UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for accountability after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine on Tuesday.
The dam's collapse in southern Ukraine caused floods in Nova Kakhovka and 80 other towns and villages along the Dnipro River, leading to the evacuation of thousands of people as Moscow and Kyiv blamed each other for the destruction.
“Today's tragedy is yet another example of the horrific price of war on people,” Mr Guterres told reporters in New York.
“The floodgates of suffering have been overflowing for more than a year, and that must stop.”
He warned of the added threat to Europe’s largest nuclear complex, Zaporizhzhia.
“Attacks against civilians and critical civilian infrastructure must stop,” Mr Guterres said. “And we must act to ensure accountability and respect for international humanitarian law.”
He said the UN did not have access to independent information on the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, but “one thing is clear: this is another devastating consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine”.
“At least 16,000 people have already lost their homes, with safe and clean drinking water supplies at risk for many thousands more,” Mr Guterres said.
He said the world body was co-ordinating with the government of Ukraine on relief action.
Before an emergency meeting of the Security Council requested by Russia and Ukraine to discuss the dam's destruction, US deputy ambassador Robert Wood told reporters that Washington was "not certain at all" who was to blame for the incident.
Mr Wood said he hoped to have "more information in the coming days".
He told Security Council members that an "investigation is under way".
Russia's UN ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, blamed Kyiv for "the deliberate sabotage" against the dam and said it could "essentially be classified as a war crime or an act of terrorism".
"Attacks on objects containing dangerous forces are expressly prohibited by international humanitarian law," asserted Mr Nebenzya.
Ukraine's UN ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya accused Russia of a "terrorist act against Ukrainian critical infrastructure", adding it was "physically impossible to blow it up somehow from the outside by shelling".
The UAE's deputy UN ambassador, Mohamed Abushahab, called for "de-escalation and dialogue", warning that the humanitarian consequences of the destruction of the dam were "significant".
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Boston%20Strangler
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Matt%20Ruskin%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKeira%20Knightley%2C%20Carrie%20Coon%2C%20Alessandro%20Nivola%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Stage 2
1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix 4:18:30
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:06
3. Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:06
4. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:06
5. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:08
The specs: 2018 Honda City
Price, base: From Dh57,000
Engine: 1.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 118hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 146Nm @ 4,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.8L / 100km
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
