Allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin have expressed concern about “excesses” in his controversial plan to mobilise 300,000 men to fight in Ukraine.
The country’s two most senior politicians publicly addressed the disquiet surrounding reports that people who have no military experience are being called up.
Mr Putin last week issued the mobilisation order to replenish his army, which has in recent weeks suffered heavy losses on the battlefield in Ukraine, with defending forces retaking vast amounts of territory.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu issued a guarantee that only men with special military skills or combat experience would be summoned as part of the mobilisation.
But there has since emerged a string of complaints about men with no training being issued with draft papers, prompting a backlash — including from Kremlin loyalists.
Russia's top two parliamentarians, both close allies of Mr Putin, explicitly addressed public anger at the way the mobilisation drive was unfolding. Valentina Matviyenko, the chairwoman of Russia's upper house, the Federation Council, issued a rebuke on Telegram to say she was aware of the reports.
"Such excesses are absolutely unacceptable,” she said about the cases of inexperienced men being drafted. “And, I consider it absolutely right that they are triggering a sharp reaction in society."
In a direct message to Russia's regional governors — who she said had "full responsibility" for implementing the call-up — she wrote: "Ensure the implementation of partial mobilisation is carried out in full and absolute compliance with the outlined criteria. Without a single mistake."
Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, the lower chamber of parliament, also expressed concern in a separate post.
"Complaints are being received," he wrote.
"If a mistake is made, it is necessary to correct it ... Authorities at every level should understand their responsibilities."
Mr Shoigu said nearly 6,000 troops had been killed since February, but some western analysts believe the figure could be much higher. The Pentagon in August said up to 80,000 Russians may have been killed or wounded since Moscow ordered its forces to advance earlier this year.
Mass protests sprung up after the Kremlin last week unveiled its mobilisation plan. More than 2,000 demonstrators have been arrested at rallies, rights groups said. More rallies were recorded on Sunday in Russia’s Far East and Siberia.
The country’s largest mobilisation since the Second World War has led to military-age men fleeing the country in droves, causing tailbacks at border crossings and flights to sell out.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on draftees to resist the call to go to war. Speaking in Russian during his nightly address late on Saturday, he said: “Not accepting a draft notice is better than dying a war criminal on foreign land.”
He also urged Russian troops fighting in Ukraine to lay down their arms, and offered guarantees that they would be treated fairly.
“Ukraine guarantees three things to every surrendering Russian soldier,” he said.
“First: you will be treated in a civilised manner, in accordance with all conventions.
"Second: no one will know the circumstances of your surrender, no one in Russia will know your surrender was voluntary.
"And third: if you are afraid to return to Russia and do not want an exchange, we will find a way to ensure this as well. Ukraine will do everything for its victory. And every Russian citizen must understand: no tricks will help the occupier. I promise you.”
Russia sought to defend its seven-month war at the UN General Assembly in New York, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov saying on Saturday that regions of Ukraine where widely derided referendums are being held would be under Moscow’s "full protection" if they are annexed.
Mr Lavrov also criticised the West’s response to the war in Ukraine, saying the US, EU and Nato “cannot claim to have a neutral status; they cannot assert that they are not participating in the conflict”.
An agreement signed by Russia and Serbia last week has landed the Balkan nation in hot water, as it seeks to become a member of the EU. Serbia’s foreign minister on Sunday sought to play down the importance of the deal which will involve the two countries consulting each other on foreign policy matters.
Nikola Selakovic signed the pact on Friday along with Mr Lavrov on the sidelines of UNGA where most western delegations shunned Russia's senior diplomat.
Mr Selakovic said on Sunday that the deal is a “technical” one and relates to bilateral ties, but not security issues. He insisted that Serbia has been signing similar documents with Russia since 1996.
“The government could have rejected such a plan but there is nothing contentious in it,” he added. “It is being criticised by those who haven’t seen it.”
The consultation plan covered by the agreement is expected to last for two years, Serbia’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday. Serbia officially is a candidate for EU membership, but the government maintains good relations with Russia.
Russia assailed at UNGA - in pictures
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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The years Ramadan fell in May
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
Correspondents
By Tim Murphy
(Grove Press)
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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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.
Review: Tomb Raider
Dir: Roar Uthaug
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Daniel Wu, Walter Goggins
two stars
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
T20 World Cup Qualifier
October 18 – November 2
Opening fixtures
Friday, October 18
ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya
Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan
Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed
Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20Shipsy%3Cbr%3EYear%20of%20inception%3A%202015%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Soham%20Chokshi%2C%20Dhruv%20Agrawal%2C%20Harsh%20Kumar%20and%20Himanshu%20Gupta%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20India%2C%20UAE%20and%20Indonesia%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20logistics%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%20more%20than%20350%20employees%3Cbr%3EFunding%20received%20so%20far%3A%20%2431%20million%20in%20series%20A%20and%20B%20rounds%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Info%20Edge%2C%20Sequoia%20Capital%E2%80%99s%20Surge%2C%20A91%20Partners%20and%20Z3%20Partners%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE%20HOLDOVERS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlexander%20Payne%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Paul%20Giamatti%2C%20Da'Vine%20Joy%20Randolph%2C%20Dominic%20Sessa%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
ANATOMY%20OF%20A%20FALL
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJustine%20Triet%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESandra%20Huller%2C%20Swann%20Arlaud%2C%20Milo%20Machado-Graner%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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
Brief scoreline
Switzerland 0
England 0
Result: England win 6-5 on penalties
Man of the Match: Trent Alexander-Arnold (England)
Without Remorse
Directed by: Stefano Sollima
Starring: Michael B Jordan
4/5
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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