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Germany has halted the opening of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in response to Russia’s escalation of the crisis in Ukraine.
Separately, EU ministers unanimously agreed a package of sanctions on Russia, shortly after separate British sanctions were imposed on five banks and three oligarchs.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he had ordered a rethink on the pipeline in light of what he called a changed security environment in Europe.
Speaking in Berlin on Tuesday, Mr Scholz said this was a “necessary administrative step so that the pipeline cannot be certified at this time”.
Germany had previously resisted calls from the US and Britain, as well as Ukraine, to scrap the trans-Baltic pipeline over fears that Russia will use it as a geopolitical weapon.
But Ukraine lauded Mr Scholz for changing course on Tuesday, with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba welcoming what he called a “morally, politically and practically correct step in the current circumstances".
Russia responded with a warning that consumers in Europe would face even higher prices after a winter surge in gas and electricity costs.
“Welcome to the brave new world where Europeans are very soon going to pay 2,000 euros ($2,270) for 1,000 cubic metres of natural gas,” said Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's former president and now a member of Vladimir Putin's security council.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell said: “We are in a particular dangerous moment for Europe.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had earlier demanded an immediate halt to Nord Stream 2 after Russia granted recognition to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine and ordered troops there in a so-called peacekeeping mission.
“These are very difficult hours and days for Europe,” said Mr Scholz, who was meeting Irish leader Micheal Martin hours before the EU was set to unveil separate sanctions on Russia.
He described Russia's actions as a “grave breach of international law” but said diplomatic efforts would continue to prevent a further escalation.
Russia brushed off the pipeline's suspension and other looming sanctions. “Moscow is not afraid of anything,” the Tass news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko as saying.
Construction on Nord Stream 2 was completed last September but it needs approval from German regulators before it can go into operation.
Mr Scholz inherited the dilemma from his predecessor, Angela Merkel, who supported Nord Stream 2 and described it as purely an economic project.
He did not rule out a future opening date for the pipeline but said officials in Germany's Economy Ministry would rewrite their analysis of Germany's energy security in light of the latest developments.
Europe is under pressure to reduce its reliance on Russian gas for both political and environmental reasons, but Germany expects to rely on the fossil fuel for an interim period as it switches off coal and nuclear plants.
In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Europe had not done enough on this front after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. He later welcomed Germany's decision as a “brave step” and “the right thing to do".
“We didn't do enough as Europeans to wean ourselves off Russian hydrocarbons, off Russian oil and gas,” he said. “We've got to make sure that we cut the umbilicus, we snip the drip feed into our bloodstream from Nord Stream.”
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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Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
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Jetour T1 specs
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Suggested picnic spots
Abu Dhabi
Umm Al Emarat Park
Yas Gateway Park
Delma Park
Al Bateen beach
Saadiyaat beach
The Corniche
Zayed Sports City
Dubai
Kite Beach
Zabeel Park
Al Nahda Pond Park
Mushrif Park
Safa Park
Al Mamzar Beach Park
Al Qudrah Lakes
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The five pillars of Islam
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.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
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Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
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The specs: 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali
Price, base / as tested Dh207,846 / Dh220,000
Engine 6.2L V8
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque 624Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined 13.5L / 100km
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Test series fixtures
(All matches start at 2pm UAE)
1st Test Lord's, London from Thursday to Monday
2nd Test Nottingham from July 14-18
3rd Test The Oval, London from July 27-31
4th Test Manchester from August 4-8
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