Poland is to spend more than €2.3 billion ($2.5 billion) strengthening its eastern border against potential attacks, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday.
“We have taken the decision to invest 10 billion zlotys for our security and above all to secure our eastern border,” he said, referring to the fortification project as an “eastern shield”.
Poland's eastern neighbours include Belarus, Ukraine and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
“The reinforcement of 400km of border with Russia and Belarus will be an element of dissuasion, a strategy to push back the war at our frontiers,” Mr Tusk said.
Poland has been a strong supporter of Ukraine since the Russian invasion more than two years ago and the country is a transit route for arms being shipped from Ukraine's western allies.
The Polish army has been modernised, having acquired billions of dollars of military equipment, mostly from the US and South Korea.
Poland's defence spending has also been raised to four per cent of GDP, making it one of the highest proportions in the EU.
Weakened air defences
Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the AFP news agency he expects Russia to step up its offensive in the north-east, and warned that the capital, Kyiv, only has a quarter of the air defences it needs to hold the front line.
Russian forces made modest gains over the winter, but launched a surprise attack just over a week ago in the Kharkiv region, which has afforded them their biggest territorial gains in 18 months.
Mr Zelenskyy said Russian troops advanced between 5km and 10km along the north-eastern border before being halted by Ukrainian forces, but added that the region could be the “first wave” in a wider offensive.
“I won't say it's a great success [for Russia] but we have to be sober and understand that they are going deeper into our territory,” he said.
Mr Zelenskyy said the situation around Kharkiv has been “controlled” but “not stabilised”.
He also repeated his request for Ukraine's allies to send more air defence and fighter jets in order to challenge Russia's air superiority.
“Today, we have about 25 per cent of what we need to defend Ukraine. I'm talking about air defence,” he said, adding that the country needed “120 to 130" F-16 fighter jets or other advanced aircraft to achieve air “parity” with Russia.
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UAE's role in anti-extremism recognised
General John Allen, President of the Brookings Institution research group, commended the role the UAE has played in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
He told a Globsec debate of the UAE’s "hugely outsized" role in the fight against Isis.
"It’s trite these days to say that any country punches above its weight, but in every possible way the Emirates did, both militarily, and very importantly, the UAE was extraordinarily helpful on getting to the issue of violent extremism," he said.
He also noted the impact that Hedayah, among others in the UAE, has played in addressing violent extremism.
Saudi National Day
Chris%20Jordan%20on%20Sanchit
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MEYDAN%20RACECARD
Tomorrow 2021
Zayed Sustainability Prize
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
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Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.
The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.
The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.
The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.
What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
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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
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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- Sheikha Mahra and Sheikha Sabha recall their time spent in Al Hosn
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Saudi National Day
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Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
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World Mental Health Day
Five films to watch
Castle in the Sky (1986)
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Only Yesterday (1991)
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The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
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RACE CARD
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group 1 (PA) Dh119,373 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Turf) 1,800m
8.15pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial (TB) Dh183,650 (D) 1,400m
9.50pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
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Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
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25 visual effects (VFX) studios
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3,000 technicians
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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