British Defence Minister Ben Wallace. EPA
British Defence Minister Ben Wallace. EPA
British Defence Minister Ben Wallace. EPA
British Defence Minister Ben Wallace. EPA

UK buys artillery from Sweden to replace arms sent to Ukraine


Soraya Ebrahimi
  • English
  • Arabic

The UK is to buy artillery systems from Sweden after its stocks ran low because of equipment being sent to Ukraine for its conflict with Russia, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said.

Under the terms of the government-to-government agreement, ownership of the first 14 Archer self-propelled guns will be transferred to the British Army this month.

Sweden will supply an interim replacement for the 32 AS90s the UK has donated to the Ukrainian forces.

The Ministry of Defence said the Archer, designed and built by BAE Systems Bofors in Sweden, had double the maximum range of the AS90, greater mobility, greater availability and less time to put into action.

“This agreement with a close European ally will sustain the British Army’s requirements until the longer-term mobile fires platform comes into service — a programme we are working hard to accelerate," Mr Wallace said.

Ukraine and Russia conflict latest - in pictures

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has spoken by phone to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the latest battle situation.

After his recent meetings with US, Australian and French leaders, Mr Sunak said the UK would continue to work closely with allies to ensure Ukraine had the equipment it needed, Downing Street said.

He updated Mr Zelenskyy on the delivery of more UK military aid, saying it was “vital Ukraine had the capabilities to change the battlefield equation as soon as possible”.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UNSC Elections 2022-23

Seats open:

  • Two for Africa Group
  • One for Asia-Pacific Group (traditionally Arab state or Tunisia)
  • One for Latin America and Caribbean Group
  • One for Eastern Europe Group

Countries so far running: 

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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.

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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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Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

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Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Updated: March 16, 2023, 9:27 PM`