Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine
Western allies will adopt a new round of financial sanctions against Russia on Sunday including barring a number of Russian banks from the Swift interbank system.
Germany changed its position about imposing restrictions on Russia's access to Swift, allowing the breakthrough for agreement, on the same day it lifted a long-standing block on sending weapons to war zones.
The Swift move will affect Russian trade and make it harder for Russian companies to do business and will be adopted during a special meeting of EU foreign ministers on Sunday, chief EU diplomat Josep Borrell said on Twitter.
A US official said: “There's a process under way to finalise the list of banks that will be cut off from the Swift system. There are several [Russian] banks that Europe and the US have sanctioned and those will be the first ones considered.”
Japan will also join the effort. "Western nations have requested Japan participate. Japan will join this initiative," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Sunday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed moves to disconnect Russia from “global financial civilisation” in a video message.
The US, Britain, European Commission and Canada moved on Saturday to block Russia's access to the Swift international payment system as part of another round of sanctions against Moscow.
The measures, which will include restrictions on the Russian central bank's international reserves, will be implemented in the coming days, the nations said in a joint statement.
"We will hold Russia to account and collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin," the statement said.
"As Russian forces unleash their assault on Kiev and other Ukrainian cities, we are resolved to continue imposing costs on Russia that will further isolate Russia from the international financial system and our economies," it added.
Announcing the deal, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the measures would help “paralyse the assets of Russia’s central bank” so that its transactions would be frozen.
She said several commercial banks will be removed from Swift to “ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally”.
“Cutting banks off will stop them from conducting most of their financial transactions worldwide and effectively block Russian exports and imports,” she said.
They also announced a commitment to end so-called 'golden passports' where wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government can become citizens of our countries.
“Our diplomats fought around the clock to inspire all European countries to agree on a strong and fair decision to disconnect Russia from the international interbanking network. We also have this victory,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
“This is billions and billions of losses for Russia — a tangible price for this vile invasion of our country … Ukraine won the attention of the entire civilised world. And the practical result? Here it is — Swift … Disconnecting from global financial civilisation.”
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed the impetus to exclude Russia from Swift.
Germany, which has the EU's biggest trade flows with Russia, had been reluctant to get on board with cutting off Russia from the world's main international payments network, saying it must first weigh the economic consequences of such a move.
Swift is a secure system that enables rapid cross-border payments and is the principal mechanism for financing international trade.
Berlin's change of heart came as Russian forces pounded Kiev and other cities with artillery and cruise missiles on day three of a campaign that has sent hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing west towards the EU, clogging major roads and railway lines.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
EXPATS
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Avengers: Endgame
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
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
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
THREE
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New schools in Dubai
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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The specs
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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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:
