Votes in four occupied regions in Ukraine on annexation by Russia are a "sham" and "a blatant violation of international law, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.
Mr Stoltenberg tweeted that he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "and made clear that Nato allies are unwavering in our support for Ukraine's sovereignty and right to self-defence".
"The sham referenda held by Russia have no legitimacy and are a blatant violation of international law. These lands are Ukraine," Mr Stoltenberg said.
His declaration was made on the fifth and final day of the Moscow-organised voting in the Ukrainian regions, where Kremlin-installed authorities were already claiming the uncounted ballots had gone Russia's way.
While Nato is not directly involved in the war in Ukraine, the blowback from the conflict, especially from soaring energy prices, has been felt across Europe, where countries make up the bulk of the alliance's membership.
The energy issue became even more dramatic with leaks from two currently non-operational gas pipelines linking Russia to Germany, with Denmark and Poland raising suspicions of sabotage.
Mr Stoltenberg, later speaking to centre-left EU lawmakers, said that while facts of the pipeline leaks were not yet clear, "Russia is now weaponising energy".
He added that Russia had exacerbated the situation by holding "sham" votes, mobilising more personnel into its army, and threatening nuclear strikes if attempts were made to break its grip on areas it holds.
"All this is a serious escalation of the conflict. Our message is that any use of nuclear weapons is absolutely unacceptable," Mr Stoltenberg said.
"It will totally change the nature of the conflict and Russia must know that the nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."
He said that "no-one can tell how long" the war in Ukraine would go on for and that Nato allies were ready "to continue to provide support to Ukraine for the long haul".
To that end, Nato countries need to "ramp up" the production of weapons, after depleting national arsenals to supply Ukraine's armed forces.
He said he chaired an extraordinary meeting of Nato officials in charge armaments early Tuesday and "we are now discussing how we, also in co-operation with the European Union, can ensure that we produce more" to boost supplies to Ukraine and ensure allies' defence.
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
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
DSC Eagles 23 Dubai Hurricanes 36
Eagles
Tries: Bright, O’Driscoll
Cons: Carey 2
Pens: Carey 3
Hurricanes
Tries: Knight 2, Lewis, Finck, Powell, Perry
Cons: Powell 3
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Fixtures
50-over match
UAE v Lancashire, starts at 10am
Champion County match
MCC v Surrey, four-day match, starting on Sunday, March 24, play starts at 10am
Both matches are at ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City. Admission is free.
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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.
Brief scores:
Toss: Northern Warriors, elected to field first
Bengal Tigers 130-1 (10 ov)
Roy 60 not out, Rutherford 47 not out
Northern Warriors 94-7 (10 ov)
Simmons 44; Yamin 4-4
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
