Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy tells Davos to move faster in response to war


Tim Stickings
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged allies in Davos to make wartime decisions faster because “tragedies are outpacing life”.

In a pointedly short address by video link, Mr Zelenskyy accused the western world of hesitating while Russia escalated the conflict.

“The time the free world uses to think is used by the terrorist state to kill,” he said.

It came on the day that a helicopter crash near Kyiv killed Ukraine's Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi and more than a dozen others, including children and other senior officials.

After asking for a minute's silence from dignitaries in Davos, Mr Zelenskyy said minutes were all Russia needed to launch missiles at Ukraine.

He urged western allies to send tanks before Russia launches a new offensive. It comes two days before a key summit that could unblock the delivery of German-made Leopard tanks.

Speaking before Mr Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made no promises beyond his well-established slogan of supporting Ukraine “as long as necessary”.

“We are continuously supplying Ukraine with large quantities of arms, in close consultation with our partners,” Mr Scholz said.

Flowers are left at the scene of a fatal helicopter crash near Kyiv. Reuters
Flowers are left at the scene of a fatal helicopter crash near Kyiv. Reuters

Mr Zelenskyy told the forum that the list of crises overshadowing Davos, such as food prices, inflation and climate change, should be “amended with another one: the time crisis”.

“Tragedies are outpacing life. The tyranny is outpacing the democracy. Russia needed less than once second to start the war. The world needed days to react with the first sanctions,” he said.

“The world was hesitant in 2014 when Russia, without hesitation, occupied Crimea. The world was hesitant in 2022 when Russia, without hesitation, made the war full-scale.”

Russia has launched a barrage of missile and drone attacks in recent weeks that have cut power in Ukrainian cities. Ukraine is asking allies for air defences and top-of-the-range battle tanks.

Mr Zelenskyy said: “The mobilisation of the world must outpace the next military mobilisation of our joint enemy. The supplying of Ukraine with air defence systems must outpace Russia’s next missile attacks. The supplies of western tanks must outpace another invasion of Russian tanks.

“We routinely defend values which some of the allies take for granted as a fact of life. For us, the fact of life is a world in need of resolute and prompt steps.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday defended his country's invasion of Ukraine. Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday defended his country's invasion of Ukraine. Reuters

It came as Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the invasion launched last February was an attempt to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine that had been going since 2014.

“Large-scale combat operations involving heavy weapons, artillery, tanks and aircraft haven’t stopped in Donbas since 2014,” Mr Putin said.

“All that we are doing today as part of the special military operation is an attempt to stop this war. This is the meaning of our operation — protecting people who live on those territories.”

Mr Zelenskyy is urging leaders to adopt a 10-point peace plan proposed by Ukraine, which calls for Russia to withdraw its troops.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday called the proposals absurd and said there could be “no talk of negotiations with Zelenskyy”.

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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.

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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

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Key developments in maritime dispute

2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier. 

2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus

2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.

2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.

2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed

Based: Muscat

Launch year: 2018

Number of employees: 40

Sector: Online food delivery

Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception 

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Taleb Alrefai, 
HBKU Press 

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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Joseph E. Stiglitz
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Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

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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
The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

Classification from Tour de France after Stage 17

1. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 73:27:26"

2. Rigoberto Uran (Colombia / Cannondale-Drapac) 27"

3. Romain Bardet (France / AG2R La Mondiale)

4. Fabio Aru (Italy / Astana Pro Team) 53"

5. Mikel Landa (Spain / Team Sky) 1:24"

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The alternatives

• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.

• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.

• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.

2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.

• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases -  but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.

Updated: January 18, 2023, 8:46 PM`