A Moscow skyscraper was hit by a drone for the second time in a week, as Russia claimed to have repelled an overnight attack on its patrol boats in the Black Sea.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air defences shot down two Ukrainian drones over the Moscow region early on Tuesday and jammed a third, which crashed into the same office tower in Moscow’s commercial district that was hit two days ago.
No one was injured, but the drone damaged several square meters of the building's glass facade high above the ground on a floor occupied by the Ministry of Economic Development.
“On the night of August 1, an attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime with lethal drones on targets in Moscow and Moscow region was thwarted,” the Defence Ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.
Two drones were shot down in suburbs west of the city centre, it said.
“Yet another (drone) was hit by radio-electronic equipment and, having run out of control, crashed on the territory of the complex of non-residential buildings at Moskva Citi,” the ministry said, referring to a business centre in the capital.
Russian authorities also briefly closed Vnukovo airport in south-western Moscow, although officials said regular operations had resumed.
The defence ministry said Ukrainian armed forces also “tried without success” to attack the Sergei Kotov and Vasily Bykov patrol boats of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea with drones.
“The three naval enemy drones were destroyed”, it said, adding that the boats were attacked 340 kilometres south-west of Sevastopol, the base of Russia's Black Sea fleet on the annexed Crimea peninsula.
Last week, Russia said it had repelled another drone attack on the Sergei Kotov.
Hostilities around the Black Sea have escalated after Russia pulled out of an agreement that had allowed safe export of Ukrainian grain.
Ukraine rarely comments on incidents that take place on Russian territory in its war against Moscow, now in its 17th month.
But this week, in an oblique reference to drone attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the war “is returning to the territory of Russia – to its symbolic centres and military bases”.
Ukraine began its long-awaited counteroffensive in June but has made modest advances in the face of stiff resistance from Russian forces on the frontline.
Intense fighting continues to be focused in two sectors in southern Ukraine, according to British military intelligence.
“South of Orikhiv, the focus of Ukrainian assaults have been against Russia’s 58th Combined Arms Army (58 CAA),” the Ministry of Defence said in its daily intelligence update on Tuesday.
“58 CAA is highly likely struggling with battle fatigue and attrition in forward deployed regiments which have been in intense combat for over eight weeks.”
Elements of the 5th Combined Army are also believed to be under particular pressure, but across the south as a whole, common problems are “highly likely” to include shortage of artillery ammunition, a lack of reserves and problems securing the flanks of units in the defence, it said.
Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of Russia's armed forces, visited troops in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, inspecting a command centre, the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.
A video showed him looking at a map, receiving briefings and climbing into a helicopter.
The general was for many months the target of savage criticism from Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and some Russian military bloggers over Russia's failings in the war.
After Wagner staged a brief mutiny against the defence establishment on June 24, there were questions as to whether Gen Gerasimov would keep his job. More than two weeks elapsed before he was seen again in public, on July 10.
Tuesday's statement and video seemed designed to show that he not only remains in his post but is engaged with troops on the front line.
The Zaporizhzhia region has seen some of the fiercest fighting of recent weeks, since Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in early June.
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
2019 ASIAN CUP FINAL
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
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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
SEMI-FINAL
Monterrey 1
Funes Mori (14)
Liverpool 2
Keita (11), Firmino (90 1)
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
Results
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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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.
