement by the UN and international aid agencies operating in Syria said that the closure of the crossing would affect every aspect of life for refugees who are already struggling in harsh conditions.
“Failure to renew the resolution will have dire humanitarian consequences. It will immediately disrupt the UN’s life-saving aid operation, plunging people in north-west Syria into deeper misery and threatening their access to the food, medical care, clean water, shelter and protection from gender-based violence currently offered by UN-backed operations.”
Russia, a close ally of Syria's government, has repeatedly called for increased humanitarian aid deliveries to the north-west from within Syria, across conflict lines.
This would give Syrian President Bashar Al Assad's government more control.
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
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Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
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Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
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First car: VW Golf
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Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
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Calvin Harris
Columbia
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Stuck in a job without a pay rise? Here's what to do
Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
SPECS
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Liverpool 4-1 Shrewsbury
Liverpool
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Shrewsbury
Udoh (27'minutes)
Man of the Match: Kaide Gordon (Liverpool)
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
