The British government on Wednesday allocated £35 million to support Ukraine. Boris Johnson, the British Foreign Secretary, said the money was intended to speed up reforms and strengthen its security.
“With Russia continuing its efforts to destabilise Ukraine, and the occupation of Crimea ongoing, Britain must help to lead the way on ensuring Ukraine has a bright, stable and prosperous future”, he said.
Mr Johnson was in Copenhagen to attend the Ukraine Reform Conference – a joint endeavour of the UK, which hosted the inaugural summit in London, Denmark and Canada.
The aid will be spent on a range of projects: £5 million will be directed to help the Ukrainian government combat Russian “disinformation” campaigns.
Western capitals accuse Russia’s spy agency, GRU, of directing a propaganda offensive against the government of Ukraine and pro-western elements within it, and the fund is intended to counter Moscow.
Some £11 million will be channelled through the Good Governance Fund to support programmes designed to help Ukraine improve governance and intensify economic and political reform. Key institutions such as the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Business Ombudsman are expected to benefit from this grant.
Humanitarian aid projects will be given £6 million, while £13 million is earmarked for initiatives to bolster security, encourage defence reform, promote peace-building and further civilian oversight to reduce corruption.
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“We do all this because it is essential for Ukraine’s future security and prosperity, and because it is essential for upholding our European values, our security and our prosperity”, Mr Johnson said.
The UK’s assistance comes a month after the US allotted $250 million in military assistance to Ukraine in its draft defence budget for 2019. Experts say Russia is ramping its covert activities in Ukraine as the country prepares to hold presidential elections next year.
A joint communiqué by the representatives of the UK, Canada, and Denmark pledged to “constrain the Russian government’s ability to use disinformation in Ukraine and elsewhere, to spread malware while posing as cyber criminals, to sow discord in our societies and to engender public distrust in our democratic institutions”.
Denmark’s prime minister, Lars Loekke Rasmussen, who is hosting this year’s summit, called on Ukraine to speed up reforms, which he said were “moving forward a snail’s pace”. He told his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Groysman, that reforms would be “Ukraine’s ticket to freedom and long term stability”. Canada will host the third Ukraine Reform Conference next year.
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
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Stars: 3
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.
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
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.
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)
67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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2. North America
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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